Batman: The Imposter
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- USD 2.99
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- USD 2.99
Publisher Description
Bruce Wayne�s mission as the Batman has only been under way for a year or so, but he can tell he�s making a difference. Unfortunately, he�s made some powerful enemies. All the traditional power brokers of Gotham resent the disruption the Batman has brought to town�and it seems one of them has a plan to neutralize him. There�s a second Batman haunting Gotham�s rooftops and alleys-and this one has no qualms about murdering criminals, live and on tape. With the entire might of the Gotham City Police Department and Gotham�s rich and powerful coming down on his head, Batman must find this imposter and somehow clear his name�but how can you prove your innocence from behind a mask?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Screenwriter Tomlin (Mother/Android) presents in this standalone a vulnerable, grounded version of the caped crusader, which lays bare the psychological damage that drives and defines him—and owes significant debt to Frank Miller's Batman: Year One. The plot is straightforward: an imposter wearing Batman's costume is killing criminals, and Batman needs to solve the mystery. But unlike most superhero adventures, it's not certain he'll escape alive. Tomlin also takes the familiar aspects of the mythology and twists them into something alien and hostile. In this version of Gotham City, Commissioner Gordon is in exile and butler Alfred, unable to handle young Bruce Wayne's violent rages after his parents' murder, abandons the boy to a boarding school in Moscow. The result is a lonely hero born of isolation, and Sorrentino's inky artwork, reminiscent of Jae Lee's, creates a gritty ambiance. Tomlin also strips away Batman's mystique by detailing his theater: Batman may look like a giant bat soaring through Gotham, but in fact he uses a series of zip lines strung up across skyscrapers and a network of black motorcycles hidden in alleyways. But Batman's personality largely manifests in a checklist of diagnoses described by a psychiatrist; it's literally a clinical approach. Fans will still dig this strange and nightmarish take on the quintessential super-vigilante.
