Batman: Black and White (2020) #1

Batman: Black and White (2020) (Single Issues) #1

by James Tynion IV, Paul Dini, Emma Ríos

The iconic anthology series returns with a brand-new slate of comics’ most exciting and innovative storytellers to explore the Batman mythos in stark black-and-white!
In this debut issue:
• James Tynion IV and Tradd Moore explore the world of Ra’s al Ghul and the League of Assassins
• J.H. Williams III returns to DC Comics for a trip through the Dark Knight’s history
• Emma Rios explores the eternal struggle of the Dark Knight
• Paul Dini and Andy Kubert pit Batman against an infestation of ninja Man-Bats in the Batcave
• G. Willow Wilson and Greg Smallwood portray Batman in his strangest standoff ever with Killer Croc
With a lineup this strong and a cover by legendary Batman artist Greg Capullo, you won’t want to miss the start of this tremendous collection of Batman tales by some of comics’ top creators!

Genres: Comics, Batman, Dc Comics

46 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 8, 2020

About the author

Prior to his first professional work, Tynion was a student of Scott Snyder's at Sarah Lawrence College. A few years later, he worked as for Vertigo as Fables editor Shelly Bond's intern. In late 2011, with DC deciding to give Batman (written by Snyder) a back up feature, Tynion was brought in by request of Snyder to script the back ups he had plotted. Tynion would later do the same with the Batman Annual #1, which was also co-plotted by Snyder. Beginning in September 2012, with DC's 0 issue month for the New 52, Tynion will be writing Talon, with art by Guillem March. In early 2013 it was announced that he'd take over writing duties for Red Hood and the Outlaws in April.

Tynion is also currently one of the writers in a rotating team in the weekly Batman Eternal series.

Reviews

[Sam Quixote · Rating 2 out of 5]

Batman: Black and White, DC’s award-winning Batman anthology title, returns for a new run since its last seven years ago. And this first issue is… meh, kinda crap!

A League of Shadows ninja tries to punch Batman; the coronavirus hits Gotham; some Manbat ninjas invade the Batcave; an experience from a Lazarus Pit; and Killer Croc takes a young woman hostage - or does he?

The stories aren’t any good, despite the pedigree of some of the writers like Paul Dini and G.Willow Wilson - they’re all forgettable, boring, unimaginative, and pointless. The coronavirus story is simply about Batman wearing a mask (over his regular mask)! The ones written by artists - JH Williams III and Emma Rios - read like bad poetry. Williams: “The only fight I have now is wrestling with ghosts of madness haunting me like a fever dream.” Rios: “I’ll walk these bones so others don’t meet themselves rotting.” Uh… huh.

The art is mostly great though. Despite their bad writing both Williams and Rios draw the best-looking pages in this comic. I especially liked how, in Williams’ story, Martha Wayne’s pearls were used as speech bubbles on the splash pages before morphing into COVID-19 particles. Greg Smallwood’s pages on the Killer Croc story are brilliant too - I’d love to see him draw a regular Batman comic. The Greg Capullo cover and Dexter Soy pinup were both awesome too.

I normally love Tradd Moore’s art, and it’s not terrible here, but he draws Batman as if he’s made out of jelly, which is a bizarre choice. Maybe it’s to show how fluid his movements are or the warped perspective of the ninja narrator but it just looked silly - like Zoidberg without his shell!

Also the full page bios of all the creators is unnecessary filler - like they’re there so DC doesn’t have to pay for an additional story to make up those pages.

Batman: Black and White #1 is an underwhelming start to this new run - this one really is as black and white as “art good, writing bad”!

[James DeSantis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some pretty decent tales, strongest being Rucka's and Willows, the rest were decent-okay. One really bad one with too much wording that took away from the gorgeous art. Overall, decent collection but nothing to write home about.

[RG · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some ok stories within but mostly meh. Wouldn't rush out to get this

[Matty Dub · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredibly presented, this short story collection is filled with amazing stories and art!

[Karo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love these books cuz they're sort of testing grounds for writers and artists, which can make some interesting combinations. The ones that stand out are short stories by G. Willow Wilson and Greg Smallwood, and James Tynion and Tradd Moore. The latter combination making one of the best Batman short stories I've read. It's a gorgeous piece of work, and Tradd Moore's art is a joy to behold

[Tomas Elke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not exactly what I was hoping for. It's a collection of very stories featuring different writers and artists. The stories so far are little more than filler, and don't have much substance. Still, the art is good and I can appreciate the different takes and some of the chances some will take. I only hope the remaining books have a bit more story.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I forgot how fun these can be... and how hit or miss it ends up. Loved all the art, not crazy about Emma Rios.

Wow, have not seen JH Williams since Promethea. Definitely want to see more (but no Sandman)

[Jesse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yeah, good stuff. The JH Williams story that referenced Covid was interesting. The last story was possibly my favorite, Greg Smallwood's art was perfect. Emma Rios' had beautiful art. All of them were good in some way. I look forward to more.

[Sohan Surag · Rating 4 out of 5]

Always have loved this series for it's short chunks of Batman tales and the variety of glorious Black & White art. This one's a winner and will double dip and get it on trades and a possible Omni in the future.

[Sean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stories 1,2,3 were ok. Story 4 art was fine but words were not imho. Best one was story 5 with Killer Croc. Art and story were spot on with Killer Croc story, keen to read more from that creative team.

[Clint · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great art, stories are okay-ish. The Killer Croc story was the best.

[Rob S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's hard to recreate the magic of the past, but this mostly worked. The art is fantastic throughout. The scripts are relatively solid. Looking forward to #2.

[Metro Owlets · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely amazing stuff in here! Each one is a gem.

[Emilio Amaro · Rating 2 out of 5]

A few pages step up to the gimmick, most look better suited for a coloring book. $5.99 for bargain bin material, it’s gotta be DC.

[Carolina · Rating 4 out of 5]

It has a couple interesting reads, but patience is required if you actually want to enjoy it.

[Keith Mansell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was a bit confused with this one as the stories were very short.

[Benja Calderon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tynion se mete en la cabeza de uno de los tantos asesinos de la Liga de Asesinos de Ra's al Ghul con el dibujo impecable de Moore

J. H. Williams toma la contingencia y repasa el miedo

Dini se une a Kubert en una historia de Man-Bats ninja que nos recuerda un poco al inicio del run de Morrison en Batman, por allá en el 2006 (con el mismo Kubert en dibujos)

Emma Rios logra armar una historia que con mi nivel de ingles no terminé de entender, pero se ve bastante bien

Wilson con Smallwood traen un tópico clásico con el siempre bien querido Killer Croc

buen primer número, sumando y restando