Though best known as an editor for DC Comics at one time, Helfer is certainly no stranger to the realm of comics writing. He helmed a much-acclaimed ongoing Shadow series in the 1980s, illustrated by Kyle Baker, so I was interested to see what he'd do with the Dark Knight. It seems one of the clear goals of this series was to develop a vision of the title character that is more in line with the big-screen incarnation currently raking in the box-office bucks. Helfer and editor Mike Carlin have succeeded in that part, at the very least, offering up a vision of a young hero who's still learning the ropes of his unusual trade as he goes along. But so far, the plot -- a cross between a drug war and Outbreak -- just doesn't grab me all that much.
The legend of the Batman has begun to spread throughout Gotham City, but Bruce Wayne still has a lot to learn about criminals and the way they operate. A critical misjudgment of a dangerous situation in an unpleasant part of the city not only allows a drug dealer to escape but almost costs the Dark Knight his life. He sets out to learn more about the dealer who slipped through his fingers, and in the process, he encounters a young woman who holds the promise of a different sort of life. Meanwhile, a strange and deadly man makes his way from South America to the Batman's stomping grounds.
I loved Tan Eng Huat's work on John Arcudi's Doom Patrol series (which directly preceded John Byrne's current DP series), and when I heard the young Malaysian artist would be tackling the art duties on this limited series, I was pleased. I figured his exaggerated, twisted and meticulously detailed style would bring something really new to the Batman. It doesn't look as though we'll find out if it could have or not, as the artist's style is far looser, less detailed and more conventional in tone now than it was before. The lines aren't as deliberate, thick or dynamic. It looks as though the figures are roughly sketched out, as though the artist is either trying out a looser style or moving the process along more quickly, as though he were rushed. I'm not wild about the colors either. Baron bathes a scene in one dominant color, only fleshing out one figure or one element with further tones. I did like the black-and-white approach in the dream sequence with the round red platform serving as a symbol of Bruce's parents' spilled blood.
I do appreciate the more fallible vision of the Batman as presented here, but the character lacks the drive and tormented soul that suits the characters. I agree lighter interpretations of the character can work, but this book certainly seems to try to remain steeped in the darker, gothic version of the character and setting.
The plot itself is a rather ordinary one, and there's little in it to make it stand out. The afore-mentioned nightmare sequence involving Bruce's parents represented a nice piece of writing, though, as there's a little more honesty to be found in it. Thomas and Martha Wayne are not the deified characters they've been presented as in the past. There are hints that they were typically upper-crust parents, opting to ship Bruce off to boarding school and having little time for him when he was home. It certainly fits with the stoic, cavernous nature of the Wayne homestead. Maybe this notion of the Waynes as subpar parents will be cast aside, but I found it to be the most interesting notion to arise in this script. 5/10
