AUTHOR: MARIE LU, STUART MOORE | ART: CHRIS WILDGOOSE | PUBLISHER: DC INK | FORMAT: PAPERBACK | RELEASE DATE: OCTOBER 1ST
This is the latest addition to DC Comics’ new young adult imprint, DC Ink, which seems to be gathering momentum and improving with each title. The idea is to take a well-known DC character in their formative years and tell an original story outside the usual continuity, to appeal to an age range from 13 – 17. Okay, this makes us wonder at what age people begin to read comics these days – but we go along with it because some of these stories are so good. And this is the best one of the series we’ve read to date.
A ruthless gang of hi-tech criminals calling themselves Nightwalkers hold Gotham City in the grip of terror – nothing new there, it happens daily. But this lot are targeting the wealthy elite, leaving a graffiti calling card of a dollar symbol in flames painted on their victim’s wall. Returning from his eighteenth birthday party, a young pre-Batman Bruce Wayne accidentally encounters a police chase involving the Nightwalkers. Knowing that the experimental Wayne Technologies sports car he’s driving can out-speed the souped-up roadster used by the criminals, he gives chase. And so starts his crimefighting career. Sort of.
Wayne himself is in trouble for interfering with a crime scene and obstruction of justice and is sentenced to community service. As if this, the bad publicity, and earning the disapproval of his guardian Alfred isn’t bad enough, his sentence will be served in a place that is thought will teach the reckless, spoilt young upstart a lesson – Arkham Asylum, Gotham’s infamous institution for the criminally insane. It is here that young impressionable Bruce meets Madeline, an imprisoned young Nightwalker around his age, and will find himself being drawn into a mystery he can’t resist, with a girl he’s falling in love with. Or is he just being manipulated by a criminal mastermind? In the meantime, as he’s eighteen and has now inherited the full family wealth, Bruce finds himself on the Nightwalkers hitlist.
Written by New York Times bestselling author Marie Lu, this was originally a novel and has been adapted to graphic form by Stuart Moore. It’s a fast-paced tale, with a few unexpected twists and surprises along with the ones that seem pretty much telegraphed far ahead of the actual exposition. But what makes these books outstanding is the quality of the artwork, here provided by Chris Wildgoose, a British artist known for his work on Batgirl: Rebirth. Altogether, this is a satisfying read that will resonate outside of the youthful target audience.
