Batman Beyond 2.0 #1 Review
‘Rewired 1 of 8’
A review by Jake Morris.
Batman Beyond 2.0 sees a somewhat relaunch in the futuristic run on Batman and Terry McGinnis. The two creators given such a task are Kyle Higgins and Thony Silas, the former being the writer of Nightwing since DC rebooted their line. So how does this new weekly digital first from DC hold up among the many Bat books already being published on a monthly basis?
The issue begins a year after the 10,000 Clowns arc that featured in the previous iteration of the series. Although this issue carries on from that, it does not feel as if you had to have read those previous volumes in order to follow the story right away. I myself, had not been following those issues and felt perfectly comfortable from the get-go.
We start with the current mayor of Gotham introducing the newly built ‘Arkham Institute’ a facility aimed at rehabilitating the insane and psychotic criminals that plague Gotham’s streets. Their intention being focusing on psychotherapy to help these criminals from committing more crime. I know what you are thinking… This never works. But it is a fresh change from the overexposed Arkham we have seen in recent years.
After some chaos ensues and some creepy chanting from the inmates, Terry enters the picture, mid scuffle with a Man Bat. I found myself enjoying the blend of Timm-universe style art and the over use of sound effects that instantly made me think of the fun Adam West Batman. This made the action look like Beyond of old but had a nice spin on it that should be credited to Silas’ art. I also always appreciate the work by a writer when dialogue is choppy while in combat and Higgins conveys this well as Terry converses with a yet unseen partner through comms.
We are introduced to a familiar but fairly elderly face and that should be sure to put a smile on any Batman fan, especially those who are fans of the supporting members of the Bat family. As well as all of the action going on and the constant switches in focus, we get a moment between Terry and his ex-girlfriend. The pacing however, should be applauded as Higgins balances all of these events brilliantly in the short page space he is granted.
In conclusion, this book is a truly welcome addition to not only DC’s digital line but the Batman category of books in which they currently put out. A stellar first issue that should have fans of the Beyond animated series grinning throughout, and a book that I for one, look forward to checking out each week.
5/5
Writer: Kyle Higgins
Artist: Thony Silas
Colourist: Andrew Elder
Letterer: Saida Temofonte
Cover Art: Sean Murphy & Jordi Bellaire
Jake is a contributing writer for Drunk On Comics. You can follow him on Twitter at @JakeUtd.