REVIEW | Batman #38

By Hythum Rahman, The Geekery Contributor

Batman #38

Written by Tom King

Art by Travis Moore

Cover by Tim Sale, Mike Janin

Variant by Olivier Coipel

All thanks to Tom King and friends Batman has been consistently one of the hottest books of DC in 2017, ending the previous arc with a heart warming “Superfriends” story. To follow that up this week we’ve got Batman #38 with a brand new story to kickstart the new year. 

The title reads “The origin of Bruce Wayne,” and while it may suggest a very straightforward plot, you’ll find that the story is anything but straightforward. Surprisingly enough it’s definitely not from Batman’s origin story. What I do love about this one-shot is that, it’s a return to the Batman of old fans who are more familiar with the detective who uses his intellect and resources to solve complex crimes.

From the on set this issue puts little Matthew in a similar situation as Bruce when he was young and had just lost his parents. We see a child accompanied by his Butler, discovering the dead bodies of his parents. (does that ring a bell?) I saw what you did there, Tom! 

Moving on, we find Tom King revamping an old villain (may be it’s a New Years present) cutting himself on the arm. Ta Da! You’ve guessed right, it’s Victor Zsasz. Instantly, we’re led to assume that Zsasz must be responsible for the murders. Oh, but if it were only that simple. 

Tom King makes reading a lot more enjoyable just with some small cryptic touches and anadromes.(I fan boy screamed a little on the inside when I saw Dennis O’Neil’s name on the street sign).

The pacing of the story starts off slow but moves on very nicely as it progresses. But that’s mostly credited to Travis Moore’s style of drawing the panels. It’s a very nice moment between writer and artist when they’re both telling a story in harmony. This crime filled mystery throws us off around multiples times leaving us guessing who the main villain of the story is, which is absolutely brilliant. That is exactly what a perfect detective story should do. The thing that makes this mystery come full circle is the ending. It’s a nice little twist that delivers the final punch in this story and definitely leaves you going “OH! RIIIGGHHTT!!’”. Have fun finding out on your own. The journey will be worth it. Thanks to Tom and Friends for another consistent Batman story. 

Verdict - 4/5

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