Batman: Dark Age (2024) #1

by Mark Russell, Mike Allred (cover_art), Laura Allred (cover_art)

Meet Bruce Wayne, Gotham’s favorite delinquent son. In an origin story like no other, witness the boy become a dark knight shaped by a city in turmoil as it marches towards its prophesied doom. Set against the backdrop of actual historical events, Gotham comes alive, filled with the iconic characters who’ve loved and hated Batman over the years like you’ve never seen them before. Spinning out of the Eisner-nominated Space Age, Mark Russell and Mike Allred return to give audiences a look at Batman as a figure in American history fighting for justice in a world gone mad.

Genres: Comics, Dc Comics, Batman, Superheroes, Comix

46 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 26, 2024

About the author

Mark Russell is the author of God Is Disappointed in You and Apocrypha Now. He also writes the comic book series Prez and The Flintstones for DC Comics. He lives and works in Portland, Oregon.

Reviews

[Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Batman: Dark Age #1 isn't your typical Batman origin story, & that’s only a small part of what makes this book so good. After working together on the hit Superman: Space Age, Mark Russell teams back up w/ artists Mike & Laura Allred to deliver a fresh, & sometimes brutal, take on the Dark Knight's beginnings.

As mentioned, the future-defining events of Crime Alley unfold differently yet their impact is no less heavy. Bruce isn’t present for the events & isn’t immediately thrown into a journey of revenge. Instead, we meet a Bruce who has become Gotham's resident "delinquent son," a brooding rich kid w/ a penchant for trouble & paying off the cops to avoid consequences. We also get to see a fun new twist on Bruce’s first meeting w/ Selina Kyle, which sets up the next issue.

Russell's narration, delivered by an older, possibly unreliable Bruce, casts a cynical light on Wayne Enterprise & the power struggles which occurred until Bruce came of age. He is seemingly aware of the evil organization, the False Face Society, who ran things at Wayne Enterprise in his stead & was behind his parent’s murder. They are hellbent on eliminating the only Wayne heir, but Alfred does everything he can to ensure that doesn’t happen. The older Bruce’s recollections of Alfred’s impact on his life are some of the best writing in the book.

Mike Allred's designs are a perfect match for Russell's narrative. He utilizes a retro motif the exudes nostalgia w/ bold lines and it’s complemented superbly by Laura Allred’s vibrant colors. The two create a Gotham that is feels classic, yet unsettling. The world feels like it's teetering on the brink of chaos, a perfect breeding ground for the Russell’s script. It’s a great juxtaposition to the all-white, pristine future Gotham the two create to show how Thomas Wayne envisioned what the city could have become.

This was a bold & audacious reinvention of the Batman origin story. It's a dark, suspenseful tale that will leave you eager to see where this alternate history takes us next & how this version of Bruce ends up becoming the Caped Crusader

[Colin Post · Rating 4 out of 5]

Russell and the Allreds are at it again! I absolutely loved their Superman book, and this one promises to be of the same caliber. It seems like they’ve got some more rope for this one (6 issues to Superman’s 3), so that may be why we didn’t get too far in Bruce Wayne’s story. I really loved how the Superman book went through significant historical eras and moments and there wasn’t as much here with that.

This book has a great dry sense of humor - it is Mark Russell after all - but I found myself chuckling at several gags and one-liners.

I’ll be curious to see how this ties into the Crisis storyline like the Superman book did.

[Richard Goild · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great start. I do not mind the change in the murder of Bruce's parents story at all. I am looking forward to the next issue, for sure.

[harvest · Rating 4 out of 5]

batman karizma adam ya

[Nicholas Lindstrom · Rating 5 out of 5]

COULDNT PUT IT DOWN!

IM A BIG FAN OF DC COMICS AND THE BATMAN BOOKS! This one left it off with a nice cliff hanger!

[Nicolo · Rating 5 out of 5]

An elderly man in a nursing home is in the throes of dementia. On good days, and they are starting to become uncommon, he knows he is Bruce Wayne. His doctor asks him to write down his recollections in a journal while his memories still remain. He starts with the Batman symbol.

A follow up to their excellent Superman: Space Age, Russell and the Allreds give us their take on the monolithic Batman mythos, adding another layer to it.

Bruce's early days as an orphan reminds me of the television series, Gotham, less of a recollection and more of wishing it was as good as this.

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sort-of spin-off of Russell/Allred's Superman: Space Age, so I'm surprised that I was caught a bit by surprise by the approach and the ending of the first issue. While it ties into the earlier miniseries, it's almost certainly a different, adjacent world (for one thing, this seems to be a younger Bruce Wayne.) Bruce depicted as a rudderless juvenile delinquent is an interesting change, and it's a good set-up for a very different approach to the development of Batman. I'm interested in seeing the rest of this story.

[Christian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another retelling of Batman. Not bad by any means, but neither the plot nor the prose were interesting enough for me to care about the continuation. I didn't enjoy the art much. Especially the characters and faces were offputting

[Dennis Begley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heartbreaking to watch Bruce succumb to Alzheimer’s. Alzheimer’s is one of my worst fears and to see one of your favorite heroes turn irrevocably human is crushing, but interesting. I hope to read prt 2 and 3 soon.

[Tina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wasn't really feeling this one. The art isn't my cup of tea, and Bruce is absolutely insufferable. Also, the ending of issue #1 made it pretty clear where the story is going and how it will end.

[Andre Swai · Rating 5 out of 5]

The animation was a little jarring at first but it began to charm me. I was a huge fan of the expositional, narration and journal like nature of this comic, very little dialogue and compelling story.

[Garth · Rating 4 out of 5]

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

Day 87

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

5

[Cris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Echaba de menos engancharme a cómic de grapa… Y sin duda, no he podía tener mejor vuelta. Batman🖤

[Steven Shinder · Rating 3 out of 5]

I just can't not think of Archer when I see this art style.

[alejandro galvez · Rating 5 out of 5]

So refreshing.

This is really good. Lots of good humor in it as well. I got a good laugh out of the jokes in it. This is my favorite Batman title out right now. It's very good.

[Ziyad Baksh · Rating 4 out of 5]

A look at Batman's life story

This issue is set in the early 60s and deals with the fallout of Bruce's parents' deaths. It has its own take on Bruce as a wayward teen that echoes the beginning of Batman Begins but does its own thing.

I'm curious where it goes next issue.

[Etienne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Batman must be the characters with the most spinoff in the history. Still another good one. I like the angle the story is taking, even if I didn’t like the artwork that much, the story was good and intriguing enough to keep me in it. I’m curious to see where its going.

[Mary A. Byard · Rating 5 out of 5]

A behind the scenes story

If you grew up watching Batman or reading the comics, this adds to the background story of the making of Bruce Wayne and Batman.

[James B · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was expecting this to be another boring retelling of the Batman story, but my gawd I was wrong. I really liked this. It was different and has me looking forward to the next issue.