Review; Batman: Rebirth #1Review by Paul Finader
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Written by: Scott Snyder, Tom King
Art by: Mikel Janin Colours by: June Chung Cover by: Mikel Janin Variant cover by: Howard Porter Published by DC Comics |
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After an extended run on a series fans can sometimes become entrenched in a particular writer's style. This is the issue facing the new Batman after Scott Snyder has departed to write All Star Batman after a hugely successful run. Though I have tonnes of faith in new writer Tom King (see our review of The Sheriff of Babylon for further information on him) it was still nice to see Snyder’s name on the writing credits for this one shot. Obviously it’s difficult to know who did what in terms of the story but in some ways I see this as a baton handing over issue and in many ways it reads like that to.
With the events of Rebirth fresh in our minds, the King/Snyder partnership almost needed to come back to familiar a setting and welcome readers both new and old. If the story was aimed at the faithful it could have alienated new readers and if they had taken a too basic approach it may have started to weaken what was a phenomenal story in last week's mammoth issue. I’m pleased to say that this issue walks that line nicely as the issue is the beginning of a new story that is filled with intrigue as we see Bruce and Batman getting their world back in order. From Alfred to Jim Gordon each player we meet feels like they are a shuffle away from what has come before. What I mean by this is they are not facsimiles of what has come before but neither have the creators changed anything in a drastic way. This is both in the narrative and in the artwork. Grayson artist Mikel Janin is the artist responsible for the issue and his visuals are stunning as you can see from the images at the bottom of the Page. The splash page is a perfect example of the moves away from traditional layouts we see in some comics as we are treated to a truly engaging art style. This is backed up by the colours of June Chung, especially when a brighter more electric shade is needed. This is an nice bookend to Rebirth as we will next get to see King’s Batman in the new Batman #1, This book has a great balance of action and exposition and truly wets the appetite for what is to come. Obviously from this issue it is difficult to say that King will be as successful as Snyder but he has all the talent (in my opinion) to do so. For those already missing their Snyder fix, don’t forget he will be back on All Star Batman in August with art by John Romita Jnr and Declan Shalvey. |
Preview Images and Variant Cover
