Batman: Gotham Knights - Gilded City

Batman: Gotham Knights - Gilded City #1-6

by Evan Narcisse (Writer), Abel (Illustrator)

Gotham Knights – Gilded City is an incredible collection that serves as a thrilling prequel to the Gotham Knights game, written by Evan Narcisse and illustrated by Abel!

A mysterious virus has infected Gotham City--turning its victims into rabid, yellow-irised maniacs driven to looting, theft, and bursts of anger. Batman and his Gotham Knights struggle to keep this strange virus contained while investigating its origins. But this is not the first time this unusual illness has overtaken the city.

Take a trip to Gotham in the mid-1800s and meet the city's first masked vigilante—the mysterious hero known only as the Runaway—as they, too, find themselves mired in the mystery of this infection! This thrilling and horrific tale, split between modern-day Gotham and the Gotham of 1847, leads directly into the upcoming video game Gotham Knights!

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Batman, Dc Comics, Superheroes, Graphic Novels Comics

144 pages, Hardcover

First published July 25, 2023

Reviews

[Nymphe · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a better story, then I expected it to be. I loved the fun little Batfamily moments and really enjoyed the fight scenes.

The story wasn't anything special, but it worked really well with the premises of more in the game. I was just glad that every character got it's screentime.

[Mollie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The art, the tie ins with the game, the plot and of course the Court, I loved it all! 10/0

[Martys · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ciag dalszy w grze rycerze Gotham?? Bitch???

[sassafrass · Rating 5 out of 5]

the writers just understand me and what i want from batfam content

[drown_like_its_1999 · Rating 2 out of 5]

This video game prequel sees the Bat-family trying to curb an outbreak of a strange virus driving Gotham's citizens into an obsessive furvor. This modern day conflict is interwoven with a story extrapolating on the virus origins, set in a Gotham from the 1800s where nefarious groups like the Court of Owls look to establish a firm grasp on the levers of the fledgeling new city.

The plot here is rather forgettable but some of the set pieces and characterization are pretty good. That being said the end result is pretty middling and the connective tissue between the two parallel settings feels tenuous at best. The art is serviceable and has some good action but neither elevates the experience.

[this_eel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This run has a few good things going for it, including historical lesbians, Dick kicking Bruce in the face, and Jason having a brief period of time where he forgets he's no longer doing vengeance against Batman. There's a pretty fun historical superhero as well, a former enslaved person whose main motivation is freeing other people. (How well that's carried out is a little outside my range, but I like the character.) The art is nice, and honestly it's kind of exciting for them to rummage around in the deep bag of DC villains and pull out VANDAL SAVAGE of all people.

As a tie-in/prelude to Gotham Knights the video game, it stands alone enough that not playing the game won't hurt your understanding of the comic, and not reading the comic won't hurt your understanding of the game. The main throughline is the Court of Owls, and how much do you ever really need to understand about the Court of Owls to understand all there is to know about the Court of Owls? They will try to trick you into thinking these guys are complicated, but really the only deep thing about the Court of Owls is the murder holes they're always living in.

The plot of Gilded City, which ties together one storyline in 1847 and one in the present day, leaves something to be desired. There's some confusion (to me, anyway) about whether there are two different contaminants that cause the same wild reaction in the public, happening consecutively? The first one seems to be tied to Scarecrow's fear toxin, and maybe this is just a me thing (it's a me thing) but I think it would have been nice if, having spent a fairly long time with the modded fear toxin and Scarecrow's goons, we had any of Scarecrow himself on the page? Instead it shrugs him off as being in prison and therefore irrelevant, which is IMO too bad and very sad.

The second contaminant is a virus that makes people's eyes turn yellow and "pursue their deepest desires" which mostly seems to mean stealing things and attacking people. Cynical. It's caused by [spoiler that is not fear toxin]. I'm not sure why both of these things needed to happen...or either of them, actually. None of this solves the problem it is supposed to solve for the person who has caused it, and in the meantime we have to cope with the word FOMO being used dozens of times in 2023. (I'll give Golden Iris Virus a pass because this IS a comic book).

I enjoyed this a bunch, despite its weak points, and I will probably read it more times just for the Bat Dynamics.

[Yoshiro · Rating 3 out of 5]

POPKulturowy Kociołek:

https://popkulturowykociolek.pl/batma...

Miasto Gotham nigdy nie było najbezpieczniejszym miejscem na Ziemi. Teraz jednak metropolia pogrąża się w czystym szaleństwie. Wszystko przez tajemniczy wirus, który zamienia zwykłych ludzi w opętanych przestępców niszczących mienie, rabujących sklepy i napadających na niewinnych mieszkańców. W całym tym chaosie Batman i tytułowi Rycerze Gotham mają ręce pełne roboty. Muszą oni nie tylko powstrzymać szerzenie się „zarazy”, ale również odkryć jej źródło. Okazuje się, że choroba nawiedziła miasto już w przeszłości. Czy informacja ta pozwoli bohaterom zażegnać kryzys i uratować Gotham?

Jak zostało to już wspomniane komiks Batman. Rycerze Gotham: Pozłacane miasto stanowi wstęp do gry, która ukazała się na komputerach i konsolach nowej generacji w październiku zeszłego roku. Jest to jednak na tyle samodzielna pozycja, że nie zagranie w grę nie zaszkodzi zrozumieniu komiksu i nieprzeczytanie komiksu nie zaszkodzi zrozumieniu gry. Evan Narcisse stworzył więc dzieło, po które może sięgnąć każdy, o ile jest fanem superbohaterskiej rozrywki. Tytuł jest bowiem bardzo typowym przedstawicielem gatunku, od którego nie można oczekiwać niczego nadzwyczajnego poza zapewnieniem dużej dawki widowiskowości.

Historia przedstawiona w albumie toczy się dwutorowo. Z jednej strony obserwujemy wydarzenia bieżące i starania Batmana opanowania szerzącego się chaosu, z drugiej zaś przeplatane są one licznymi retrospekcjami. Widzimy w nich miasto z roku 1874, kiedy to inny zamaskowany bohater również stara się wyjaśnić zagadkę tajemniczego wirusa. Zabawa różną perspektywą czasu jest ciekawa i potrafi przykuć uwagę czytelnika. Sama intryga jest nieźle skrojona, opiera się ona jednak na znanych schematach, a przez to szybko staje się przewidywalna. Większych zastrzeżeń nie można mieć również do samych postaci, chociaż one w niektórych scenach mogłyby być o wiele bardziej złożone.

Odbiór całości psuje niestety problem z tempem prezentacji fabuły. W jednym momencie autor skupia się na mocnej akcji, tak aby z każdego kadru wylewała się adrenalina. Chwilę później zdecydowanie za mocno zwalnia on całość scenariusza, do tego stopnia, że momentami robi się on wręcz usypiający. Na całe szczęście sam album nie jest nazbyt obszerny, więc przez takie sceny idzie stosunkowo szybko przebrnąć....

[Krzysztof Grabowski · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ubiegłoroczna premiera Gotham Knights to doskonała okazja, aby na franczyzie Batmana nabić kilka innych punktów, w tym przypadku wydać tzw. komiks towarzyszący. Komiks, który jest tak przeciętny i oparty na kliszach, że wszystko co się tu działo, było mi w zasadzie obojętne.

Mamy Gotham, w którym ktoś uwolnił wirus, który sprawia, że normalni mieszkańcy stają się agresywni i atakują innych ludzi, przez co dochodzi do rozlewu krwi. Batman i spółka szukają leku i winnego, a my tymczasem cofamy się do XIX-wieku, gdzie tajemniczy bohater musi sprzymierzyć się z nieoczekiwanym sprzymierzeńcem, aby stawić czoła tajemnej organizacji, która ma być w posiadaniu pewnego artefaktu, na którym zależy sojusznikowi. W dodatku przeszłość zdaje się kluczowo łączyć z aktualnymi wydarzeniami.

Akcja co nieraz skacze dwutorowo, przez co wybija to rytm prowadzonej historii, mieszając różne tempa rozrywki, co jest dziwnym zagraniem. Moim największym zarzutem jest wtórność/nijakość omawianego tytułu. Nie jest to kategorycznie złe, ale też nic nie wnosi, nawet względem gry (przykładem jak to robić dobrze, jest chociażby seria wydawana przy innej grze Injustice - tu o takim poziomie można pomarzyć).

Bardzo przeciętny elseworld. Dla nowych czytelników, bo stary wyjadacz, który zjadł zęby na franczyzie nie znajdzie tu nic ciekawego.

[holly rose · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wow, this just made me sad. I go a year deprived of comic books and thrilled to be able to read one again and the first one I read is butt awful. I mean, the plot sucked and was way too rushed, there was no time for the characters to do anything other than fight, and the ending was trash. I felt like I was being dragged through endless sewer muck. If this were a novel, I would not have finished it, but since it was a comic I fought through just so I could put it towards my reading challenge. But ugh, I did not enjoy it one bit. Which is also sad because I really enjoyed the Gotham Knights video game! There was a way better plot, structure, and character spotlights in that game. At least I was the first person to reserve it at the library so I got the game codes lol

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm so dumb I was unaware that this was a video game related title.

Regardless, I liked the premise that Narcisse creates here. Not so much the manufactured plague affecting people's minds, and that this man made disease traces back to 1847 Gotham.

What I enjoyed, some nerd love here I guess, is the Zorro like character who appeared in Gotham in 1847 protecting freed slaves, and free people of color from the corrupt businessmen and city officials.

Yep, definitely enjoyed The Runaway's whole Zorro vibe.

[Ross · Rating 3 out of 5]

Welcome to the world of Batman videogame tie-ins..

This one is just 'meh.'

It's not bad. It's not good. It....just....is. If you find it in the dollar bin, it's not a bad deal. I can't say that this will be any sort of memorable in the long term. (Does anybody even play the much lauded 'Gotham Knights' now, halfway through 2023?)

Bonus: There's no Damian in this videogame universe. Sad panda.
Bonus Bonus: There's a MarySue in this series. Hmmm...

[Robert · Rating 1 out of 5]

Taking a tar brush to the founding families of Gotham and labeling them racist (they've always been greedy) was bad enough. Inserting a black and gay and nigh-immortal superduper hero into Gotham who has conveniently not been seen or heard of for 180 years is the most Mary Sue of Mary Sues and deserves all the scorn.

[Liv · Rating 4 out of 5]

Obviously I’m a Batman apologist so I typically enjoy these one-off’s but I still didn’t expect to like it as much as I did. The Runaway is incredible. I want more of their adventures! I loved that storyline and Portia and Vivien.

Also STOP DRAWING BATGIRL IN HEELS!!!!! It’s ridiculous and sexist and would be so impractical during a mission.

[Carly · Rating 3 out of 5]

When will DC realize that we're all tired of Red Hood going through the same thing over and over again. They really couldn't think of a better use of Red Hoods character??

The 1847 storyline was also kinda bleh. I didn't care much for it.

I've played some of the game and really enjoyed it. I'm curious how/if anything in this story will appear.

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

An OK prequel to the Gotham Knights video game. It takes place now and 150 years ago with both eras fighting a manmade virus plaguing Gotham. This version of Batman has no Damian but Tim as Robin along with Batgirl, Red Hood and Nightwing.

[Dominic · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gosh, I really wanted to like this more than I did. The ending was kinda cool, I guess. And great art as always. I'm not sure I'll play the game this leads into, but it was a relatively fun miniseries.

[Doug Mason · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hope the game is better than this prequel graphic novels, whg was we constantly rewrite Gothams background, hopefully this isn't considered Canon
WhAt an awful mess and waste of time to least i didn't buy it got it from library

[Sam Nicholson · Rating 4 out of 5]

7/10

[Alyssa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cool, cool. This is a prequel comic for a video game that is available only on consoles I don't own. Cool, great.

[Olivia Rivera · Rating 2 out of 5]

Anyone else kinda bored by this comic it just felt like what every other batman family team up is im suprised that there wasnt some varient of scarecrow gas involved haha

[Nicolas · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a very engaging Bat-Family story, and also not much of a lead up to the game. Not really sure what they were going for here.

[John Reimer · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice little read about the importance of family.

[Fazun · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5/5

[Kris Wolfe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was pleasantly surprised by the reveal of the Runaway character but the story overall is highly forgettable. Cosmetics for the game are definitely great though

[Keegan Schueler · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very unnecessary story and adds quite literally nothing to the game.

[David Runyon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Better than I expected.

[JJ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Batman: Gotham Knights - Gilded City feels a bit messy. It ties into the Gotham Knights game, giving players a look at the four Bat Family heroes working together with Batman, but it also introduces a whole new time period and cast of characters. There's a lot happening in these six issues, and it leads to a rushed narrative that does little to illuminate the story of the game or tell its own gripping tale.

First and foremost for me, Gilded City is an opportunity to see Batman, Robin, Nightwing, Batgirl, and Red Hood all working together before the events of the opening of the Gotham Knights game. Unfortunately, they don't spend much time all together and none of them really get enough time in the spotlight to feel like you're getting to know them better. Batman doesn't stand out much from other incarnations of the character, and while I got the sense that one of the "ideas" of the story is that relationships between the characters are a bit fractured, we don't see much of the hows and whys.

Nightwing and Red Hood, for example, are a bit angry with Batman at the start of the series. But it's never entirely clear where that anger is coming from, and it's swept under the rug once we get the requisite splash pages and covers that make it look like they'll come to blows.

The rest of the plot doesn't really do as much as I would have liked to tie in to the story of the game. There's some sort of "FOMO" disease that makes people riot, and it ties in to something similar that happened in the 1840s in Gotham City. The problem is that none of the investigation in the modern day is interesting whatsoever, it's just page after page of seeing these characters fighting rioters and other goons.

The real focus of Evan Narcisse is obviously the 1840s plot featuring a new shadowy protector of escaped slaves and free Black people called The Runaway. (To the degree that I'd believe Narcisse wanted to just write this one and was told "you can do it, but only if you make it a Batman tie-in story".) The investigations here are more interesting because we get to see what Gotham's elite families were doing in this time period, but unfortunately too much of the story is spent trying to make us care about two characters that just never captured my attention. There are a couple interesting revelations in the 1840s though about the group that's really behind the disease and what other random DC Comics villain it also ties in to, but the character work is just uniformly bad in the series in a way that no plot developments can make up for.

The art is nicely stylized in a way that works with the look of the Gotham Knights game, but it is all very brown. Nothing pops off the page, and the combination of being a bit cartoony and looking brown doesn't really fit well. There are also too many scenes where it's hard to tell who is talking, either because you only see glimpses of characters from far away or because there are just text bubbles in radio conversations with no associated character until subsequent panels. (The panel with the text focuses on the listener rather than the speaker, and the speaker doesn't say anything to disclose themselves. This works if it's supposed to be a mystery, but disrupts the flow of regular conversations.) There is also a small cover gallery and one sketch -- the covers are by far the best art on display here.

Overall, Gilded City is not a worthy addition to the large assortment of available Batman comics -- tie-ins or otherwise. It won't shed much light on the story of Gotham Knights, and it doesn't tell a compelling Batman story in its own right. It does include a code for some extra weapons and costumes for the game though, so I suppose you could pick it up and consider it some cosmetic DLC with a mediocre comic tossed in as well.