Batman: Creature of the Night #1

Writer: Kurt Busiek Artist: John Paul Leon Publisher: DC Comics Release Date: November 29, 2017 Cover Price: $5.99 Critic Reviews: 21 User Reviews: 35
9.3Critic Rating
9.0User Rating

Young Bruce Wainwright lost his parents in a violent crime...and in the real world, no superheroes exist to save the day. But as grief and rage builds inside Bruce until he feels he can't keep it inside anymore, something strange starts taking wing in the Gotham night! Perhaps Bruce's grief isn't inside him after all? Modern masters Kurt Busiek and John Paul Leon unite for the spiritual companion to the beloved SUPERMAN: SECRET IDENTITY, putting a new spin you've never seen before on the legend of Batman-and the dark emotions that drive him!

  • 10
    Geek Dad - Ray Goldfield Nov 26, 2017

    It's an oddball book that isn't likely to have any bearings on the DCU in the future, but it's also a great entry-level comic for DC's magical characters. Read Full Review

  • 10
    The Batman Universe - Jessica Nilo Alves Nov 29, 2017

    Busiek strips the most traditional comic hero origin story to its very essence, leaving us with a Bruce that is a lonely, traumatized little boy, and a Batman that is a frightening shadow of the night and a product of Bruces psyche. Such bareness of soul serves to remind us that, despite the current tendency of making him an all-knowing, larger-than-life character, Batman in deep down a product of a broken spirit trying desperately to heal. And that is what makes him so fascinating. Read Full Review

  • 10
    DC Comics News - Shean Mohammed Nov 27, 2017

    Buy, as this book elevates the mythos of Batman, examining for the reader how the impressions of both being a meta and fictional figure affects real world consequences. Read Full Review

  • 10
    Black Nerd Problems - Brandon Lawrence Dec 6, 2017

    This creative team of Kurt Busiek, John Paul Leon, and Todd Klein put together a hauntingly beautiful comic about trauma and wonder, connecting on a visceral level to the comic book fan. This comic could very well have been a one-shot and I would be satiated. Our cup runneth over, though, as this creative team will bless us with a full miniseries. A comic like this is pure perfection and the standard by which I hold all others. Read Full Review

  • 10
    On Comics Ground - Luis Cruz Nov 22, 2017

    Writer Kurt Busiek is writing pure gold and the art of Johan Paul Leon is just perfect for this book. It gives you that nostalgic feel of reading an old comic book, which makes you feel like a kid again; that is why it meshes so well with how Mr. Busiek tells his dark and emotional story. "Bruce. Safe. You Safe." Read Full Review

  • 10
    Comics: The Gathering - Michael D Nov 29, 2017

    Batman: Creature of the Night is a breathtaking book. The story will pull you in and make you feel for Bruce in a way that you haven’t before in a Batman book. This book has the potential to be the best book of the year. This needs to be on everyone’s pulllist. Read Full Review

  • 10
    Comicosity - Keith Callbeck Nov 29, 2017

    Destined to sit with the great Batman stories, this is a must-read. With echoes of its narrative big brother, Superman: Secret Identity, Creature of the Night is a beautiful story well told. Read Full Review

  • 9.6
    Outright Geekery - Brian A. Madrid Dec 5, 2017

    A wonderful and unique take on the Batman. Read Full Review

  • 9.5
    Comicsverse - Brian Long Dec 2, 2017

    BATMAN: CREATURE OF THE NIGHT #1 explores the connection between Batman, imagination, and trauma to make one of the most intriguing comics of the year. Read Full Review

  • 9.5
    Batman-News - Brian Warshaw Nov 29, 2017

    A study in grief and justice, Batman: Creature of the Night #1 succeeds both as a stand-alone exploration of a lost boy finding his way and as a potent seed for future installments. Busiek expertly writes his two leads, and his observations"and illustrations"of a life made shipwreck by tragedy are authentic and moving. Leon's minimalist figures ooze character and emotion, and combined with his bleak color palette, they are Busiek's stirring words made flesh. If you haven't already, go buy this now"you won't be sorry that you did. Read Full Review

  • 9.5
    GWW - Deron Generally Nov 21, 2017

    This was a gripping, gritty tale of loss and the reality of it. Even the more fantastic elements only served to highlight the harsh reality of this kid's circumstances. A great read. Read Full Review

  • 9.4
    Weird Science - Jim Werner Nov 28, 2017

    This is a really good story that is more than your standard comic book while celebrating comics in a dark and different way.  Kurt Busiek and John Paul Leon give their character his biggest wish come true while also begging him to be careful what he wishes for.  I feel so bad for Bruce, but I can't wait to see what happens next. Read Full Review

  • 9.3
    Multiversity Comics - Nicholas Palmieri Dec 1, 2017

    An immensely rewarding and well-crafted tale that actually manages to say something new and interesting about Batman. Read Full Review

  • 9.0
    411Mania - John Pumpernickel Dec 14, 2017

    Creature of the Night is a satisfying book, even if you're not a Batman fan or think you've seen every type of Batman story told before. Read Full Review

  • 9.0
    Doom Rocket - Brendan Hodgdon Dec 1, 2017

    Perhaps the one "bad" thing you could say about Creature of the Night is that, as a retelling of sorts of Batman's origin, it's working with a very, very familiar framework in this first issue. But when the detail work is this good, who cares what the foundation is? Truly, it's the details that really lift this book up, and the honest emotions that make it sing. Those things combined promise a Batman story like no other. I can't wait to devour each and every chapter over and over again, as I already have with this one. Read Full Review

  • 9.0
    Newsarama - Matthew Sibley Dec 4, 2017

    Which is perhaps a summation of the issue. This world is markedly different from both Gotham and our own, but Busiek, Leon, and Klein don't bend it to the point that it breaks in the process. Instead, they twist it just enough and offer multiple ways to approach Batman: Creature of the Night. They've put the work into ensuring this isn't just a rehash or going through the motions. It's a distinct story. Fresh without being alienating. Intently subjective, but through multiple perspectives, posing questions about objectivity, "truth" and reality in the process. Read Full Review

  • 9.0
    AIPT - David Brooke Nov 29, 2017

    A Batman origin that's refreshingly different. Read Full Review

  • 8.8
    IGN - Jesse Schedeen Nov 29, 2017

    Any fan of Superman: Secret Identity would do well to check out Batman: Creature of the Night. This series definitely reads like a sequel in many respects, or at least a riff on a similar theme. As dark as this story is, it's anchored by the very real, genuine bond between a boy and his uncle. Busiek and Leon prove here that's it's always possible to find a fresh new spin on the Batman mythos. Read Full Review

  • 8.0
    The Beat - Alexander Lu Nov 29, 2017

    Batman: Creature of the Night #1 is not a perfect book. There's a lot of relatively uncompelling backstory one has to get through to get to the point. But if you're willing to make that journey there's quite a compelling surprise waiting for you at this leg's end. Fingers crossed that the creative team keeps up this momentum in the installments to come. Read Full Review

  • 8.0
    Newsarama - David Pepose Nov 29, 2017

    Comparing Creature of the Night to Secret Identity is an inevitable and perhaps unenviable task, given how well Busiek distilled the Man of Steel's tone almost 15 years ago. Yet with his meta take on Batman feels like a gnarlier beast than the coming of age of Clark Kent, as we meet eight-year-old Bruce Wainwright, a Batman superfan whose life is turned upside-down when his parents meet a similar end to Thomas and Martha Wayne Read Full Review

  • 8.0
    Pop Culture Uncovered - soshillinois Nov 29, 2017

    Creature of the Night is a pretty clever mix of homages to actual period Batman comics, as well as the pop culture hyperreality of the TV show, all mixed into the more drab and realistic world which Bruce Wainwright occupies. It's a textured world that clashes violently with the supernatural underpinnings of the book, and it works. If you're looking for a new entry into Batman, you definitely won't be disappointed"even if that $5.99 price tag is a bit difficult to swallow. Read Full Review

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