Batman: Gotham by Gaslight - The Kryptonian Age #1 Review
Industry And Cats
Writer: Andy Diggle
Art: Leandro Fernandez
Colors: Dave Stewart
Letters: Simon Bowland
Cover: Leandro Fernandez & Dave Stewart
Variant Covers: Francesco Mattina; Kendrick “Kunkka” Lim; Jock
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: 4.99
Release Date: June 6, 2024
The Strongest Woman In Gotham
DC published the original Gotham by Gaslight in 1989. The story follows a 19th century Batman on the trail of Jack the Ripper. DC visits that time and place again with Batman: Gotham by Gaslight - The Kryptonian Age #1, the first issue of a series that will try to recapture the magic of the original.
It’s 1860 and Jonathan and Martha Kent are crossing Kansa tribal territory in their covered wagon. A meteor slams into the ground immediately behind them. But it’s not a meteor at all. It’s a pod, and it opens. Then Batman: Gotham by Gaslight - The Kryptonian Age #1 jumps in time and place to Gotham City in 1893. Selina Kyle is on her way to a gala. While on route she stops by a group of destitute, homeless women. Selina generously gives the women money and offers them a card for her Felix House where they will be well cared for. The gala event ultimately turns into an opportunity for Selina to steal an object from a display featuring artifacts of a supposedly pre-history civilization. But before she can escape she is surrounded by masked adversaries determined to acquire what she stole and kill her in the process.
Batman: Gotham by Gaslight - The Kryptonian Age #1 starts on a slow burn that steadily increases until the final pages are an exciting free for all. No familiarity with the original Gotham by Gaslight is required in order to follow this issue. And while that first elseworlds story will provide background on the Bat Man and the world at large, at no point is this issue’s pacing interrupted by a sudden curiosity of wanting to know more. That may come when Batman: Gotham by Gaslight - The Kryptonian Age #1 concludes, but it’s not a concern otherwise.
The series’ title suggests a focus on this world’s version of Superman. The opening pages certainly point in that direction with the appearance of the Kents and the pod landing. When the story cuts away from the Kents, an “on the edge of your chair” anticipation remains. Part of the issue’s successful pacing and increasing sense of tension is owed to that anticipation. Diggle manipulates the reader into practically devouring the comic because of that expectation.
Selina Kyle is a good choice for Batman: Gotham by Gaslight - The Kryptonian Age #1’s main protagonist. Diggle gives her exceptional dignity and strength. She displays shrewd intelligence. And her generosity balances her extra legal activities. She is set up as a sympathetic protagonist who, while not being a hero, doesn’t slip into villainy.
Dark But Dignified
Fernandez’s depiction of Selina aligns perfectly with how Diggle writes her. Selina’s posture is perfect, and at the gala her facial expressions are reserved and almost unchanged panel to panel as she interacts with characters that disapprove of her. But before the gala, as Selina visits the destitute women, she has a more emotional, more compassionate look on her face. Her eyes are wider, and her jaw and closed mouth are not quite as severe.
Stewart’s coloring sells a lot of the mood in Batman: Gotham by Gaslight - The Kryptonian Age #1. The issue takes place at night, but even for that time of day the city feels dark and dreary. It further emphasizes Fernandez’s depiction of Gotham as a turn of the century industrialized city. The artists do exaggerate the stereotypically negative industrial qualities. An establishing panel depicts an exterior wall full of draining water pipes and green run off on the side of a chemical plant. But Gotham often features hyperreal examples of a city’s worst qualities, so it is ultimately an effective depiction.
The two artists make a choice roughly halfway through the fight sequence late in the issue that ups the excitement. For several panels over three pages, the various combatants are surrounded by smoke and are depicted entirely in black silhouette. The moment is especially visceral and violent. It ramps up the energy as the fight moves into its final pages.
The big fight that closes out the issue is replete with sound effects. Bowland connects all of them to their specific impact points. It’s particularly effective in a panel when a group of people are impacted by arrows. His sound effect placement adds to the feeling of chaos and of the attackers having overwhelming forces.
Final Thoughts
Batman: Gotham by Gaslight - The Kryptonian Age #1 is an engrossing comic almost from the first page. It takes advantage of the curiosity the issue generates and proceeds at a deliberate pace until the final third of the issue when the sense of urgency skyrockets. It’s practically a race to the finish line at that point, with an end that demands a return for the second issue.
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