Batman Gotham By Gaslight: The Kryptonian Age #2 – Andy Diggle, Writer; Leandro Fernandez, Artist; Dave Stewart, Colorist
Ray – 9.5/10
Ray: Gotham By Gaslight was the first Elseworlds and one of the most ambitious – creating an entire alternate Victorian-era Gotham. The sequel now intends to do one better, creating an entire DCU set in this era. Superman is still off-panel here, but the Kryptonian Age of the title seems to be something else entirely – a mysterious ancient civilization from before modern man, where powerful warriors built a kingdom akin to Atlantis. That’s what Adam Strange is in search of, as the explorer hired by Bruce Wayne explores the Arctic – and discovers unexpected horror, and a very familiar warrior who may be either his deliverance or his doom. The creatures in this segment nicely call back to the work of Mike Mignola, who drew the original one-shot. But back in Gotham, Bruce has some very different concerns – surviving an assault by Talia Al Ghul and her army of assassins.
There is a lot going on in this issue, even more than the first issue, with Bruce barely surviving a massive attack on top a speeding train and trying to piece the puzzle together with Julie Madison back at the mansion. But my favorite subplot here had to be the one involving John Constantine – here an eccentric spiritual advisor to Queen Victoria, who is unamused by her antics, especially when he breaks into the castle to warn her of a coming catastrophe. His brashness earned him a meeting with the hangman – which turns out to be a feint to allow him to be legally dead and now fully deputized by the crown to investigate these spiritual matters. It’s a perfect role for Constantine, who comes off even more gloriously unhinged in the 19th century than he does in the modern day. This is a maxi-series, unlike the previous two one-shots, which is good – because there is a lot of story to explore here.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
