Batman: Reptilian #1
- WRITER
- Garth Ennis
- Artist
- Liam Sharp
- Letterer
- Rob Steen
- Cover Artist
- Liam Sharp
- Publisher
- DC Comics
- Price
- 4.99
- Release Date
- 2021-06-22
- Colorist
- Liam Sharp
After lampooning the superhero genre in The Boys, Garth Ennis is bringing his talents to one of the most iconic DC heroes of all time -- Batman. Ennis and Liam Sharp's DC Black Label miniseries Batman: Reptilian will take a cynical look at the Dark Knight's way of handling injustice and how Bruce Wayne lives his life. The first issue of the new series introduces a menacing version of the Dark Knight on patrol in a particularly gruesome Gotham City.
Batman: Reptilian#1 begins with Batman confronting a prize-fighter on the rain-soaked steps of Gotham City's courthouse. The brutish man was found not guilty after evidence procured by the Dark Knight was determined to be inadmissible by a judge. The caped crusader goads his adversary into taking a swing at him and proceeds to beat him senselessly. Later, in the Batcave, Batman and Alfred learn that Scarecrow, the Mad Hatter, and an assortment of other criminals, have been found mutilated and in critical condition. The hero takes to the streets to investigate who the culprit is behind the attacks and learns that the Riddler and the Penguin met similar fates. It seems that someone or something is hunting Gotham's villains.
In Ennis's writing, Batman is an angry vigilante capable of great violence. This iteration of Bruce Wayne still has rules against murder, but he doesn't seem to have any qualms with torturing and maiming members of Gotham's underworld in the pursuit of justice. This cynical outlook is clearly a product of the seedy city he watches over. Crime appears to be a constant in this universe. Ennis doesn't give his hero a chance to relax. Batman goes from confronting a man who was allowed to go free due to a legal loophole, straight into investigating the brutal attacks on Scarecrow and the Mad Hatter. In fact, readers never see the Dark Knight out of costume in this first issue. This Gotham is equal parts unrelenting and unnerving, and in Ennis's hands, the city becomes the most important character.
Ennis's moody take on Gotham gives Liam Sharp the opportunity to experiment artistically. Sharp's art in Batman: Reptilian #1 has less in common with his previous work for DC than it does with Grant Morrison and Dave Mckean's Arkham Asylum or Bill Sienkiewicz's Stray Toasters. Sharp's Gotham is cast in what feels like permanent darkness illuminated only by the unyielding lights of traffic and an uncaring moon. Streetlights and shadows swim together across the faces of frightened hoodlums and caped crusaders alike to create a murky, mysterious atmosphere. On the rare occasions that Sharp does incorporate bright colors or well-lit scenes, he highlights the sick and deranged side of the world as if to explain why some of Gotham's citizens prefer to live in the shadows.
Garth Ennis and Liam Sharp deliver everything fans could want from a Batman comic in the first installment of their new series. Batman: Reptilian #1 features the familiar (while slightly more deranged in appearance) rogues gallery of villains, a sprawling cityscape and a mystery only the Dark Knight could solve. But, it also presents a unique interpretation of the classic hero and an alarmingly cynical view of Gotham. Both creators have maintained their unique aesthetic sensibilities even while working on one of DC's most well-known characters.
In Batman: Reptilian #1, Sharp's art is absolutely gorgeous and easy to get lost in and Ennis's compelling story will surely hook readers in to follow the Dark Knight in future issues.