Comic Review: Rasputin : Batman: Creature of the Night

Batman: Creature of the Night (2017-) #1 by Kurt Busiek

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I am a big fan of Busiek's Astro City work and heard good reviews on this so picking it up was a no brainer. This follows a similar Superman story he did which I must have missed.

I have picked up every Astro City from the beginning and needless to say I am a big fan. Although every writer who stick to a genre inevitably have the same pattern, the great ones still make it work, and I still very much enjoy Astro City.

I have not caught much of his non-Astro City work. There's not a whole lot but there are a few things I missed. I read Marvels but that has been over 20 years now and I read some of his Conan work, but I wasn't crazy about it (and that may not entirely be his fault).

This book has out of the world reviews, but to be honest, it is pretty special. Not to give too much away, it is about Bruce Wainwright, a kid with a Batman obsession, and his uncle Al Fredrick (Alfred, get it?). I will leave it there, but obvious there are going to be parallels.

One reviewer compared it to the old Elseworlds titles, and that is very right on. It is hard to say what role Batman will play in this, though my inkling is that he will figure in (I will leave it at that).

The art fits the story which is suitably grim and gritty. I saw a review call it Batman via Serpico. That's probably not too far off. I like the art in that it captures a certain vibe for the comic that was appropriate.

This has a heavy Astro City vibe, which is likely inevitable, but in a positive way. It doesn't feel out of place or inferior because of that. As the story draws on, it's hard to escape that comparison (especially as it told from multiple points of view and is looking backwards in time).

My only real complaint and it is minor is that this is a big book set out in four points, and towards the end it feels a bit stretched for a couple of pages just so that the book ends with a big finale. probably no way around that except to make the book shorter (and no one would want that), so it's a very minor quibble.

Well recommended for Busiek fans. I think everyone will like this one. It does sound a bit cheesy in description (Bruce Wain...wright), but it completely works.



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