“Batman: Gotham By Gaslight: The Kryptonian Age” – Book Two
Artist: Leandro Fernandez
Color Artist: Dave Stewart
Letterer: Simon Bowland
Review by Carl Bryan
Written by Andy Diggle, with visuals by Leandro Fernandez, Dave Stewart, and Simon Bowland, Batman: Gotham By Gaslight: The Kryptonian Age #2 continues a whole new epic saga tracking down an age of miracles
This chapter’s installment provides a link to characters of old, but with a twist of their origins as well as their motives. Continuing a new era of Elseworlds, this is a must have issue!
Upon uncovering a mystery involving ancient relics, Batman must battle against Talia al Ghul and the League of Shadows for control of a dangerous weapon. As court magician John Constantine whispers in the ear of Queen Victoria, and Professor Adam Strange explores the farthest reaches of the Antarctic, the strange rumors they’re all chasing about the lost Kryptonian Age of mankind begin to take on the ring of truth
IT’s the find of the century…ruins of the Kryptonian Age!”
– Professor Hugo Strange
A Blender of Writing…
This chapter really scrambles the eggs as I’m used to canon origins and I can recall the Hugo Strange of the 1980s. This new “Indiana Jones” type quest to find an actual precursor city of Kryptonians prior to current ages opens all sorts of cans of worms. Where are the descendants of this city? How have they not survived given what we know about Superman’s powers? Or does it work differently in this universe? So many questions arise from this quest, and that is a great writing strategy as it keeps us wanting more of this universe!
Constantine…. This guy!
One thing that is for sure in every DC Universe is that John Constantine is that little piece of meat that is stuck between a person’s back teeth that continues to irritate all around him. We need that meat for survival, but it gives us so much problem in digestion and dental health!
Even with all this “new” that surrounds this universe, we get some pillars that we can still count on.
That’s Quite a Train Ride…and LEAP!
In the red corner, Batman… in the blue corner, Talia Al-Ghul. This is a train-top battle that is really cinematic and follows all the rules of combat. However, from Book One to Book Two, we really see the advancement of Bruce’s fighting skills. While we all suspend belief when we read our comics, we have come to rely on actual training when it comes to Bruce. How is he even able to hold his own in this battle?
Clues…
Okay… Batman: Gotham By Gaslight: The Kryptonian Age #2 is the first issue where we get a mention of the World’s Finest. Now, is that the third member of the Trinity we see clues dropped on us? Green Blood? These artists have their finger on the pulse of the Gaslight era. However, the last frame of the comic will make me mark my calendar for the next issue!
Images Courtesy Of DC Entertainment