Question: How do you follow the pop-super-hero phenomenon that was the Jeph Loeb/Jim Lee Batman? Do you put another high-profile super-hero team onboard and try to maintain that feel, or do you realize you probably can't top that style and take a sharp right turn with another interpretation of Batman? DC's answer is the latter, and they're following up one of the most super-hero takes on Batman with one of the most hard-boiled noir versions we've seen since Frank Miller and David Mazzuchelli stepped up with Year One. The first issue of the Azzarello/Risso run features a gruesome bad guy, a violent Batman and the sexiest girl to ever grace the pages of the book, and while part of me wonders if this might be a little hardcore for the wide audience of the main Batman title, the rest of me is remembering how cool Frank Miller's take on the character was, how much of a defining moment that was, and wondering if this might be the same sort of thing.
The first thing you notice about Batman #620 is that Batman is about as pessimistic and dangerous as he has ever seemed outside of The Dark Knight Returns. The opening narration describes Gotham in the unflattering terms of a man who saw his parents murdered there, and it's remarkably dark for a mainstream comic (a reference to God pissing on the city certainly catches the eye) and undeniably catchy. Azzarello's Batman rambles like a Chandler character, ruminating on the dark vision that he sees when he looks out on Gotham. At the same time, though, Azzarello's Batman isn't humorless, with a dark sense of humor directed at his foe Killer Croc and not above engaging in a little double entendre with a femme fatale.
While noticing this, you might also notice that this is definitely a Batman for the teen and up set, and some parents might freak if their younger teens got hold of it. Azzarello and Risso imply plenty of sex and violence, and at times I wondered if it might be a bit far for this book to go. At any rate, there's no denying that they do their job very well. Batman's brutal interrogation of Killer Croc makes you start to see how a guy who never kills his foes has earned his fearsome reputation, and while Jim Lee may have drawn a sexy Poison Ivy and Catwoman, the luscious Margo Farr is probably the most sensuous female to ever fill the pages of this book.
The actual story here, like the one that started "Hush," isn't really the focus. There's a mystery and a couple of murders, but really, this first issue is all about setting up the atmosphere. And, no surprise given how much I like 100 Bullets, the atmosphere is one that I love. Risso does a lot of shots that show us Gotham from a great height, or looking up from the street, and the whole city feels expansive and at the same time claustrophobic. It looks like the inner city settings of 100 Bullets, but it also looks just like Gotham. And Risso's take on Batman is fantastic, again calling to mind the work of Mazzuchelli on Year One or Miller on Dark Knight Returns.
Dark. Gritty. Dangerous. These are adjectives that are supposed to define Batman, but all too often his role as an icon of children as well as adults has kept the creators from really going too far in portraying these aspects of the character. I'm frankly shocked that DC gave Azzarello and Risso this much free reign, but I'm also glad that they did. While the younger set may have to find another place to get their Batman thrills while this creative team is onboard, anyone who loves the hard-boiled Batman seen in all-too-rare stories by the likes of Frank Miller and Alan Moore should pick this one up.
