Batman. The Black Mirror. Scott Snyder (Writer), Jock, Francesco Francavilla (Art), David Baron, Francesco Francavilla (Colours), Jared K. Fletcher, Sal Cipriano (Letters) DC Comics (2011)

A superb Batman story that uses the story possibilities of Dick Grayson becoming Batman in Gotham City in the absence of Bruce Wayne to the full. The plot is very nicely structured as Dick Grayson does more than don the costume, he becomes Batman and Jim Gordon confronts the possibility that his son is a murderer. A violent incident at a school leads to a trail of a man who holds very specialized auctions, where the lot are from crimes that are from some of Bruce Waynes's most personal cases. This is followed by an extraordinary crime at a Gotham city bank that is owned by someone who has a very close connection to Dick Grayson's past. Along side these cases Jim Gordon is faced with a terrible problem, his son James has come back to town and Jim Gordon has to establish if his son is a merciless killer or not. Both story lines neatly overlap and intertwine and finally come together with a bloody and very satisfying climax.
Among the numerous wonderful aspects to this book is the multiple ways that Scott Snyder uses the possibilities of a new person taking on the role of Batman. With Bruce Wane there is always the sense that the civilian identity is merely a shallow mask, the real substance lies behind the mask. In this story there is a much more complete and complex character who puts on the costume rather than being defined by it. Dick Grayson has a long history and it is used to wonderful effect as he struggles to become Batman and not loose himself in the process. He makes mistakes and has to struggle very hard to be successful, at the same time he is competent and very effective. A nice mix that give real life and force to the costumed action and give the narration a very satisfactory bite. It is also a great pleasure to have opponents whose motivation is greed and the lust for cruelty, the simplicity makes them considerably more dangerous.
The James Gordon story is beautifully paced, a carefully set up series of reveals that push and pull the reader as much as the cast. When the die is finally cast the story continues to move in unexpected directions and use the brutal possibilities with skill and determination. There is a distracting sub-plot featuring the Joker, it is a considerable tribute to the combined talent involved in the book that the intrusion of such a threadbare sequence does not deflate the whole book.
The art by Jock on the Batman  sections and Francesco Francavilla on the Jim Gordon sections is a joy to read in each case, both a distinctive and neither clash nor confuse. Jock's art is angular and sharp edged, it gives a great sense of the razor edges that surround Dick Grayson all the time. The cast are full of energy and force, there is a restless energy in them even when they are still. Francesco Francavilla has much softer edges for his cast, the real action is most often clearly revealed body language that shows the tensions that wrap around everyone. The intense calm of James Gordon may be good news or very bad news. There is a very welcome horror aspect to the story that the art bring out to the full without every loosing it footing in superheroics.  The colouring by David Baron and Francesco Francavilla is virtually a full blown cast member, it is prominent and outspoken while always lifting the story.  The lettering by Jared K. Fletecher and Sal Cipriano manages to be so attuned to the story that it is virtually invisible while giving weight and timbre to the words. A brilliant comic and even better a brilliant Batman story.

Hellboy. Masks and Monsters. Dark Horse Books (2010)

Two very enjoyable cross over stories featuring Hellboy, Batman, Starman and Ghost. The first story, Batman/Hellboy/Starman written by James Robinson, art by Mike Mignola, colours by Matt Hollingsworth and lettered by Willie Schubert is a Hellboy story with a different cast.In Gotham City, Ted Knight, the original Starman is kidnapped by a mysterious group. This draws the attention of Batman and Hellboy and they combine to discover that it is a secret Nazi group that have kidnapped Ted Knight and taken him to their South American base. While Batman has problems in Gotham to deal with, the current Starman, Ted Knight's son, fly out to rescue him. The story unfolds wonderfully, with a great Hellboy Nazi/Elder God plot bubbling away, plenty of smart dialogue and action. The reveals are clever, the art is glorious and the whole package tremendous fun.
The second story Ghost/Hellboy written by Mike Mignola,pencilled by Scott Benefiel, inked by Jasen Rodriguez, coloured by Pamela Rambo, lettered by Sean Konot takes a different tack. Ghost is the vengeful spirit of reporter Elisa Cameron, who deals out death to criminals. Ghost enters a netherworld and in pursuit of peace of heart pulls Hellboy into a netherworld ruled by a wearing a metal mask. The reveals are sharp and unexpected, the action is excellent and the conclusion sour and satisfying.
The contrast between the two stories is interesting, James Robinson writes a very straightforward Hellboy story, in essence substituting Batman and Starman for some of the regular Hellboy cast. Their presence does not fundamentally make any difference to the dynamic of the story. The presence of Ghost in the other story is central to whole structure and tone of the story, she is much more significant. To an extent it is a Ghost story with Hellboy as the guest star, one who does have a vital part to play. It is very noticeable how Mike Mignola takes Ghost, who is a signal example of the sleazy coyness that infects comics, and gives her a personality that is bigger than her breasts. She is very much a character, a clear individual voice that plays strongly against Hellboy and drives the story. A very enjoyable collection with more punch than may be anticipated.

Batman Gothic. Grant Morrison (Writer), Klaus Janson (Artist) Steve Buccellato (Colours) John Costanza (Letters) Warner Books. (1992)

A cleverly constructed Batman story whose jigsaw nature tends to undermine the impact, the art remains striking and fresh. With nods to the Fritz Lang film "M" and European folklore Grant Morrison adds all of the iconic aspects of the Batman history to the story to created a patchwork quilt of a story that should be much better than it is. The non-Batman aspects of the story are by far the most successful, Grant Morrison does not feel the same freedom to play with the Batman aspects as he does with the supernatural elements and it shows. Someone is killing gang leaders in Gotham, it proves to be Mr. Whisper, a child killer whom the same gangsters disposed of twenty years ago when his abductions and murders were making Gotham too difficult for their own more commercial activities. Now he is back and taking his revenge. It appears that this same Mr. Whisper has a connection to Bruce Wayne in his school days. The story develops to encompass a plan to bargain with the devil to escape a deal that had been made three hundred years earlier, a bargain that involves the deaths of millions in Gotham.

The story is a good one, Mr. Whisper is a suitably creepy villain and his history is told with skill and craft, the working out of his plan has the correct level of mad grandiosity and is concluded in an entirely satisfactory manner. The problem in the story is Batman there is both too much and too little of him to be satisfactory. In the story we see the full range of Batman, as a detective, as the frighting vigilante to street punks intent on murder, as the unrelenting enemy of corruption with gang leaders, we get the reason his family took the fatal trip to the cinema, we see Bruce Wayne the wealthy man using his money as a wealthy man would, we see his gadgets in his Batcave. We even see him tied up in an absurdly complex death trap with the villain explaining his plans before leaving him to his death. We see him carefully assembled like a jigsaw puzzle, all we are missing is the actual character, the spark that makes Batman lift off the page.

The compensation is that we great great art from Klaus Janson, Steve Buccellato and John Costanza. Dark colours and lots of variety in the panel size and placement, the claustrophobic atmosphere is captured perfectly. The art delivers on the Gothic in the title in spades. it is the true star of the book and what makes it a worthwhile read.

Batman. Gotham Knight. Warner Home Video. (2008)

Solid storytelling and beautiful art make a great combination. There are six linked episodes that loosely follow an arc through the film, each episode has a different team doing the animation within an overall contemporary Aime style. The art is striking and by a long way the most striking aspect to the production. The episodes themselves are well written Batman items, they do not explore any outer fringes of the Batman universe nor do they take any liberties with it either. They are good, solid Batman stories. Really they are hooks for the animation and the inventiveness of the various creative teams whom respond to the opportunities with gusto.

The most striking episode is number 4 "In Darkness Dwells" in which Batman descends into the sewers to purse Killer Croc and the Scarecrow. The colour in the episode is virtually a character in its own right and it adds greatly to the piece. The designs for both Killer Croc and in particular Scarecrow are the best I have sen in any animated Batman story. Killer Croc is finally given a shape and force that match his name and the Scarecrow has a costume that matches his mission and underscores the threat he poses. A creative and very entertaining film.