I've been a bit burnt out on Batman lately. The insistence of DC to pump out at least 10 Batman comics per month (I can't say this is an exaggeration because I truthfully think the number might actually be that high) really sticks in my craw, especially since the quality is not maintained. Even the main title is currently waffling a bit. I don't have much patience for Batman these days. However, I have always been a fan of the conceptualization of the original incarnation of the character, purple gloves and all. I've always loved the original costume, and the vibe of a grimy sort of loner Batman. At my most cynical, I see modern Batman as sort of a homogenized food-stuff version of what's ultimately a much more interesting form of the character, in my opinion. All that's to say, I saw the cover to this and I knew I had to read it, in spite of my typical disdain for Mike Perkins' art, or my indifference to much of what Dan Jurgens writes these days.

I'm glad I read this because it's very fucking good. It's great, even. The art matches the tone perfectly and the writing, while a bit on the nose at times, manages to generate some really great moments.

We get a Batman who actually does detective work, something fans of the character are so desperate to see in today's Batman media that they'll be satisfied with the non-detecting present in The Batman film, or the slightest inkling of investigation that was quickly abandoned in recent main title arcs like Mindbomb. Here he actually does the whole dark detective thing pretty much the entire book. He even pulls out a magnifying glass at one point, that's how you know it's serious. I guess all it took was stripping him of his ridiculous fantasy technology that does all the work for him.

We get a Batman with personality and jokes. He's certainly still Batman, but now he feels human for the first time in a long time. That might be the essential ingredient that modern Batman is missing the most. He needs to be interesting and fleshed out as a character instead of the writer taking for granted that the reader will care because he's in a bat costume.

Clearly, a lot of work went into this comic. Not just in making sure the tone was right or that the characterizations were on point, but also in the historical placement of this story. I was frankly surprised by the political commentary in this issue; not so much with what was being said, but how deftly Jurgens parallels the late 30s with that of modern times. It never feels ham-fisted or forced, and it never takes you out of the world. It's very smartly done.

I really hate to say that a comic about the earliest possible Batman shows up the multitude of comics about the modern incarnation because I feel like that's a step away from anemoia, which is bad. But.... I enjoyed this more than a lot of what I'm currently reading involving the caped crusader. I can't wait for issue two. I'm definitely getting the hardcover when it comes out. This is worth reading.