The original Gotham by Gaslight was a tragic story that brought Jack the Ripper into Batman’s world. Bruce Wayne, alive and fighting in the Victorian era, serves as a hero and detective in an even darker world. In Gotham by Gaslight: The Kryptonian Age #1, Andy Diggle, Leandro Fernandez, and Dave Stewart have sought to expand this Batman’s world by introducing the rest of the DC universe. In the process, it makes the Gaslight world all the more compelling.
The first few pages of this issue do a perfect job of slowly reintroducing the universe to readers. Instead of jumping head-first into a (somehow) darker and drearier Gotham, it takes a trip to Kansas — or Kansa — to check in on the titular Kryptonian. That has the surprising effect of making the world more palatable, as each character offers a soft reintroduction to a world that hasn’t been prominent since 1991’s Batman: Master of the Future.
The dangers of the Kansa Tribal Territory and the horror of a baby Superman’s arrival on Earth play an important role in establishing just how different this world is from the mainline DC universe. It also presents Superman’s descent as the horror that it really can be, as the Kents struggle to cope after seeing the meteor falling from the sky.
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The first page alone hints at it, but this comic is a long and slow read. With an extensive amount of pages, it runs longer than most other comics, and the dreary setting and complicated dialogue help to ensure that it takes a considerable amount of time to read through just one issue. Gotham by Gaslight: The Kryptonian Age #1 alone feels like a four-issue arc by itself. Anyone looking for a comic that is really worth its weight can find it here.
The characters are also thrilling. Many did not appear in the original Gotham by Gaslight and have to make their introductions here. The Kents do an excellent job of getting across their values, while a few different villains and anti-heroes are scattered throughout the issue even before Batman makes an appearance.
It’s always fun to see different characters in Elseworlds settings. Batman is already fully fleshed out, so it makes some sense that his appearance is held for the latter half of the issue. The other characters, like Selina Kyle, instead have a slow and careful introduction that makes them feel like living, breathing characters with lives and stories of their own. The implications behind Selina’s appearance make her an even more effective protagonist than Bruce Wayne here, especially given her penetrating dialogue.
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The art in Gotham by Gaslight: The Kryptonian Age #1 is excellent. While it does have a very different art style from the original, it perfectly suits the dark tone of this universe. It is realistic enough to get every message across, but stylized enough to portray a very different world. There are some points where the backgrounds disappear for little reason, but most panels are compelling enough to keep anyone reading.
The coloring is also a great addition to the story. Much of it is dull and drab, matching the desolate tone of Batman’s world. The overwhelmingly purple coloring stands out sharply when a bright green plot device appears and draws the eye in an instant. It is also a nice touch to see the bright colors appear only when Batman finally appears in the story partway through the book.
It’ll be hard for anyone who enjoyed Gotham by Gaslight not to like Gotham by Gaslight: The Kryptonian Age #1. Every character genuinely feels like they belong in the same sorrowful world, and the dialogue plays into those very same themes. Issue #1 is essentially two issues already, making it undoubtedly worth the cost, time, and attention. Just as Gotham has always been dark, Gotham by Gaslight always plays on the same Victorian atmosphere brilliantly, and The Kryptonian Age is no exception.
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