Title: Batman.
Story-Arc: City of Crime.
Writer(s): David Lapham.
Penciller(s): Ramon Bachs & David Lapham.
Inker(s): Nathan Massengill & David Lapham.
Colourist(s): Jason Wright.
Letterer(s): Jared K. Fletcher & Phil Balsman.
Publisher: DC Comics.
Format: Hardcover – Deluxe Edition.
Release Date: March 17th, 2020 (first published july 6th, 2006).
Pages: 304.
Genre(s): Comics, Science-Fiction.
ISBN13: 9781401299484.
My Overall Rating: ★★★★☆.
There are underworlds that naturally breed evil. At every juncture, there’s something terrifying ready to crawl out of the darkness, spring upon you, and claw at your innocence. Striving for eternal servitude towards the vices that pervades the universe, the people in these worlds remain stuck in a cycle of violence and vengeance. Sometimes, you just can’t help but wonder if the environment isn’t more than a terrain for criminality but a root cause for the immortality of evil. For Batman, it’s his doorway towards the dark truths and terrifying secrets that his city withholds from him. Collecting issues #801-808 and #811-814 of Detective Comics as well as David Lapham’s prologue issue #800 entitled “In the Dark“, this special deluxe edition presents the Eisner Award-winning graphic novelist’s vision of a Batman noir fiction brimming with grit and grim.
What is Batman: City of Crime about? A young girl’s cry for help is dismissed by Bruce Wayne, oblivious to the consequences that it will have as it escalates to the death of several teenage girls in a wild and deadly event in Crime Alley. It is then the desperate desire of a mother for the safe return of her missing daughter that gnaws at Bruce Wayne’s conscious. Consumed by the guilt of his recent inaction, he vows to find the child but his journey leads him into the dark corners of Gotham City, where evil proliferates between the cracks of the underworld and danger is nothing more than an omnipresent companion to all those who lurk in the darkness. However, this descent to the criminal world of Gotham doesn’t come without a cost. The truths he learns from the people and the city he protects will be a burden, unlike anything he’s had to face so far.
“Gotham is our city. She belongs to us. In his bones he knows they’re right. The dawn is coming, and with it, the rain has ended. The Old Gotham—his Gotham—has been washed away. The dawn brings a New Gotham. A Gotham with no place for a Batman.”
— David Lapham
Writer David Lapham (Age of Apocalypse, Stray Bullets, Deadpool MAX) brings forth a suffocating and grim story with terrifying events that quickly evokes the darkness of Gotham City. This hard-boiled tale of redemption explores a bleak whodunit that keeps its revelations for its final acts as it allows various sets of characters, from Bruce Wayne to detectives within the Gotham City Police Department, to plunge deep into the thick and deadly layers of its underworld for answers. Despite several plot holes veering the narrative towards unrealistic grounds, it is the writer’s narration that captivated me the most through this graphic novel. The personification of Gotham City as she continuously unveils tragedies after tragedies make for a fascinating exploration of the environment’s own essence, one that is inscribed in crime and death.
Leave it to penciller Ramon Bachs, inker Nathan Massengil, and colourist Jason Wright to illustrate this ghastly story. From the eerie character designs and the creepy smiles to the smothering details of Gotham’s architecture, you would have a tough time seeing any source of hope. The overall tone also captures the city’s much more grisly nature. There’s no telling what she hides from you or when it will decide to regurgitate the gloomier menaces from its underworld. The mysterious new threat introduced in this story is also brilliantly illustrated through shady characters who seem lifeless and programmed for one thing and one thing only: evil. Suffice to say that this creative team did a phenomenal job in depicting various sectors of Gotham throughout the story and there’s nothing more intriguing than to watch Bruce Wayne become part of it if he is to understand criminals and uncover the truth.
Batman: City of Crime is a harsh and enthralling noir whodunit portraying and unveiling the darkness of Gotham City.
Thank you to Penguin Random House Canada for sending me a copy for review!
Roars and Echoes 
Wow, this one sounds really good! I love the storyline, especially the fact about him being guilt ridden with his inaction (and honestly he should be…jeezz…not responding to something like that, what’s up with the Bat?😂). Seriously though, this is one heck of a cool sounding story, and despite some flaws that you mentioned, your review has made me quite excited for this one…the art looks terrific too! Sounds like another winner Lashaan…just like your review!😃
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It was such an unexpected event where he didn’t see the cry for help at all hahaha At least it forced him to realize that sometimes even Batman has it tough and can’t save everyone. 😮 I was quite impressed by this one. A truly unexpected gritty classic story for Batman fans to revisit! Thanks for reading, my friend! 😀
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Ooh, I’ve heard about this and had it on my radar and glad to hear it has your seal of approval my friend! One for the list for sure, might make for good autumnal reading (well, lets face it, a lot of Batman stories do)…quite like the art style given the tone of the book, seems like a great match!
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Yep, they often are perfect for autumnal reads hahaha I’m glad to have gotten to check this one out though. It feels like a nice throwback to those days when a storyarc would last over 10 issues and be consistent artwise hahaha I hope you get to discover it for yourself soon, my friend! Thanks for reading, Chris! 😀
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Lots of atmosphere in this one then!!! Lashaan I have a book for you to read or even better listen to: The Extraordinaries by TJ Klune! I had a blast listening to it and thought about you so many times as the topic is “Super heroes” are among us. I laughed…so many times!!
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Absolutely for the atmosphere! They even made the borders and all black inside to make sure we felt how dark it was. 😀 Hahahaha that sounds hilarious! I looked it up and it does sound like a lot of fun! 😀
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Fantastic review Lashaan sounds like a dark tale!
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Indeed it is! 😉 Thanks, Nicki! 😀
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I get the best gift ideas from you!
Also, Raistlin0903 has THE best user name.
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Hahaha I’m glad to hear that! Hope the receiver will enjoy them then! 😉 And yes, it is! 😀 He even explained it to us in a post a long time ago (I had no clue where it came from). Thanks for reading! 😀
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What happened to issues 809 and 810? Were they a different story arc? Great review, sounds like a good read, and the artwork looks nice and gritty, appropriate for darker tales.
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Yep, 809 was the beginning of the War Games story-arc, as they alternated each issue with the Batman series! 😀 Yep, the overall tone and concept was clear from the beginning and I’m glad that they stuck to it till the end. It was original! Thanks for reading, Todd! 😀
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This sounds like such a fascinating story. I love it when Batman gets to showcase his detective skills, but adding Wayne’s struggle with guilt over ignoring a girls cry for help add that psychological element that gives that insight into the character. The personification of Gotham sounds fascinating and it makes it seem like Gotham becomes a character in itself. 😀
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Same here. It’s refreshing to see writers explore his much more hands-on detective work, especially when the issues were published in Detective Comics comic book series hahah And yes, absolutely. Making Gotham a character was excellent. Thanks for reading, Lois! 🙂
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Great review, Lashaan! Color me intrigued!
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Thanks, Ola! I’m glad to hear your interest in it. 😀
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Amazing review, Lashaan! 😍 We can feel the eerie and mysterious mood of the book through your review! 😂😱
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Hahahaah then it sounds like I got it right with this review then! 😀 Thanks for reading, Caroline!
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