[[“value”:”Gotham By Gaslight: The Kryptonian Age #4 cover, via DC Comics.
Batman Gotham By Gaslight: The Kryptonian Age #4 – Andy Diggle, Writer; Leandro Fernandez, Artist; Matt Hollingsworth, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: The biggest challenge of every Elseworlds is ambition, as they have a whole world to play with that is all theirs and it often takes a few spin-offs before we get the full picture. That’s definitely the case here, as the creative team is clearly having fun exploring all the strange corners of this Gothic-inspired world – with great success, even if this issue does feel like an anthology at points. Only a few of the subplots in this issue are ones we’ve followed at length before, including Wonder Woman and Adam Strange heading back to Gotham aboard a shipping vessel and Batman trying to get to the root of the people who smuggled assassins into Gotham. These segments are strong and really lean into the Lovecraftian aesthetic, but it’s hard for them to jockey for attention with so many other plotlines – especially since every single one of those new plotlines are highly compelling.
This issue is where our new main villain starts to emerge – Lex Luthor. It’s no surprise that this powerful industrialist makes a compelling foe here, as this is the age of the Robber Barons. His alliance with a dubious Victor Stone on some sort of strange metahuman experiment looks like an intriguing twist – one that will probably have unexpected consequences for Stone. Meanwhile, Alan Scott – here a con artist on a train – gets the ring of Jong Li from a traveling woman and starts his long, strange journey to becoming a hero. The biggest breakout of this issue, though, has got to be Lois Lane – here a muckraking journalist with the exact same irrepressible energy she brings to just about every other version of the character, even in a world less friendly to crusading women. There are so many great plots here I would like to see a little more of each of them – but it left me wanting more.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
“]] The Kryptonian Age starts to spread across the world – and a powerful enemy seeks to take advantage. Read More