BATMAN: CREATURE OF THE NIGHT
Not Wayne’s World
Holy postmodern spin on the Dark Knight myth! Or something.
released OUT NOW! Publisher DC Comics Writer Kurt Busiek Artist John Paul leon
The idea that Batman might not be the healthiest of role models has been around for decades, but DC has found a new and illuminating way of exploring it. A prestige-format miniseries of four oversized issues, Batman: Creature Of The Night takes place in a world where Bruce Wayne is just a comic-book character.
The story follows Bruce Wainwright, an only child of rich Boston parents who’s already fixated on the similarities to his fictional near-namesake when his mother and father are murdered in a home invasion. As Bruce grows up, his fixation with Batman becomes an obsession – but it also seems to have given him the ability to physically manifest a Batmanlike creature, as a dark, shadowy vigilante starts to battle the forces of crime…
A nuanced take on the notion of superheroes, Creature Of The Night is a spiritual sequel to the 2004 miniseries Superman: Secret Identity, which took a similar approach with the Man of Steel (veteran comic scripter Kurt Busiek is behind both tales). Right from the first page it displays an impressive level of atmosphere and craft, balancing character drama with moments of harsh violence, while also asking difficult questions about what happens when the black-andwhite morality of Batman collides with the real world.
Three issues in, the story has already pulled off a number of intriguing twists as it fleshes out its flawed, increasingly unstable protagonist. It’s helped immeasurably in this by the work of artist John Paul Leon, who utilises a combination of dark,
Displays impressive atmosphere and craft
noir-ish shading and a muted colour palette to give the comic’s world a sense of convincing weight and reality.
Leon is also excellent at portraying the weirder, more dream-like aspects of the series – although it’s here that the story runs into problems. The collision between fiction and the “real” world is often so powerful that it’s a little disappointing when more overt supernatural elements are introduced. However, while we’ve yet to see whether or not Busiek and Leon can stick the landing in the series finale, Creature Of The Night is still a fresh and vibrant story that feels like it’s found some new angles on the well-worn Batman mythos. Saxon Bullock
Busiek’s superhero comic Astro City is being developed as a TV series, with Busiek co-writing the pilot episode.