Review – ‘Batman: Reptilian’ #3 Delivers Up A Darker, More Cynical Batman

In Batman: Reptilian #3 Garth Ennis and Liam Sharp continue to deliver a crusading knight much darker in temperament than other reiterations by other creators and one who show little remorse for the criminal corpses mounting up quite considerably. With so many of his former rogues gone the way of the dodo, it’s the Joker’s turn to be targeted.

As with run on The Green Lantern, Sharp evokes the art styles of comic book masters part and present into his unmistakable style with this Batman being a far cry from the Batman of his The Brave and the Bold series. This Dark Knight is infused with hints of Dave McKean and Bill Sienkiewicz to deliver suitably Gothic vigilante surrounded by similarly Gothic architecture and characters.

Ennis’ script is lean but there are still gems to be found. The relationship Batman has with Alfred in this reality, for instance, is a more cynically toned one. But then this is a grimmer world than the mainstream DCU, so relationships match the context well. This is a Gotham City that’s swamped in dull, swampy colours, but even in this fog the Joker makes his presence felt in a burst of colours.

It’s a thin story, really, but in many ways that only gives Sharp the chance to produce amazing, unconstrained painted art on a large scale to better set the tone of this mature-readers’ title. A series that will be remembered for the art maybe more than the story in years to come?

Batman: Reptilian #3 is out now from DC Comics/DC Black Label