Review: ‘Batman: Bad Seeds — Sunset’ Is A Loaded First Chapter

Line-wide Gotham crossovers were once a standard in DC Comics. They’re becoming more rare though. Lucky for us readers, Batman: Bad Seeds — Sunset brings back that tradition in style.

This kick-off one-shot has a great mixture of the different elements that make the Bat-titles great. It comes from Matt Fraction, G. Willow Wilson, Giuseppe Camuncoli, Cliff Rathburn, Tomeu Morey, and Clayton Cowles.

The plants have taken Gotham. After her alliance with Vandal Savage soured, Mayor Pamela Isley — Poison Ivy — has offered Gotham to the Parliament of Trees as payment for her crimes against them. Now, the Parliament is taking back Gotham and transforming it into a primal world where the plants rule. The Bat-family and their allies now have until sunrise to stop Ivy before the city is lost forever, and to prevent Vandal Savage from making the situation worse…

 

This is primarily a set-up one-shot, but it excels because of two things. The first is Wilson’s Ivy. The Poison Ivy series is one of DC’s breakout hits of the last decade, by far, and Wilson continues the progression of Ivy here. That’s not to say that it’s dense, though, as I’m years behind in reading Ivy’s series and felt like it was very easy to see where we are today.

But secondly, we have Fraction using Batman to set up all of the different tie-ins to come. While Bruce deduces what’s happening, analyzing it, and leaping into action, we see Batman acting as a leader and an inspiration. Fraction’s run on Batman has been about reestablishing the balance between Bruce and the Bat, and showing that his greatest power isn’t his competence but his humanity. Even the issue’s big action scene is an outgrowth of that. Batman gives up his current task to save two lives, and nearly loses his own until Killer Croc pays him back for the kindness Bruce showed back in Batman #1.

I forgot how much I’ve missed Camuncoli in superhero books. His work is clean and expressive, especially in tandem with Rathburn. (The duo are credited as “layout and finishes,” showing this is more than pencilling and inking.) They depict the quiet moments — like Tim Drake making dinner and Duke Thomas at his mother’s bedside — with just as much dynamism as Batman fighting the plant monster and Damian rocketing through Gotham on his motorcycle.

Morey comes in from the main Batman title to add visual consistency. His colors are always great, and this issue is no exception. I really enjoyed in this case how he showed the city descending into twilight as the issue progressed. It’s a small touch, but it added to both a sense of place and a sense of foreboding for the events to come.

Cowles does so much here too. It’s a dense issue, but never feels such. He relays information and dialogue clearly, without interrupting the flow of the story, but it never feels boring. He also balances the fun touches, like Ivy’s green word balloons and Croc’s growly dialogue, just right so it doesn’t stand out negatively.

Gotham has twelve hours to live. After this one shot, I’m on the edge of my seat for every minute.

Batman: Bad Seeds — Sunset is available now from DC Comics.