A new era of Batman has begun as Gotham is being rebuilt after Bane’s attack on the city. However, even if the city is on the mend, Batman hasn’t even begun to heal. Minor spoilers for Batman #86 follow.
It’s a hard act to follow, taking over Batman from Tom King. King’s run was a radical departure from most Batman stories and, as such, the series has taken on a completely different identity over the years. So, going forward it may have felt that any writer coming on would emulate that identity. However, James Tynion IV has proven that he knows how to take the past identities of characters and books, while making them his own. So, does Tynion do that with this issue? Yes, that’s pretty much exactly what he does, making for a solid debut issue.
Nothing about this first issue of Batman for Tynion does anything particularly new, but that’s ok, it doesn’t need to. This issue establishes the tone and story that the series will have going forward in a really great fashion. It’s both entertaining and depressing, which seems par for the course for Batman. However, Tynion does so in a way that doesn’t make you feel like you’re weighed down while reading it. That’s not to say that none of his run will feel this way, but he manages to balance the comic book nature of the issue with the dramatic character work needed. It’s a fine line to walk, but Tynion does so incredibly well.
Other than simply setting up the tone well though, Tynion brings in an intriguing mystery into the series with this issue only scratching the surface. Tynion has always been great at writing mystery into his stories (Read Something is Killing the Children) and is also a fantastic horror writer. And while there isn’t much horror in this issue, there’s some but not much, his mystery is the center of the issue. It may not seem like it with the action and character work present, but the crux of the issue is the mystery Tynion introduces and it’s immediately investing.
As for the art, Tony S. Daniel returns to art duties on Batman after having drawn the first couple of issues of “City of Bane.” Daniel has consistently one of the best artists working in comics over the past couple decades, so it’s a smart idea to bring him on to begin this new run. It’s a little bit of classic Batman style to ease readers into a new writer and style taking over the series.
Plus, this issue has some of the best splash pages and single panels from Daniel in a while. It also helps that he’s bolstered by the fantastic inker Danny Miki, as well as my personal favorite colorist Tomeu Morey. They work incredibly well together on this issue and create some gorgeous imagery that tells the story incredibly well. Probably the best moment of the issue is a single panel where it looks like Batman is crying, but it’s actually rain dripping down his cowl. That image alone is one where it’d be incredibly interesting to see the process of pencils to inks to colors to see where this was originally started at.