Each Friday, we'll be letting a different DC.com writer share what they'll be reading over the weekend and why you might want to check it out. Here's this week's suggestion for a perfect Weekend Escape!
Batman fans have a good problem on their hands these days, as they try to figure out which comic they like more: Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta’s buzzy Absolute Batman or the Caped Crusader’s recently relaunched flagship by Matt Fraction and Jorge Jiménez. Both are outstanding ongoing monthly books in their own different ways. But if the Joker or Penguin held a gun to my head and made me choose, well, I might have to go with Fraction and Jiménez’s series, the first collected volume of which—Daylight (gathering its first six issues)—offers the perfect entry point for readers looking for a supremely satisfying 21st century continuation of Bruce Wayne’s adventures.
The Premise:
Batman: Daylight finds Bruce Wayne and his Robins tussling with the GCPD, now controlled by newly appointed Police Commissioner Vandal Savage. Savage doesn’t play coy when it comes to eliminating the Caped Crusader, and it isn’t long before he’s declared Batman a public enemy. As the book starts, Jim Gordon has been demoted to beat cop and Harvey Bullock is operating his own private detective agency. But rather than succumb to the darkness surrounding him, Batman dons the bright color scheme he wore for most of his career—blue and gray—and operates from the shadows with the aid of a network of devoted and capable allies.
Lest anyone fear we’d be without Alfred after his recent tragic passing, he remains present—dry wit and all—as a helpful hologram Bruce consults. Daylight also introduces Dr. Annika Zeller, a bespectacled neuroscientist working for Wayne Enterprises at Arkham Towers on an mission to treat Gotham’s criminally insane. (She’s also an intriguing potential new love interest for Bruce Wayne.) Meanwhile, a ruthless new mastermind, the Minotaur, partners with Savage and seizes control of Gotham’s underworld.
Let’s Talk Talent:
Writer Matt Fraction has been writing comics for so long—with creator-owned Eisner Award winners like Sex Criminals, MCU-inspiring Marvel books like Hawkeye and his acclaimed DC debut Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen: Who Killed Jimmy Olsen?—he has nothing left to prove. But he scripts Daylight with the abandon of someone who just discovered the magic of superheroes and the steady confidence of a seasoned professional. He trots out favorite foes like Killer Croc, the Riddler and Hugo Strange and introduces new ones like the Ōjō (aka Lady Death Man), a dual-sword wielding assassin, with equal aplomb.
Jorge Jiménez’s work here is a fine wine, with hints of Lee Weeks, Skottie Young, Klaus Janson, Chris Bachalo and Jim Lee. Yet it’s wholly the artist’s own, fulfilling the promise Jiménez demonstrated on Super Sons and topping his earlier Batman work with James Tynion and Chip Zdarsky.
A Few Reasons to Read:
- Daylight doesn’t take itself too seriously or present a grand thesis statement on the meaning of Batman. Instead, it gives readers a fun, propulsive page-turner. Though we’ve seen plenty of criminal masterminds try to take over Gotham, Daylight feels fresh in that it allows its plot to develop slowly, while foregrounding a different action-oriented tale within each issue.
- There’s some nice character growth on display here too. Not only for Bruce Wayne—who falls for the charms of a nerdy scientist (not his usual type)—but also Robins Tim Drake and Damian Wayne concerning their future with Batman…
- Fraction is unafraid to tackle issues like police brutality and political repression, but he never preaches. He’s an organic writer, who lets real world events inform his work rather than dictate it.
- Fraction and Jiménez make us fall in love with Batman’s tech all over again. They highlight each new gadget with the sort of pop-up panel Fraction’s Hawkeye made famous.
- And can we talk about Gotham City in this book? Jiménez doesn’t dwell on the town’s gloom, but in one thrilling layout after another, he makes Gotham a living, vibrant, vital, compelling city, reminiscent of our world but pushed just far enough into the fantastic to suit the story.
Why It’s Worth Your Time:
Even fans who feel like they’ve overdosed on Batman of late will find themselves falling hard for Fraction and Jiménez’s Daylight, while new readers—or those fans who haven’t kept up—will have a great time with a book that doesn’t require any homework. The fact that this is just one of two current ongoing Batman titles (alongside Absolute Batman) that are perfect for new and old readers means a Bat renaissance is very much at hand—one that can be enjoyed by all visitors to Gotham.
Batman Vol. 1: Daylight by Matt Fraction, Jorge Jiménez and Tomeu Morey is available in bookstores, comic shops, libraries and digital retailers as a hardcover and softcover graphic novel. It can also be read in full on DC UNIVERSE INFINITE.
Joseph McCabe writes about comics, film and superhero history for DC.com. Follow him on Instagram at @joe_mccabe_editor.
NOTE: The views and opinions expressed in this feature are solely those of Joseph McCabe and do not necessarily reflect those of DC or Warner Bros. Discovery, nor should they be read as confirmation or denial of future DC plans.
