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Gotham by Midnight (Single Issues)
Gotham by Midnight #1
Strange doings are afoot in Gotham City! Look out, though – Jim Corrigan is on the case in this new series by writer Ray Fawkes (CONSTANTINE, BATMAN ETERNAL) and artist Ben Templesmith (30 Days of Night, Ten Grand)!
23 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 26, 2014
About the author
Ray Fawkes
467 books84 followersRay Fawkes is the critically-acclaimed author of the comics and graphic novels Underwinter, Intersect, One Soul, The People Inside, The Spectral Engine, Possessions, and Junction True, as well as Batman: Eternal, Constantine, Justice League Dark, and Gotham by Midnight (DC), Wolverines (Marvel), Black Hammer '45 (Dark Horse), Jackpot! (AfterShock) and more. He is an Eisner, Harvey, and Shuster award nominee and a YALSA award winner.
Ray has been making comics for over 20 years, starting with and continuing the tradition of DIY fiction as well as working for many major comics publishers in the U.S. and Canada.
Ray has been making comics for over 20 years, starting with and continuing the tradition of DIY fiction as well as working for many major comics publishers in the U.S. and Canada.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
November 26, 2014
If you saw last week’s episode of Constantine where Jim Corrigan appeared as The Spectre but didn’t really because he was a boring detective instead, then boy, do DC have the comic for you! Gotham By Midnight looks to be DC’s version of Dark Horse’s BPRD minus the interesting characters/plots, and set entirely in Gotham, a city riddled with cliches.
Meet Jim Corrigan, a guy who’s drawn by Ben Templesmith to look a lot like Constantine but he isn’t! His powers include nothing and getting hit in his right eye by a lightning bolt for some reason (see cover for proof)). If you’re thinking he’s going to put on the green hood, cape and gloves, think again, because he wears regular non-superhero clothes instead to match his uninteresting personality!
Joining him is a nun, a “tough” female sidekick who, unprompted, tells him the reason why she became a detective, Dr Labcoat (not his real name but he’s a forensics dude that you can tell is a forensics dude because of his labcoat), and two interchangeable guys holding guns. Together they are the GCPD Detailed Case Task Force and are the only thing stopping Gotham from being unprotected. Except for the rest of the GCPD. And the Bat-Family. And Batman. Yeah, they’re valuable alright!
This first issue sees a walking Professor X cosplayer from Internal Affairs investigating the paranormal branch of the GCPD - they haven’t made any arrests so what use are they? Do you think he’s going to think differently when he goes on a ride-along with Corrigan and Tough Female Sidekick? Also makes an obligatory two page cameo because in case you didn’t guess from the word “Gotham” in the title this is a Batman spinoff book.
Besides BPRD, I’ll mention another better series to compare Gotham By Midnight with: Gotham Central. This is like that series in that its about some (mostly) street level characters battling forces usually reserved for the supes. After the disappointing Gotham Academy and the dismal Arkham Manor, I was hoping Gotham By Midnight was going to be a good Batman spinoff but unfortunately Ray Fawkes’ script is so rammed with cliches, it fails to even be a decent read.
“Are you a religious man?” x 2, “You don’t need to prove anything to anyone”, when he was a kid, Corrigan “wanted to be a fire truck”, “‘You people’ - what’s that supposed to mean?”, “They’re just trying to get a rise out of you”, “We’re at the end of our rope”, “Serving and protecting. When nobody else can. When nobody else knows how.”, are just a few lines that made me roll my eyes. Corrigan also drinks hard liquor because that’s what all detectives do, and in case you didn’t pick up that Corrigan and his team are cool and don’t play by the rules, he says: “I knew someone like you would come by sooner or later. Someone who’d try to apply the RULES to us”.
Ben Templesmith’s art is alright if you like it - it’s unusual to see his style in mainstream comics so there’s that, and the dark colour palettes and horror tone are what he does best anyway so he’s suited to the story. But Ray Fawkes is such a bad writer that he totally stinks up this issue with his derivative script. A story involving missing kids? How original!
If you like the lacklustre Constantine TV show and want to read a worse comics version of it, Gotham By Midnight is for you. Everyone else, don’t bother. In less than 2 months, DC are 0 for 3 on Batman spinoffs!
Meet Jim Corrigan, a guy who’s drawn by Ben Templesmith to look a lot like Constantine but he isn’t! His powers include nothing and getting hit in his right eye by a lightning bolt for some reason (see cover for proof)). If you’re thinking he’s going to put on the green hood, cape and gloves, think again, because he wears regular non-superhero clothes instead to match his uninteresting personality!
Joining him is a nun, a “tough” female sidekick who, unprompted, tells him the reason why she became a detective, Dr Labcoat (not his real name but he’s a forensics dude that you can tell is a forensics dude because of his labcoat), and two interchangeable guys holding guns. Together they are the GCPD Detailed Case Task Force and are the only thing stopping Gotham from being unprotected. Except for the rest of the GCPD. And the Bat-Family. And Batman. Yeah, they’re valuable alright!
This first issue sees a walking Professor X cosplayer from Internal Affairs investigating the paranormal branch of the GCPD - they haven’t made any arrests so what use are they? Do you think he’s going to think differently when he goes on a ride-along with Corrigan and Tough Female Sidekick? Also makes an obligatory two page cameo because in case you didn’t guess from the word “Gotham” in the title this is a Batman spinoff book.
Besides BPRD, I’ll mention another better series to compare Gotham By Midnight with: Gotham Central. This is like that series in that its about some (mostly) street level characters battling forces usually reserved for the supes. After the disappointing Gotham Academy and the dismal Arkham Manor, I was hoping Gotham By Midnight was going to be a good Batman spinoff but unfortunately Ray Fawkes’ script is so rammed with cliches, it fails to even be a decent read.
“Are you a religious man?” x 2, “You don’t need to prove anything to anyone”, when he was a kid, Corrigan “wanted to be a fire truck”, “‘You people’ - what’s that supposed to mean?”, “They’re just trying to get a rise out of you”, “We’re at the end of our rope”, “Serving and protecting. When nobody else can. When nobody else knows how.”, are just a few lines that made me roll my eyes. Corrigan also drinks hard liquor because that’s what all detectives do, and in case you didn’t pick up that Corrigan and his team are cool and don’t play by the rules, he says: “I knew someone like you would come by sooner or later. Someone who’d try to apply the RULES to us”.
Ben Templesmith’s art is alright if you like it - it’s unusual to see his style in mainstream comics so there’s that, and the dark colour palettes and horror tone are what he does best anyway so he’s suited to the story. But Ray Fawkes is such a bad writer that he totally stinks up this issue with his derivative script. A story involving missing kids? How original!
If you like the lacklustre Constantine TV show and want to read a worse comics version of it, Gotham By Midnight is for you. Everyone else, don’t bother. In less than 2 months, DC are 0 for 3 on Batman spinoffs!
August 26, 2016
The art is funky. The story focuses upon regular types who are in the police force and have seen the supernatural (well, most of them are "regular").
Batman barely shows up in this installment so don't look for him.
This is "regular" detectives seeing the supernatural and fighting it because no one else can.
OVERALL GRADE: B.
Batman barely shows up in this installment so don't look for him.
This is "regular" detectives seeing the supernatural and fighting it because no one else can.
OVERALL GRADE: B.
January 3, 2015
#2 of 2015 Reading Challenge
Not a bad issue! So this is basically Gotham P.Ds paranormal division which makes it pretty interesting! I feel this is DC trying to remake Gotham Central but in a paranormal sense. What sets this apart from GC is that this will appeal to fans of those reality paranormal shows, instead of cop shows with Gotham Central. The art is awesome and really suits the paranormal tone, like Gotham Central you will see Batman appear here and there but not often. Not as good as Gotham Central but still a good read!0
Not a bad issue! So this is basically Gotham P.Ds paranormal division which makes it pretty interesting! I feel this is DC trying to remake Gotham Central but in a paranormal sense. What sets this apart from GC is that this will appeal to fans of those reality paranormal shows, instead of cop shows with Gotham Central. The art is awesome and really suits the paranormal tone, like Gotham Central you will see Batman appear here and there but not often. Not as good as Gotham Central but still a good read!0
May 29, 2022
reading comics feel like i’m faking my reading goal
November 26, 2024
I'm not quite sure if I'm into this art style.
January 4, 2019
My first ever comic. I really enjoyed it. It was very dark and I’m interested in the storyline
January 25, 2015
I am a big fan of Ben Templesmith's art and Batman is the only DC title I pull, so this had my attention. It is basically DC's attempt at a BPRD-like book, and it is a little better than mediocre. This isn't Ben's best artwork and the writing isn't so solid which leaves the reader a little lost at times and keeps events from having a bigger impact. Multiple times I went back a page or two to see if I had missed something or skipped a page, and I hadn't. It is just a bit too disjointed to fully engage with and care about.
December 4, 2014
I thought it was a good first issue. Loved the creepy feeling to it and can't wait for the next one.
December 6, 2014
Al igual que Gotham Academy, todos los clichés del género en esta serie pero aun así funciona.
February 2, 2015
Meh. This didn't live up to my expectations at all. So disappointed.
March 14, 2015
STORY WAS GREAT LOVED IT
CHARACTERS ARE GREAT TOO
ITS THE ART WORK THAT DIDN'T APPLE ME
IT WAS TOO ABSTRACT FOR MY TASTE
CHARACTERS ARE GREAT TOO
ITS THE ART WORK THAT DIDN'T APPLE ME
IT WAS TOO ABSTRACT FOR MY TASTE
August 26, 2016
Gotham Central is better.
February 9, 2015
Ehhhhhh
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews