The Batman: First Knight – Book Two
Artist: Mike Perkins
Color Artist: Mike Spicer
Letterer: Simon Bowland
Review by Carl Bryan
The Batman: First Knight #3 continues the tale of a Dark Knight from the era of the Great Depression when America was on the brink of World War II.
As the Voice’s grip on Gotham tightens, Jim Gordon doesn’t know whom he can trust. With monstrous beasts threatening the city, he turns to the Bat-Man for help, but to truly stop this reign of terror, playboy millionaire Bruce Wayne will step in to help guide the investigation. It all leads to a heart-pounding conclusion that will literally set Gotham ablaze!
I’d rather spend my time cleaning up Gotham!”
– Bruce Wayne .
No Guns!
Dan Jurgens contributes handily to the Batman mythos and does a phenomenal job of providing quite the explanation as to why Bruce fought the urge to use guns… at least in this incarnation of his origin. Jurgens provides nuances that I don’t think could have been done justice in any other version but a Black Label comic.
Perkins’ Pencils…I wish I had a pencil-thin mustache…
Mike Perkins… the realistic details he gives to both scenery and close-ups of his characters are pure art museum offerings. How Bruce is constantly displayed in duality by shading his face is awesome. However, his depiction of all the characters is also a sight to behold, not to mention his affinity for human anatomy, both live and dead. Wow! The autopsy frames are pretty intense!
Vocabulary as a Character
Jurgens has the time era down pat. There’s no telling how many hours he may have watched Jimmy Cagney movies, but the smoke, the use of cigars, and the dialogue all paint quite the time-era piece. That’s hard to achieve in any genre, but Jurgens paints a stunning picture with his words. He gives us what we really should have on the big screen in terms of Batman… a true detective, battling crime through chemistry. No spoilers, but his contribution to crime fighting in this era is pretty amazing given that there was no internet and no access to some other modern-day shortcuts!
Conclusion
The Batman: First Knight #3 concludes the storyline with some religious overtones that play very well into the origin of Dark Knight. Recently DC’s been toying with a lot of variations of the character by breaking him down or perhaps making him more powerful. This Black Label three-issue story arc is well worth the read, as Dan Jurgens grabbed my attention from the first page of the first issue.
Do yourself a favor and find all three books.
Images Courtesy of DC Entertainment