Batman: City of Madness (2023-) #1

by Christian Ward

Buried deep beneath Gotham City there exists another Gotham. This Gotham Below is a living nightmare, populated by twisted mirrors of our Gotham’s denizens, fueled by the fear and hatred flowing down from above. For decades, the doorway between the cities has been sealed and heavily guarded by the Court of Owls. But now the door swings wide, and the twisted version of the Dark Knight has escaped…to trap and train a Robin of his own. Batman must form an uneasy alliance with the Court and its deadly allies to stop him-and to hold back the wave of twisted super-villains, nightmarish versions of his own nemeses, each one worse than the last, that’s spilling into his streets! Visionary writer-artist Christian Ward unleashes his cosmic-horror take on Batman’s world, in a tribute to disturbing Dark Knight classics like Arkham Asylum and Gothic! You’ll never look at Batman’s villains the same way again…you simply won’t have the stomach for it!

Genres: Comics, Batman, Dc Comics, Superheroes, Graphic Novels Comics, Graphic Novels, Horror

45 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 10, 2023

Reviews

[Dimitris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a simple man. I see a storyline with the court of owl full of cthulhu mythos elements, I give 5 stars.
But all jokes aside, the first issue of City of Madness was a promising start to a lovecraftian batman story that seems that can be even better than Mignola's attempt to do the same in "The doom that came to Gotham"

[Krystal · Rating 3 out of 5]

I only recently read Court of Owls so this was even better coming off the back of that.

Really love the vibe here, and the artwork suits it really well.

Definitely feels like a gritty Batman story but there's the mysterious, supernatural element to it, also, to give it that shock of difference to refresh the old and familiar.

Really enjoyed it and curious to see where it will go.

[Sam J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love the references to Grant Morrison’s Arkham Asylum! The way the art changes when Batman enters the asylum made me fanboy so hard. Can’t wait for the next issue, great stuff.

[Haruyo · Rating 2 out of 5]

The visuals are good, but the story? No.

[Rob Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The art is so mind-blowingly beautiful!

[Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Christan Ward paints an interesting look at Gotham City and the Weird new madness that's possessing it.

My favorite bit from this issue is when approached by three thugs wearing masks, the Young boy with a concealed gun asks them why they're wearing masks. The reply he gets: "This is Gotham, it's fun here."

[Garth · Rating 3 out of 5]

2024 - Year of The Bat (366 Days of Batman)

Day 48: Guess I should read The Court of Owls first. One of those Bat stories I’ve never gotten around to.

[RubiGiráldez RubiGiráldez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Puede que el mismo autor me haya emocionado demasiado de entrada tiempo antes de poder leer este número... ¿Una propuesta a full horror cosmico de Batman y la Corte de los Búhos y ligado al Arkham Asylum de Morrison y McKean? Es para levitar... Si bien esta presentación funciona y apunta maneras (sobre todo en lo gráfico, llegando a atreverse con ese inserto a lo Arkham Asylum en el que se hace mención directa a esa obra), al rematar la lectura queda una sensación algo escamosa. Sí que parece que se ha liberado un mal ancestral en las calles de Gotham, pero al menos de entrada. Sus formas distan bastante de los mimbres Lovecraftnianos más puros y genuinos. Y no solo de los elementos más accesibles o visuales. Sobre todo, Christian Ward debe saber que ya hay precedentes a su propuesta. El mismo Mike Mignola realizó un estupendo Elseworld a modo de relato que podría haberse desprendido de la época Weird Tales del Solitario de Providence. Y viniendo de la decepción que supuso Aquaman Andromeda, la verdad es que avanzo con pies de plomo con esta City of Madness.

[James B · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was good, this was really good. This might be the best comic I've read this year. The writing and the art were both fantastic. I groaned when I saw the Court of Owls were in this, as they seem to be in a lot of Batman stories right now, but this story was amazing. I'm absolutely buzzing for the next one.

[Kastie Pavlik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cthulhu Batman? Yes, please! And Alfred! Oh how I miss Alfred. I enjoy the Court of Owls - how cold and calculated they are (although, the Talon mythos seems to work a bit differently here), and the inclusion of Harvey with a twist is cool. It's always interesting to see Batman working with his rogues on dangers facing Gotham that scare even them.

[K · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really wasn't expecting the art to be so stunning. I'm not sure I even care about the story (while it is interesting) I just like looking at the colors and the palette and how well it all serves the story. It's a really wonderful piece of art.

[Dominika · Rating 5 out of 5]

"..but, God forgive me.. I wanted vengeance, too."

[Leslie Carnahan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Court Of Owls is here y'all... And they up to some crazzzzzy stuff. SUCH amazing art and writing. Can't WAIT to read more. However, I do with this was in a regular comic size...

[Carol]

It is a new take and twisted on Batman

I am loving this story so far and the art style I am hooked please keep up the great new I look forward to the new book

[Gabby · Rating 4 out of 5]

The pacing of the first issue was good in my opinion. I enjoyed having Harvey as the bridge, so to speak, between the Above and the Below.

Of course it would be the court of Owls. Of course.

[Alan · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5
The art here is very reminiscent of Arkham Asylum and the Spiderverse movies, I love it. Also Batman Cthulhu? Yes, please.

[Lehabah · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story was entertaining but what blew me away was the art. I want to tattoo it on my eyelids