Batman: Child of Dreams

Batman

by Kia Asamiya (Author / Illustrator), Max Allan Collins (Translator)

Aided by Japanese television reporter Yuko Yagi, Batman travels from Gotham City to Tokyo to investigate a new street drug that physically alters the user, changing him or her into a physical incarnation of one of Batman's enemies.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Batman, Comics, Manga, Dc Comics, Comic Book, Fiction

338 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Kia Asamiya(麻宮 騎亜, born in 1963) is the pen-name of a popular Japanese manga artist whose work spans multiple genres and appeals to diverse audiences (1990s).

He is well-known for using influences from American comics, television, and movies in his work, and describes himself as a big fan of both Batman and Star Wars. One of the most widely-published Japanese manga-ka, nearly all of his stories have been translated into other languages, including English. His two most successful and popular manga series to-date are Nadesico and Silent Möbius.

Prior to becoming a manga artist, Asamiya graduated from the Tokyo Designer School, and then worked as a character designer for a number of anime series, and even designed models for some of the later Godzilla movies (1980s). For this career, he used a different pen-name, Michitaka Kikuchi (菊地 道隆), and maintained the two professional identities separately for many years. Several of the anime series that he worked on were very popular both inside and outside of Japan, most notably including Sonic Soldier Borgman. Even after focusing primarily on his manga career, Asamiya continued to do character designs and creative consultation on anime series based on his stories, occasionally under the Kikuchi name.

In the early 2000s, Asamiya has shifted his focus from teenage and young-adult stories to stories designed for children and for an American audience. In the former case, he credits his young children as a motivation, but in the latter case, he points to a long-standing desire to work with his favorite American characters. To that end, he has worked on projects with Image Comics, Marvel Comics, and DC Comics, as well as developing a manga adaptation of the movie, "Star Wars: The Phantom Menace".

While many Japanese artists (and artists in general) are quite reclusive, Asamiya often makes an effort to be available to his fans. He maintains a website with news and information about his studio, Studio TRON (named after the Disney movie TRON). He also aids and assists his Official Fan Club by sending them regular announcements and limited-edition merchandise. Despite these actions, he shunned all public photography, and had the often-hilarious habit of depicting himself with a placeholder sign for a face. It has become a trademark feature of his books that instead of a picture of the artist, there is an elaborately decorated rectangle sporting the words "Now Printing".

Reviews

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

"They say each man is his 'own worst enemy' . . . and I am you, Batman . . . but younger . . . stronger . . . and out for blood!" -- the villain, who is also the Dark Knight's biggest fan

Batman? More like Batmanga!!! (Silence only interrupted by crickets chirping.) Okay, then . . . Child of Dreams was one of those books that truly wants to live up to the phrase 'graphic novel.' At 300+ pages, the storyline seemed a bit overly drawn out towards the finale - the villain falls prey to critic Roger Ebert's trusty old 'fallacy of the talking killer' rule, prattling on about his knowledge and/or schemes - but the first half of it was reasonably good. The set-up contains the dual narratives of a visiting Japanese TV-news crew - including a untested young reporter who is quietly determined to prove her worth - attempting to obtain an interview with the elusive Batman, while said title hero is contending with genetically-enhanced versions of his longtime criminal opponents who are popping up on the streets of Gotham. There's not exactly much mystery in the story, but artist/author Asamiya's take on DC's crimefighter (assisted by novelist Max Allan Collins's translation of the dialogue - what a great choice!) offers a welcome and effective interpretation of the character.

[Khurram · Rating 5 out of 5]

A greats Batman book. I think this book is the perfect ballance of Batman storytelling, definitely staying true to the core character, and manga animation as well as the Japanese culture I liked the family honour and saving face.

Batman had become more of an icon then a character of vengeance. He has garnered many fan and enemies, but which ones are more obsessed with him? Who's obsession is is worse?

A young reporter comes to Gotham City for a story of a lifetime. To interview the infamous Batman. As luck would have it, Batman's rouge gallery has decided to make a reappearance, but not everything or everyone us eh they seem.

This book for me is the best of both East and West. It is written by a fan, for fans and I same way about fans. The book finishes with a cover of sketch panels and an interview with Kai Asamiya.

[Garrett · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

Two-Face, Riddler, Penguin, and Joker have all been spotted around Gotham, only it's not actually them, its people pretending to be them and they resemble them well, with one exception- they are all drug addicted and they are dying, and once they are dead the bodies degrade and mummify. All of these impersonators end up getting killed and Batman is lead to Tokyo to try and find out who is manufacturing this drug called "fanatic". It turns out, it's a Japanese billionaire just like Bruce Wayne, named Kenji Tomioka. He owns a pharmaceutical company and has an obsession with Batman and knows that Bruce Wayne is Batman. This drug called "fanatic" is a DNA altering drug similar to the splicers in Batman Beyond. It fuses your DNA with the DNA of someone else. Tomioka ends up injecting himself with the drug, which has Bruce Wayne's DNA in it and he becomes an armored Batman himself. They fight and he dies, by accidentally getting to many injections.

The problem with the story? It's a little to over the top even for a Batman comic. There is fantastic art through out that reminds me of Takeshi Obata's art on Death Note. (Jim Gordon looks exactly like Chief Yagami). Although it has a lot of exciting moments, the writing is not great, but I think it is still worth the read. Tomioka was an interesting foil to Bruce Wayne but there are a few plot holes in the book. It never really answers why the bodies were being mummified in the beginning, not to mention the book is a little long.

[Sud666 · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a rather interesting story. It is a Batman story in manga format and artstyle. Written by Kia Asamiya, this is the story of how a Tokyo reporter gets mixed up in a huge conspiracy to take out the current Batman and find his replacement.

Without too much in the way of spoiers- Batman is forced to confront Two-Face, in order to save the Japanese reporter, and in the deadly encounter finds out that Two-Face is still in Arkham. This then occurs for other Batman villains, none of whom are the real one. So what's the deal? Batman's detective skills lead him to Tokyo, where with the help of the reporter (who is rather closely linked to this mess) he finds a complex plan to replicate a Batman.

The story itself is not overly complex. In fact it is a rather pedestrian Batman story, but the manga style and artwork make this a unique experience. The "feeling" of the story is also more Japanese than the American Batman stories. This makes for an interesting outlook. I enjoyed the black and white, manga-style art and it works well for this tale.

While nothing amazing, this was a fun comic and I appreciated the difference in style and art. This is one I'll be glad to add to my collection.

[Caleb M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐ overall

A good entertaining Batman story overall. I loved that it was in a more Manga style since Kia Asamiya has that in his wheelhouse. The art was fantastic. I really loved it. My only problem with it was how Bruce Wayne looked. I appreciated the different take, but it also didn't seem right at the same time. Hard to explain.

Yuko Yagi was a wonderful original character. I was happy to, in a way, follow her Batman story. I also appreciated that this seemed to focus on Batman/Bruce a little more as a character. Lots of times poor Batman goes by the wayside and instead it's the villains that get the focus. I liked a little more Caped Crusader love.

Nothing that is an essential read, but if you enjoy Batman you'll be happy you came for this one.

[Dan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not a fan of Manga Batman

[Luigi Fabiano · Rating 3 out of 5]

Questo volume su Batman è stato scritto e disegnato dal famoso Kia Asamiya in forma di manga.

La trama porta il nostro cavaliere oscuro a confrontarsi con i suoi arcinemici, che si rivelano essere dei fan degli stessi, trasfigurati da una misteriosa quanto potente droga.

Il nostro eroe sarà costretto a mettersi sulle tracce di chi ha creato questa miscela, fino addirittura a spingersi verso il paese del Sol Levante...

Devo dire che, nonostante l'autore sia riuscito a mantenere salda la molto burtoniana e oscura atmosfera tipica del personaggio, non ho molto apprezzato la trama fin troppo "fantascientifica", ridondante e telefonata.

Lo svelamento della nemesi è un non colpo di scena e per i miei gusti troppi dialoghi ripetitivi e privi di mordente.

Per me questo sposalizio tra Manga e Comics non è stato del tutto idilliaco, purtroppo.

Ho letto di meglio sul mio eroe preferito.

Voto personale: 6,5

[Tyas · Rating 3 out of 5]

The full review was published in Animonster. This review has been abridged.

Wizard, sebuah majalah untuk komunitas pecinta komik di AS, pernah berseloroh: “Dibandingkan dengan manga yang tebal-tebal, komik-komik AS terlihat seperti lembaran-lembaran iklan belaka.” Memang, begitu banyak perbedaan antara komik buatan AS dengan Jepang. Bukan hanya masalah tebal-tipisnya satu volume komik. Gaya penceritaan, gaya gambar, bahkan hingga target pembaca dan tipikal seorang hero juga biasanya berbeda. Nah, bagaimana jika kisah seorang hero yang ‘sangat Amerika’ seperti Batman dituangkan dalam bentuk manga? Itulah yang dilakukan oleh Kia Asamiya, mangaka dan salah satu tokoh pendiri Studio TRON bersama Michitaka Kikuchi. Sebenarnya pembuatan versi manga dari komik-komik atau film-film AS sudah cukup lazim dilakukan, tapi menjadi menarik karena yang melakukannya adalah seorang Kia Asamiya.

Asamiya merupakan seorang figur yang misterius. Ia jarang tampil di depan umum, dan peredaran fotonya untuk publik pun dilarang. Bahkan banyak yang menyangka kalau ia dan Michitaka Kikuchi sebenarnya satu orang. Namun justru membangun citra dirinya sebagai orang yang penuh misteri-lah yang menjadikan Asamiya unik. Bukan ‘strategi pemasaran’ yang sangat orisinal, karena figur-figur lain seperti J.D. Salinger (seorang penulis AS yang terkenal dengan karyanya ‘A Catcher in the Rye’) sudah pernah melakukannya. Tapi tetap saja berhasil baik untuk Asamiya! Dan meskipun Asamiya merupakan seorang mangaka yang cukup aktif menelurkan karya, nyatanya orang banyak yang lebih mengenal anime-anime yang dibuat olehnya atau berdasarkan karyanya. Karya-karyanya itu antara lain adalah Martian Successor Nadesico, Silent Moebius, Steam Detectives, Corrector Yui, Dark Angel, Duplex Divine, dan Ebiru-kun. Misalnya saja Nadesico: orang mungkin lebih akrab dengan desain karakter hasil goresan Keiji Gotoh.

Batman: Child of Dreams merupakan proyek prestisius lain dari Asamiya. Aslinya di Jepang, CoD diserialisasikan dalam majalah Z yang juga antara lain memuat The Big O, Turn A Gundam, dan King of Bandit Jing selama kurang-lebih setahun. Kemudian CoD dibukukan dalam 3 volume manga. Editor CoD bukan saja berasal dari Z, tapi juga dari DC Comics (penerbit asli Batman di AS). Naskah yang sudah lolos proses editing Z, harus dikirim ke DC untuk di-edit dan memperoleh persetujuan sebelum manga-nya boleh dibuat oleh Asamiya. Hal tersebut tentunya untuk menjaga kualitas cerita tokoh ciptaan Bob Kane tersebut. Di AS, ke-3 volume CoD digabungkan menjadi satu volume setebal 352 halaman hardcover yang diadaptasi oleh Max Allan Collins (penulis novel dan pembuat naskah komik, karyanya antara lain adalah Road to Perdition--sudah difilmkan dengan pemeran Tom Hanks, Jude Law dan Daniel Craig--dan Batman).

Yang dilakukan oleh Collins bukan sekedar terjemahan, melainkan adaptasi dari naskah asli buatan Asamiya. Misalnya saja, jika Asamiya sebagai seorang mangaka Jepang merasa ‘cukup’ untuk melukiskan adegan perkelahian Batman tanpa kata-kata dan hanya mengandalkan kekuatan gambarnya, maka Collins merasa perlu menambahkan dialog-dialog ke dalam adegan-adegan perkelahian, yang merupakan suatu ciri khas komik-komik Amerika. Adaptasi Collins memang ‘mengembalikan’ taste dan cara berpikir Amerika ke dalam CoD, tapi sebagai akibatnya, ada sebagian teks yang kurang ‘nyambung’ dengan bahasa gambar Asamiya, baik ekspresi tubuh maupun ekspresi wajah. Cara pandang Amerika (terutama pasca 11 September 2001) pun turut dimasukkan ke dalam manga yang aslinya diterbitkan tahun 2000, ketika dengan entengnya Batman menyamakan ‘evil’ dengan Hitler, Pol Pot, dan bin Laden. Apa boleh buat, Batman adalah seorang tokoh Amerika. Maka ia pun harus bisa mewakili kedigdayaan dan prinsip-prinsip yang dianut negaranya. Setelah melalui adaptasi Collins, maka adalah tugas Dan Nakrosis untuk memodifikasi artwork Asamiya agar sesuai dengan hasil adaptasi tersebut.

Asamiya memang berhasil menghadirkan Batman sang legenda dengan memikat. Sang Dark Knight tetap tampak gagah dan meyakinkan dalam format manga yang hitam-putih. Artwork Asamiya yang khas dan unik terasa pas untuk menghidupkan kisah hero legendaris Amerika itu, beserta Gotham dan karakter-karakter lain yang hidup di dalamnya. Untuk yang terbiasa membaca manga, maka mungkin versi Amerika CoD terasa agak ‘janggal’ karena perubahan-perubahan yang dilakukan Collins. Namun secara garis besar, CoD tetap sebuah karya yang enak untuk dinikmati, baik oleh penggemar Batman yang tidak akrab dengan manga, maupun oleh penggemar manga atau Kia Asamiya yang tidak akrab dengan komik Amerika.

[Frederick Lopez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kia Asamyia’s Batman: Child of Dreams is the perfect fusion of Japanese and Western comic styles.

Historically, my biggest trouble with manga has been the absurd cartoonish styles, and how each volume only captures a small portion of a wider story arc. Most of my books I get from libraries, so with Japanese comics I’m only likely to be able to read one or two volumes from each series. This often means that I’m parachuted into a story without any understanding of previous events, and that the volume will end before the story reaches any sort of satisfactory conclusion. This problem is much rarer with Western comics. With a Superman or Asterix comic, you can feel well assured that the protagonist will have their major problem resolved by the time finish the book. Western comics also have the advantage of being about iconic characters. While small details will vary across multiple continuities, you are never going to be wondering why Superman can fly or why Batman does what he does. So when I say that Batman: Child of Dreams combines the best elements of both traditions, I mean that is manga with a self-contained narrative featuring characters I recognize.

It is also a manga blown up to the proportions of an American graphic novel, which is definitely a novelty. The art has also been flipped, and the sound effects have also been translated. Besides the Japanese name of the author, the cover gives no real hint that this book is a manga.

The story is also good. It’s about a Japanese reporter who goes over to America to investigate The Batman himself, and gets caught up in wacky Bat-jinks. A new drug has hit the streets of Gotham, and it turns some people into Batman villains! The major theme of Batman: Child of Dreams is how fannish devotion can go dark, and even hurt the object of adoration.

If you see this book, read it. It’s good. Especially recommended for Bat-fans and those who like manga.

[Ben Truong · Rating 3 out of 5]

Batman: Child of Dreams is a manga series written and illustrated by Kia Asamiya and translated by Max Allan Collins. The series follows Batman as he travels to Tokyo on the trail of a lethal drug that allows the person who ingests it to shape-shift into anyone they desire.

It features Bruce Wayne as Batman in Gotham City and Tokyo, locating the source of a deadly drug. This drug provides the users with the thrill of literally living the life of their dreams for a day, by forcing the user to shape-shift into the person they desire to be. After the day expires, the drug kills the user by draining them of their life force.

Most of the users in Gotham turned into literal copies of several Batman villains. Batman suspected they were not the real thing after they seemed to sport twisted forms of their regular traits. Realizing a larger force is at work, Batman, with the help of Japanese journalist Yuuko Yagi, follows the trail of the chemical to Tokyo, where he finds the deranged criminal mastermind behind the creation of the infamous drug is none other than a heavily mutated fan.

Batman: Child of Dreams is written and constructed moderately well. Kia Asamiya does an admirable job writing a Japanese Batman story that fits with the mythos and atmosphere of a typical Batman story. However, while the narrative was rather entertaining, it was rather predictable – it was a straightforward detective story. Asamiya's style of drawing was rather interesting, but his tendency for huge noses and extremely tiny eyes was rather disconcerting, but his villains are done rather well. This is a nice, safe story, and doesn't play too much with continuity or really examine its characters.

As an aside, my reading this manga was a tad difficult for me as everything was flipped in the translated version – most noticeably with Two-Face's face as the scarred face was on the wrong side. Japanese manga is typically read from right to left – opposite to how the English world reads. However, my brain is used to read manga in the traditional style, so my eyes would automatically go to the upper-right corner to start the reading, but have to correct myself – every single time I start a new page – it was exasperating.

All in all, Batman: Child of Dreams is a mediocre comic/magna with an interesting, but safe and predictable story.

[Soobie is expired · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ho apprezzato moltissimo questa riscoperta di Kia Asamiya. Prima Silent Möbius, di cui mi manca ancora un volume, e poi questa sua versione di Batman.

Son sempre curiosa quando gli autori giapponesi provano a immaginare gli eroi americani con la loro sensibilità e questo l'avevo messo in preordine dal mio spacciatore di fumetti. E poi adoro questi volumi unici.

Storia divisa in due parti. Nella prima una giornalista giapponese arriva a Gotham City con la speranza di intervistare Batman per un programma televisivo. I due si incontrano perché alcuni cloni dei grandi nemici di Batman creano un po' di scompiglio a Gotham, per poi avvizzire e morire. Indagando, si scopre che tutto parte del Giappone. Proprio dall'industria farmaceutica che appartiene allo zio della giornalista. E quindi ci trasferiamo in Giappone. Dove vengono alla luce ossessioni particolarmente giapponesi.

Asamiya-sensei ha uno stile di disegno che si riconosce subito e, secondo me, riesce a dare a Batman un tocco personale senza snaturare il personaggio.

Bella sorpresa.

[Daniel Rumbell · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an interesting idea and the story gets there fairly well, but I generally take issue with the lead female character. It might be that this is translated from Japanese and there are just some cultural presentation things going on that I can't appreciate but she often seemed a means to an end exclusively. She had an arc and it had an interesting end, but there was something about it that felt unexplored.

Otherwise, this was a decent international detective story for Batman. Chasing down a collection of what seem to be his oldest enemies and tracking the drugs that are letting ordinary people become those villains before overdosing. The entire comic is in black and white which takes a moment to get used to, but probably does more for the story because there is less to get distracted by in terms of flash. Worth a look, but don't chase it down.

[Menno Beek · Rating 3 out of 5]

I keep saying it when a graphic novel sneaks in here, that my somewhat forced opinion of books still has trouble accepting these drawn ones as real books, but every now and then one must try one. Specially when its Batman, the hero of my very early years, when I did not know what real hero's look like or what one should read

Almost by accident Batman, thanks to Bob Kane, is about parents and children, and in this Japanese version its the same, even though its about a niece and an uncle, and that makes batman worth trying to get him to tell us a little more. In this book, that did not really work. The drawings are close to genius good, and at the same time the story is paper thin with an bad drugs angle and a forced romance. Still, its batman. Cant do less then three stars, him sulking in the Bat cave with a picture of his father. I get that.

[drown_like_its_1999 · Rating 2 out of 5]

A Japanese television crew ventures to Gotham in pursuit of landing an interview with the bat. Covering the super crimes reported across the city, they witness confrontations between Batman and each of his most prominent villains who are all acting very strange. Batman and the lead reporter soon discover the villains are in fact doppelgangers made convincing by a mysterious drug that alters your appearance. Tracking down the source brings them back to Japan for the confrontation with the responsible party.

Batmanga! It was quite novel reading a Batman title with manga sensibilities, especially in the approach to action and composition. Sadly that novelty wasn't enough to overcome the title's many faults. The story is contrived and poorly plotted, relying heavily on cartoonish threats and serendipitous developments that make it feel like it was being made up on the fly. The characterization and dialogue are ok but almost every other aspect of the writing yielded an eye roll from me on at least one occasion during reading. The ending is especially over the top but it also helps to lend the book some schlocky charm.

The art was pretty standard manga fare but I did quite enjoy the presentation of both Batman and Gotham. The city skyline and landscape was depicted with great detail and the caped crusader felt imposing, often rendered as a featureless shadow towering over others.

[Peter · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'd read a large bit of "Batman: Child of Dreams" a few years back.
Suddenly entering a Batman-frenzy, I remembered the "manga thing" and decided to track it down - the artwork was exactly as I recalled it, the style reminding me of a certain Japanese artist whose name I cannot recall, but every nose and every jawline is the same - exactly the same.
This shouldn't necessarily be a problem, but when Batman fights an imposter-Batman and proclaims "he doesn't have my features!", I took a really good look at the panel of them facing off, and I could not spot the actual Bruce Wayne. The jaws, the nose, exactly the same features!
Now, that's a stylistic thing, and it works well enough in some cases - the Joker appeals very much to me, in the Japanese style, his oversized grin fits the facial shape very well, overall he was very enjoyable to look at, in my opinion.
People mention the noses a lot - this didn't really bother me, I admit, as much as did the general same-ness of the characters' looks - the style doesn't annoy me, in and of itself, only the problems the specific artist seems to have with seperating Batman from Fake-Batman etc.
The comic has other obvious problems, however, such as a Japanese Catwoman-imposter. If this girl is Japanese, why is Batman, the world's greatest detective, fooled for even a moment? Should she not be shorter, her eyes asian-looking (the suit is a traditional Catwoman suit, that is, without goggles), her accent imperfect (established she speaks good English, but fooling the Dark Knight himself?), her very voice pattern in a different pitch? How can that escape Batman for even a second?
The plot is farfetched at best, and Batman suddenly going to Japan, leaving Gotham behind, seems insane in any Batman-continuity - mind you, he's making no calls to Robin, Nightwing or whatever before leaving. Apparently, Gotham's Dark Knight just ups and offs.
The romance story is weak and badly written at least, worse than usual, even. The way Bruce tries to defend the Batman's actions, the way they both interact with the same girl, it seems utterly ridiculous that she, as a reporter, hasn't guessed and figured out, that Bruce and Batman are one and the same.

I had thought the manga-style would convey the usually powerful scenes of Batman very well, the high speed action that Japanese comics usually capture fantastically. However, half the time, I just couldn't figure out what was going on - admittedly, I didn't exactly study the panels when the feeling arose, but being black and white, and keeping the Gotham-dark-mood, made a lot of stuff very indeciperable - black shades and shapes moving around each other, with random, unidentifiable sound effects.
Don't get me wrong, the artwork is generally stunning, certainly better than anything I could do, and when it doesn't disappear into black-and-white pseudo noir chaos, everything looks great - movement, action, cars, cityscapes, really well drawn, care and attention to detail.
Worth mention is the flipping of all the pages, from Japanese to "Western" reading style, which means that Two-Face is reversed. That's just subtly annoying.

The sound effects seem rather random, chaotic and halfway annoying to me - but a lot of them can be given down to the style, manga, which has a tendency to use a lot of sound effects - it just seems disruptive to me here, and certainly doesn't help aforementioned combat scenes.

The plot.
Oh God, don't get me started with the plot.
It's not particularly complex, really - a Japanese medical company owner is fanatically obsessed with the idea of obtaining Bruce Wayne for his Batman-collection (will explain in a moment) - so he decides to pit Batman against fake editions of his rogues gallery, produced by inducing them with a new super-drug - which, yes, can transform you physically, into what you want. That was just too much suspension of disbelief. And if you're gonna bring about the rogues gallery, where is my Scarecrow? That could have worked so well, I'm certain of it.
Anyway, he (medical baddie) sends his tv reporter niece (Yuko Yagi, couldn't have come up with a more annoying Japanese name if I'd tried) to Gotham to interview Batman, with a team of related people. The director turns out to be utterly insane, ends up impersonating Batman, fighting Batman and dying. Yea - what the hell?
Eventually, as mentioned, Batman leaves Gotham to go Japan, taking no mentioned precautions against the villains plaguing it.
Wrapping it up, he fights the medical guy, who is now some kind of super-mecha Japanese Batman, in a battle of truly stupid proportions.
I have to mention how he finds out the connection between Wayne and Batman too, before this wrathfest is over - Yuko is attacked, Batman saves her and brings her to the Batcave. He could have done a lot of other stuff, but he decides to bring her, a reporter, to his innermost sanctum - and then, Uncle Badguy's goons simply track her minicam. That's right, according to Asamiya, Batman has no signal scramblers in the cave. You can just send out a signal. And when the cave is under Wayne Manor, stuff seems obvious.
What the...that was just...that was so very, very, very bad.
Yuko herself is the most unlikeable, idiotic character I've ever read about. She is supposed to be a grown woman, but has a weird Batman-fetish (okay, not Frank Miller-weird, but still), talks to stuffed animals when alone, she connects no dots whatsoever (impressive for a reporter) and she has a dull, annoying love...thing with Bruce.

In the end, I had to fight through the last 100 pages.

A very good try, but at the end, a complete miss.
It's not very good as manga, it's not very good as Batman; in conclusion, it's just not very good.

[Septian Dhaniar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Batman rasa manga tentunya dengan artwork hitam putih yang memikat karya Kia Asamiya. Reporter asal Jepang datang ke Gotham untuk membuat liputan tentang Batman, tapi kejadian kriminal aneh mulai terjadi terutama dengan munculnya Joker palsu yang membuat Joker asli di Arkham Asylum murka. Batman akhirnya turun tangan menyelidiki, tentunya dengan bantuan reporter Jepang. Komik ini sungguh tebal sampai 300 halaman. Kia Asamiya penggemar Tim Burton, pantas beberapa artworknya terutama Batmobile begitu mirip dengan batmobile rancangan Anton Furst di film Batman produksi tahun 1989 karya Tim Burton. Komik ini merupakan bentuk kerjasama DC Comics dari Amerika dan penerbit manga dari Jepang. Komik yang cukup menarik.

[Tracey · Rating 1 out of 5]

So disappointing to this manga fan. The story started strong and seemed promising. The more I read, though, the more stars kept falling off my rating. Stiff, forced dialogue (probably the translation), flat and bland characterization, and over-reliance on characters' thoughts made the ridiculous plot progression even worse. The female lead contributed nothing and was just kind of there. The seeming attraction between her and Bruce felt artificial and added nothing. Alfred just being Alfred was more charming. A character narrating their own death early on delivered more emotional punch than the rest of the story altogether. At least the art--despite heavy screentone use, bird-beak noses for all, and circle-template boobs--was atmospheric, if not beautiful for most part.

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm generally not much on super hero comics but I'll read them occasionally. More often with Batman because I like those better than most. But this was a disappointment. Sounded pretty interesting when I got it from the library and I thought it might be a little different than the usual fare since it's from a Japanese manga creator. But the longer it went (and it was longer than it needed to be) the dumber it got. Batman's biggest so-called fan develops a drug to bring people's dreams, which is really just a bait-and-switch to make sad clones of bad guys and then turn himself into a 'new better Batman' with a drug called DNA-bel. It's just...not good.

[Erik · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story is pretty weak as Batman fights a new drug that turns the user into another person. There's very little development for how long it is despite having several themes like obsession and corporate greed that could make for a really interesting Batman story. Maybe it was a translation issue, or maybe it's Collins (though I did enjoy Road to Perdition), but I also thought the dialogue was really poor. The art was fine, though characters missing one eye several times throughout the story was really off-putting.

[Derek DeMars · Rating 4 out of 5]

Manga Batman was pretty good! Great artwork, decent story. The dialogue was pretty melodramatic (though that's par for the course with the genre), but there were some clever moments. An entertaining one-off Bat-story.

[Sotofunkdamental · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lo que os puedo decir es que "Child of Dreams" me gustó más que "Death Mask", las dos aproximaciones al mundo manga que he leído de Batman. Desde mi punto de vista son lecturas prescindibles, aunque interesantes simplemente por ver otro estilo artístico.

[Thibaud Sanchez · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I was at my job at a local library I saw this graphic novel on the island of misfits and checked it out to prevent from being weeded. The novel is well written. I would read more graphic novels like these.

[Phino DeLeon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a great story, predictable to say the least, but the illustrations were very good

[Roshan Tiwari · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice fusion of manga and comics. Nice art and excellent storyline.

[B.C. · Rating 3 out of 5]

i liked the premise, but the narration started to bug me by the end. It might be a style thing though as this was really driven by manga.

[Olivia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved the intrigue and action of the first half, but the second half was more obvious and heavy-handed in its storytelling.

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent imagining of the Dark Knight tusing the influence of Japanese Manga.

[Andrew Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good, with a great villain, and it's written well.

[Brannigan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Manga Batman. I didn’t like it.

[Luis Dion-Dussault · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un Batman de style manga! Visuellement très beau!

Passages parfois un peu prévisibles, mais l’histoire globale en vaut la peine.