Batman Secret Files: Clownhunter #1
- WRITER
- Ed Brisson
- Artist
- Rosi Kampe
- Letterer
- Simon Bowland
- Cover Artist
- Romulo Fajardo Jr., Mico Suayan
- Publisher
- DC Comics
- Price
- 4.99
- Release Date
- 2021-08-17
- Colorist
- Andrew Dalhouse
Before James Tynion IV left DC to focus on creator-owned work, he created a slew of new characters throughout his Batman run. One of his most compelling heroic additions to Gotham City is Bao Pham, aka Clownhunter, who was first introduced in 2020's Batman #96 by Tynion IV and artist Jorge Jiménez. Now, the young vigilante is on a mission to kill the Joker and stars in his own one-shot comic from Ed Brisson and Rosi Kämpe. Batman Secret Files: Clownhunter #1 crafts an action-packed story that takes a closer look at Bao's inner life.
Batman Secret Files: Clownhunter #1 follows Clownhunter as he stalks one of Joker's henchmen, Sol the clown. Bao reflects on his time at Gotham Academy and how his prior experience with bullies prepared him for his crime-fighting career. He sneaks up on Sol and interrogates him about the whereabouts of the Joker; but, before Clownhunter can get any useful intel, Sol reveals that he's walked into a terrible trap, and Bao has to fight his way out.
Writers often struggle to portray the emotional lives of teenagers. Teens are frequently misrepresented as flighty children or as fully matured adults. Luckily, Brisson treats his adolescent character with the respect he deserves. He perfectly captures Clownhunter's angsty, angry voice without reducing him to a caricature. The flashbacks to Bao's time in school offer an interesting new perspective on the vigilante's secret identity; but, unfortunately, there are one or two instances where the leap back to the past feels more like an interruption than an addition. At first, the back and forth is great, but as things come to a head with Clownhunter and Sol, the flashbacks become less informative and more distracting.
In both the past and the present, Rosi Kämpe draws the action excellently. Kämpe conveys a sense of motion and danger at every turn while maintaining a clarity that makes the action easy to follow. Each fight is clearly a well-choreographed sequence rather than just an assemblage of random images. Kämpe's character designs for the various clown thugs are at once frightening and campy. This bizarre balance helps to establish the tone of the overall comic which is simultaneously brutal and goofy. Additionally, Dalhouse's colors add vibrancy and electric energy to the mayhem.
Batman Secret Files: Clownhunter #1 ends with a surprise that seems to indicate that readers will be seeing much more of Clownhunter in the near future. This one-shot story is evidence that young Bao Pham is a capable and compelling hero with a great emotional range and a complicated history. The entire creative team goes to great lengths to give Clownhunter the exciting story he deserves. While the pacing leaves something to be desired, the art and action are sure to entertain readers.