The second issue of Batman/Dylan Dog follows our unlikely duo’s adventure right after the previous issue’s cliffhanger. Now that readers are introduced to both characters and their respective worlds, the first half of the issue explores a lot of their day-to-day dynamic, and how each detective deals with any given mystery. The back-and-forth between our two heroes is a highlight of the series, almost like buddy cops in a police procedural. Dylan’s jovial demeanor in contrast to Batman’s always stoic and straight answers is a joy to witness, reminding readers of early Batman and Robin days.
Italian artists Cavenago, Dell’Edera, and Niro all continue to prove their mastery of the comic language, knowing when to render detailed environments and tone down the pace in quieter scenes of conversation, and when to remove them in exchange for a swirl of colors ramping up the action. The horizontal panels give room to breathe while the splash pages pack a punch. The action is dynamic. While backgrounds are usually in a more muted pastel and cold color, action scenes turn the background bright red, evoking the intensity of the fight just with a simple tint. Beating up Jokerized zombies never looked this good. The harsh black shadows also lend really well to Batman’s silhouette, foregrounding the vibrant hues behind.
The red pops really well with the shadows
Credit: DC Comics
As the heavy lifting of setup was done in the previous issue, here the rest of the expositions are done relatively smoothly, highlighting Batman’s preparedness and subverting the fish out of water trope. Batman explaining plot-related import in character makes for a funny scene too. Dylan sometimes wonders if anything could surprise the world’s greatest detective. A lot of great in-universe throwaway lines like a medium commenting about Batman’s parents also give a chuckle.
There are pleasant surprises littered in the issue too, such as seeing other DC characters bounce off Dylan’s personality, especially those in his purview, part of the world’s mystical side. They bring out Dylan’s unique personality, especially when faced with other UK-based snarky magicians like John Constantine. There’s a part where Constantine goes on a rant about how bad the modern world is and how good the past was and Dylan’s response to his cynicism is just hilarious. These characters fit so well with Dylan that they could believably exist together outside of this crossover.
Batman/Dylan Dog #2 dives straight into the supernatural side of things, sidelining the street-level superheroics for now, which may cause readers’ mileage to vary. But what stays consistent is the gorgeous art that delivers the story’s punch from the streets of London to the depths of the underworld. And the witty dialogue running parallel with the dark themes really mesh together wonderfully.
Readers hungry for more of DC’s corner of the mystic world will be satisfied. But for people looking for more Batman, they are going to be slightly disappointed as there’s less cape crusading and more nightmare investigating in this issue.
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