The Stats
📖 BOOK REVIEW⠀📚
BOOK: Batman: Nightwalker
AUTHOR: Marie Lu
ARTIST: Chris Wildgoose
@marieluthewriter @mrriktus
Publisher: DC Ink @dccomics
Stars: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Published: Sometime in 2019
The Review
Bruce Wayne. Rich kid. Parents died. Martha. Sad Story. He’s Batman now. Got it? Great, we won’t dwell on it. Neither did Marie Lu when she wrote Batman: Nightwalker. This actually happens between the shooting in the alley and the donning of the cowl. A bunch of crooks have been breaking into the homes of the rich, stealing all their money, and killing them. Bruce, leaving his 18th birthday party early after a “friend” tried to mooch off him, spots the police attempting to arrest these nightwalkers. The crook has a supercar, and there’s no way the police can catch them. So, bruce uses his own supercar to help out.
Despite his good intentions, however, he was breaking the law. Community service time. As a Janitor. IN ARKHAM? Seriously judge, you send a newly minted adult to scrub the toilets of the criminally, homicidally insane as punishment for helping the police catch a crook? You nuts. This is a bit of a plot hole in the story, but let’s run with it. He makes a friend in there, one of the nightwalkers. She’s obviously manipulating him, but he’s smitten, and intrigued by her story. That’s when she lets it drop: he’s next on the list of targets.
So, do you like black, white, and gray with occasional splashes of yellow? Then this book is for you. It’s totally on brand for Batman, and it’s kinda nifty. Then again, I read this around the same time as Teen Titans: Raven, and I’m kinda missing color in my comics. The lineart is a bit irregular. Sometimes it looks great and has incredible expression. Other times the faces just look… awkward.
Other than the one plot hole, I enjoyed the story. It was action-packed and intriguing. I agree with a lot of others, though, that this should have been titled “Bruce Wayne: Nightwalker” as this has little to nothing to do with Batman, and has everything to do with Bruce Wayne. And yes, those are separate concepts. Just ask Batman.
Summary
Bruce Wayne is turning 18 and inheriting his family’s fortune. But on the way home from his birthday party, he makes an impulsive choice that leads him to Arkham Asylym, the infamous mental hospital. There, he meets Madeline Wallace, a brilliant killer . . . and Bruce’s only hope. Madeline is the mystery Bruce must unravel, but is he convincing her to divulge her secrets, or is he feeding her the information she needs to bring Gotham City to its knees?
Bruce Wayne is proof that you don’t need superpowers to be a superhero, but can he survive Madeleine’s game of tense intrigue and deception?
This graphic novel adaptation from New York Times bestselling author Marie Lu and artist Christian Wildgoose is a dark, action-packed thrill ride!
I voluntarily read this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.