The very idea of a year-long maxiseries featuring Batman is immediately exciting. Batman: The Long Halloween perfected the idea of exploring a mystery over a year, but it’s rarely done. Until today, Dan Watters and Hayden Sherman embark on Batman: Dark Patterns, a story set during the early years of Batman’s tenure as he investigates gruesome murders.
This is an excellent opening issue for a new Batman series. It has everything a great Batman tale needs, from a brooding Batman to detective skills on display, physicality in fight scenes, moral dilemmas getting explored, the atmosphere of Gotham on display, corruption apparent in the mystery, a cool car, and fantastic art. The only thing missing is an iconic villain, but given the intriguing new one introduced here, I’ll give this issue a pass.
Something you’ll immediately notice about Sherman’s art is how dynamic and larger-than-life it can be. The very first page features a large Shakespeare bust, with panels around it leading us into the lawlessness and danger of Gotham via captions. The first time we see Batman, it’s extremely close to his chest, with only his arms and chest visible. The level of detail is great, and the layout designs are interesting throughout. You’ve never seen a Batman book like this, and you’re better off for it once you put this book down.
He is the night!
Credit: DC Comics
Once the narrative is done reminding us how screwed up Gotham is – like buildings randomly being set on fire – the story delves into a recent murder. The man wasn’t just killed but tortured with needles sticking into him every which way. Along for the ride is Dr. Sereika, James Gordon’s latest coroner. He’s a very weird man and seems to delight in the perfectionism of the murder. This will make you feel unease as Batman fills us in on how this murder relates to two others.
Watters is doing a lot here to lay the groundwork for the mystery. You get the sense that there are answers amongst the details, but we still need eleven issues to piece it together.
The issue also delivers satisfying reveals, like the new villain who pops up. Not since Victor Zsaz has a villain been so freakish, scary, and truly unhinged. The design by Sherman adds to the painful and frightening villain.
It helps this series is set when Batman was still fairly new. It isn’t immediately obvious, but you get hints of it. Take, for instance, Batman shrugging off the Bat signal for an entire day, knowing Gordon is pissed he broke into an office to steal files. It’s not like Batman to worry about what Gordon thinks, but he does here. He also takes some heavy damage at times and even neglects to get every shard of bullet out of his side at one point.
Fans of the Batman films have plenty to enjoy here, like Batman’s yellow emblem and the general setup of a victim whose murderer is on the loose.
Batman: Dark Patterns #1 is a stellar kickoff to a promising maxiseries, blending intense detective work, fresh character dynamics, and haunting visuals to captivate fans of the Dark Knight. Though it lacks an iconic foe, the introduction of a chilling new villain and a grounded, early-years Batman make this an unmissable start for any Batman enthusiast.
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