This pains me to say that I haven’t read a comic book by Darwyn Cooke, who sadly passed away in 2016. I am certainly no stranger to his art as his illustrations has a retro cartoonist style, while Cooke worked for Warner Bros. Animation, specifically the DC animated universe. With an upcoming Batman movie out next year and noticing some of the Bat-comics that I haven’t read from my bookshelf, let’s do some Bat-reading, shall we?
Collecting all of Cooke’s Batman comics in one volume, which include two original graphic novels written and drawn by the cartoonist, along with a bunch of short stories, some covers and pin-up art. Beginning with the title story Ego, Batman is left traumatised after strong-arming a thug into revealing the whereabouts of the Joker, forcing the thug to commit suicide in front of the Dark Knight. Having second thoughts about his alter-ego, Bruce Wayne suddenly faces his inner demons in the shape of Batman as a monstrous shadowy figure.
The story itself isn’t all that new, as the idea of Bruce Wayne having second thoughts about being the Bat was explored in a great episode of Batman: The Animated Series, whilst the inner voice that talks back to Bruce comes from The Dark Knight Returns. A number of creators have explored Batman’s psychological trauma before, but that’s not to say Cooke can’t make something engaging with his story, which is about looking back at your tragic past and sparking the light for a hopeful future.
Although the whole purpose of his parents is to die, I’m always open to see any scenes featuring them, that would in some way inform young Bruce, hence a touching conversation between a father and his son about the concept of death, of which Bruce accepts, despite the fate of his loving parents coming sooner than later. What saves this story – and the majority of the book for that matter – is Cooke’s art that is not only distinctive, but is able to weave through clever and abstract transitions, whether it is flashbacks or dream sequences, creating this dynamic psychological battle between the hero and his scary shadowy figure that is really himself.
Was a fan of film-noir and hard-boiled detective stories, which would lead to him, adapting Richard Stark’s Parker novels for IDW, you can see why Batman would appeal to Cooke as the character kept one foot in the world of pulp fiction. The second big story from this volume really encompasses a lot of those sources and it’s not even a Batman story. Written and drawn during the publication of his Catwoman run with writer Ed Brubaker, Selina’s Big Score follows the femme fatale assembling a crew of professionals to assist her on robbing a mob train full of unmarked cash.
There is more an element of fun than Ego as Catwoman is all about the thrills, whilst trying to find some redemption, especially in reconciling with her betrayed ex-lover Stark. With narration from Selina, Stark and Detective Slam Bradley (developed by Superman creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster), the story can drag over the course its four issues as it spends too much time in the assembling and planning. It is ultimately saved by Cooke’s art, which can be rough around the edges, but the climatic heist is an inventive action sequence, devoted to the last issue.
In terms of the short stories, some are better than others, the best of which is “Here Be Monsters”, originally published as the Batman: Black and White series. Told in eight pages, Cooke’s art looks the best as the black-and-white presentation adds an almost painterly quality. The other short that brings out the best in his art is “Deja vu”, in which Batman chases a group of robbers who also committed another crime that resembles the Dark Knight’s tragic past. As simple the narrative is and gets the tragic message across, the coloured art is precise and the panel structure is well paced. I do want to give a shout-out to the most left-field short that is “The Monument”, of which its writing and art (by Bill Wray) feels more in line as an obscure indie comic strip that pokes fun as the mythos.
As a case of surface more so than depth, the surface is certainly impressive as the late, great Darwyn Cooke tells a variety of Batman stories from the psychological to the crime-ridden, which are far from perfect, but are fun little stories that strip the character to his timeless, essential elements.