Batman: Black and White (2013) #1

Batman: Black and White (2013) (Single Issues) #1

by Mark Chiarello, Neal Adams (Writer/Illustrator), Joseph A. Quinones Jr. (Writer/Illustrator)

The legendary, Eisner Award-winning series BATMAN BLACK AND WHITE returns in a brand-new six-issue miniseries featuring tales of The Dark Knight by some of comics’ greatest writers and artists! This first issue kicks off with stories by Chip Kidd and Michael Cho, Neal Adams, Joe Quinones and Maris Wicks, John Arcudi and Sean Murphy, and Howard Mackie and Chris Samnee!

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

48 pages, Paperback

First published September 4, 2013

About the author

Mark Chiarello was born on Halloween in 1960. His book "Heroes of the Negro Leagues" (Abrams Publishing) was named the second best sports book of 2007 by Amazon.com. A graduate of Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY, Mark was fortunate enough to have as roommates, Kent Williams, John Van Fleet, and George Pratt. He worked as an illustrator for DisneyWorld for a short time in the 1980’s, then went on to work for Marvel Comics and ultimately DC Comics, where he is currently Art Director.

Mark lives in Maplewood, NJ with his wonderful wife Catherine and wonderful kids, Jack and Rose, and his almost wonderful dog, oscar.

Reviews

[Ｆｒａｎｋｈ · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I picked up the current run for Batman: Black and White two months ago, I first read the fourth and fifth issues because those were the only available copies I could buy at the time. I received the latter issue more warmly than the former, to be honest. Basically, B&W is a collection of flash fiction concerning Batman and these stories are drawn in pencil illustrations as the title suggests. I have always been intrigued with the concept of writing and drawing Batman in black and white like a Japanese manga so I was very excited to get started with it then.

This very first issue is composed of five stories. Familiar names from the credits have already jumped out once I started reading, particularly Chip Kidd, Neal Adams, Joe Quinones, and Michael Cho. I claimed that the fifth issue is my favorite yet and this one comes close second. In fact, the overall visual look and feel for this is the most impressive and dynamic. Cho, Adams and Quinones' sketches understandably stood out to me the most. The range and detail of their illustrations are just exquisitely rendered page after page.

The most notable of the three has to be Neal Adams' whose art may be drawn in lighter shades than the other two but is probably the most detailed of all. He not only illustrated the story but he also wrote it, and it was a social commentary that questions Batman's heroism and symbol of justice. It was my favorite story out of the five because it forced me to question again the limited scope of Batman's ability to fight crime. Sure, he battles a colorful array of deadly villains and targets and destroys organized crime in Gotham City--but how about the small injustices that occur in the daily lives of its citizens? Neal Adams' story gives us a glimpse of how much Bruce Wayne himself as a person of immense wealth can also make a difference beyond being a vigilante.

My second favorite story is the one about Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy as drawn by Joe Quinones, who is one of the artists for Batman '66. His visual style had a groovy vibe to it which suited the comedic narrative pretty well. It was definitely reminiscent of both the sixties Batman and Paul Dini's animated series, and it's quite an irresistible combination. The other three stories were enjoyable too, but these two are the ones I favored the most. I could only hope the next issues will be commendable collections as well.

RECOMMENDED: 8/10


[DO READ MORE ABOUT MY BATMAN REVIEWS IN http://batman-comics-geek.blogspot.com/]

[Sam Quixote · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brilliant return of the critically acclaimed Batman: Black and White series gets off to a tremendous start. Maris Wicks' story stands out as she writes a great Harley and Ivy tale, though, for better or worse, Neal Adams' Batman: Zombie story steals the issue. Read the full review here!

[Kezia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hope DC keeps making stuff like this, it's brilliant. 4.5 stars

[Austin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Written by 6 year olds for 6 year olds

[Al · Rating 3 out of 5]

Six styles on Batman: the kitsch pop-art, foolish and nonsense, almost psychedelic, to a 60's Batman ("Don't Know Where, Don't Know When" - written by Chip Kidd / illustrated by Michael Cho), the deforming (and engaged) sketches which fit like a rotten glove on a "Batman Zombie" (written and illustrated by Neal Adams), the funny and clean mangai on "Justice is Served" (written by Joe Quinones / illustrated by Maris Wicks), the psychological thriller "Driven" (written by John Arcudi / illustrated by Sean Murphy), the noir on "Head Games" (story by Howard Mackie / art by Chris Samnee).
Unfortunately, the artists' freedom tends to prioritize his own expression and lacks deepness on characters.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

These vignettes grant glimpses of the good, the bad, the absurd and the hokey-pokey of Gotham City. From Harley and Poison Ivy dispensing kick-ass justice while Batman stands by benignly (or helplessly) to the uber-weird Zombie Batman, each artist renders their vision of a glance into Batman's world and legacy.

[Francis Fernandez · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bunch of mini stories from different artists and writers. It's a nice collection of various stories that give different viewpoints of Batman and his enemies. It's not bad, it's not great, but it's still good enough to check out.

[Chandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like the concept of having a variety of Batman stories collected together, especially since each was a little different. I have more issues to read through, so we'll see how the idea holds up.

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

That Neal Adams story was great, I'd love for him to do a series of issues like that.

[Ariana · Rating 3 out of 5]

So, I think this was a great start.