Webcomic Weekly — Unofficial Batman Goodness From Colin Craker And ‘Batman: Deep Sleep’
by Richard Bruton
Webcomic Weekly, where we continue to redefine the word ‘weekly’ with style! Basically, it’s great webcomics for you to discover, published on a ridiculously loose schedule… this week, unofficial Batman greatness from Colin Craker…
There’s a long history of unofficial comics featuring big properties, whether it’s Tintin, Mickey Mouse, Supes, Judge Dredd, Akira, or many more, the lure for an artist is simple – they know they’re not going to get the chance to do this one story featuring a big name character they’ve always had an itch to do and so they chance it, putting out the work in the hopes they’ll get a) noticed and b) not sued.
And so often, the work is actually bloody awful. It is. There’s often a reason they’re not working on whatever character they’ve decided to take on. Other times, it’s deliberately out there and far beyond anything the big company would ever put out. But occasionally, just occasionally, one of them comes along that isn’t just good but could well be published as is.
So, to that small but exclusive club, welcome Colin Craker, an Irish artist who gives you his take on the Bat… and a very good one it is too. A Mr Freeze tale that begins with the theft of fear-inducing chemicals in a moody and dark Gotham…
The whole thing, cover included, is just 12 pages long, but it’s a great little tale of the Bat, and I do particularly like Craker’s artistic style here, making fine, fine use of the darkness to do some very evocative Bats at night shots.
No massive fight scenes, no big events in here, just 11 pages of comics of Batman doing his whole Dark Knight Detective and tracking down Mr Freeze for a low-key, and rather sweet, ending.
All in all, very very impressive – who knows, maybe DC will come a calling for Colin after this? But DC Comics, please see this for what it is, a love letter from a talented fan, and don’t sue!
Colin’s the creator of The Agency Case Files, recently fully funded on Kickstarter and artist for Oxventure in the Dark. You can find him on Twitter and Artstation.
