Review: Batman- The Black Mirror

Quick Summary

Pros: The entire volume is tense and has great moments to show off Batman as a crimefighter. The book’s main villain is excellent and the story arc surrounding this villain has a wonderful progression. The entire volume brings in some thought provoking themes. All of the artwork looks fantastic and enhances the reading experience.

Cons: Nothing significant.

Overall: This is an amazing Batman comic. It has well-written tension, great characters, fun action, and a conclusion that satisfies in nearly every regard. All of this is further backed up by a narrative that remains compelling all the way through and by artwork that enhances the story. Anyone looking for a Batman book about tension and uncertainty should absolutely read this collection.

Story

Writer Scott Snyder begins his lengthy run on Batman with a simply stunning opening volume. Batman: The Black Mirror contains several exciting Detective Comics stories that play into the Dark Knight’s strengths. While this is happening, an even larger narrative is being built in the background. This larger narrative is a thrill-ride of suspense that keeps the reader in a tremendously entertaining area of uncertainty. Then, as the conclusion comes around, thought-provoking themes become apparent and lose ends are tied up well. The entire volume is enjoyable and is something any reader can have fun with.

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The Black Mirror contains several exciting storylines. The opening chapters have Batman facing off against a criminal dealing weapons and artifacts to other criminals. It is a look at how dark Gotham can be and how depraved its underground is, a point punctuated when Batman sees villains bidding over the crowbar used to kill Jason Todd.

Later on, the book has Batman facing off against smaller criminals in order to protect the daughter of the man who killed his parents. It is an exciting bout of action that has Batman creatively outsmarting his enemies, thus showing off what an amazing crimefighter Batman can be. Plus, it has a unique twist at the end, as the reader discovers the woman Batman was protecting may have had some ulterior motives behind her actions.

However, the main draw in The Black Mirror is the portion of the narrative dealing with James Gordon Jr. The opening chapters immediately alert the reader that something isn’t right but constantly have them doubting this assertion. They see his actions from the past and present, yet never seem him actually do anything wrong. I particularly enjoyed one scene where there are constantly hints that James just killed someone in the bathroom, slowly building tension during an already tense conversation, yet it turns out that he didn’t do anything.

All of this setup makes it even more mind-blowing when it is finally revealed that James is the villain everyone thought he was. Suddenly, everything clicks into place and all of the unanswered questions receive an answer. This leads to several amazing confrontations between James and the people around him, including an excellently written one between him and his sister. It also leads to an immensely satisfying conclusion, when James is finally brought to justice for his decades of terror.

The James Gordon Jr. story arc also brings in a number of interesting themes and questions. At the core of this story is a tragic tale about an evil child. Commissioner Gordon is one of Gotham’s most upstanding citizens, his son may be one of its most disgusting villains. Their story captures a terrifying aspect of parenting; that no matter how “good” a parent might be, their child could still turn out “bad”. Alongside this are questions regarding the point of morality and if good is truly greater than evil. These aspects of the book add a thought-provoking quality to an intense reading experience.

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Art

Batman: The Black Mirror is drawn by two of the best Batman artist out there. Both Jock and Francesco Francavilla present detailed work where all of the characters and locations look consistently beautiful. Their work is well-structured and appears refined in most places.

However, what really makes the artwork here so satisfying is the way both artists’ styles are utilized. Jock’s work helps make action-centric chapters more exciting. His depictions of Batman leaping off a building or taking on a villain make it seem like the Dark Knight is capable of anything. Meanwhile, Francesco Francavilla’s work helps make tension-centric chapters more suspenseful. His unnerving depictions of the book’s villains add to the uncertainty and, at some points, just look plain creepy. Throughout this book, art styles are used in a way that adds to the reading experience and make this a better volume.

Continuity

Batman: The Black Mirror follows the events of the Batman: Imposters story arc. However, since this volume kicks off a new writer’s run on the character, it is a good starting point for new readers.

This Detective Comics series ends with this volume. A new Detective Comics series starts with Detective Comics Vol. 1: Faces of Death (Review). Scott Snyder’s run on Batman continues in Batman: Gates of Gotham and then in Batman Vol. 1: The Court of Owls (Review).

This volume also references other comic books, detailed below:

• The beginning of the volume mentions a number of recent events in the history of Batman.
  • Bruce Wayne “died” during Batman: R.I.P., which was a part of the Final Crisis event.
  • Dick Grayson took over the role of Batman in Batman: Battle for the Cowl.
  • Dick worked with Damian, in Bruce’s absence, throughout the Batman and Robin series. This series began with Batman and Robin Vol. 1: Batman Reborn.
  • Bruce Wayne reappeared at the conclusion of Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne.
  • The “Batman Incorporated” project starts through the Batman Incorporated series.
• Barbara Gordon’s history with the Joker is explained in Batman: The Killing Joke.
• Some references are made to an earthquake hitting Gotham at some point in the past. This happened in Batman: Shadow of the Bat #73, the first part of the Batman: Cataclysm storyline.
• The item auctioned off, from Lebanon, was used in Batman #427, part of the Batman: A Death in the Family story arc.
• Many references are made to a “fall” affecting James Gordon Jr. This “fall” took place in Batman #407, part of Batman: Year One.