BATMAN: THE KNIGHT
Collects Batman: The Knight #1-10.
Writer: Chip Zdarsky
Art/Cover: Carmine Di Giandomenico
DC Comics, $39.99
Batman: The Knight is a 10-issue miniseries that re-imagined the worldwide travels Bruce Wayne undertook as a young man to learn to be a Dark Knight. It's a story that's been told before, but this is an update with a few new wrinkles.
As in previous tellings, Bruce goes from expert to expert to learn the skills he'll need to be The Batman. Many we've seen before, like detective Andre Ducard and magician Zatara. Some we haven't, like Lucie, "The Gray Shadow," an Old Lady Catwoman in Paris who teaches him to think like a criminal and disappear in the middle of conversations (and enjoy the company of female cat burglars).
This could be cloying, or too cute by half, but I think Zdarsky pulls it off. I actually like this Lucie, and she is just the right amount of bittersweet.
But one big difference is the addition of "Anton," real name Minhkhoa Khan, who goes through the same training as Bruce and becomes the sociopathic vigilante Ghost-Maker. The Internet tells me he was introduced in Batman (third series) #100, which was written by James Tynion IV. But he is clearly Zdarsky's creature, and as is often the case, the writer spends more time with his new toy than I would like. I'm there for Batman, not this new guy.
Another big difference is the Zatara sequence. Yes, Zatanna is also there, along with the seeds of their long friendship (which is occasionally, at least with some Bat-writers, friendship with benefits). What's new to me about this scene is Batman finally acknowledging that magic is real, and establishing why he doesn't use it.
I mean, of course magic is real in DC Comics! But sometimes writers like for Batman to put on his Mr. Spock hat and say everything has to be rational, or say that magic is just science we don't understand yet. I roll my eyes at these scenes, given how often Batman has teamed up with Spectre, Zatanna, Doctor Fate, Deadman, etc. But this series puts that idea to bed. Hopefully for good.
But if Batman acknowledges that magic is real, and studies under one of the greatest magic-users in DC history, how come he doesn't use it? And the answer is the same as the one Marvel came up with for Mr. Fantastic: He isn't any good at it. And he isn't any good at it for all the reasons he's good at being Batman. If he were to become a magician, he wouldn't be the Dark Knight. So it's a trade-off, and he picks the lane he likes best. I like this explanation far better than any one I've heard before.
As for the art, Carmine Di Giandomenico is a teriffic artist whose work I mostly enjoy. The part I don't enjoy is his occasional use of shadows to black out the bottom half of someone's face -- everything from nose down. This is a trick I became aware of when the late Keith Giffen picked it up from Argentine artist José Muñoz, and is also used by another Argentine artist, Eduardo Risso -- who, weirdly, reverses it to black out the top half of characters' faces.
But there is no light source or group of light sources in the world that is going to achieve this effect. Its artificiality draws attention to itself, at least to me, which yanks me out of the story. Otherwise, Di Giandomenic's work is top-notch.
Aside from those two quibbles, my wife and I both modestly enjoyed Batman: The Knight. It's an important part of Batman's backstory, and yes, it has to be updated now and then. This was a pretty good update.
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