Future State: Gotham, Vol. 1

Future State: Gotham #1-7

by Joshua Williamson, Dennis Culver, Giannis Milonogiannis (Illustrator)

The event that was DC Future State continues in this graphic novel collection starring the Red Hood and the entire Bat-Family.


Disaster strikes Gotham City, and all evidence points to the Next Batman! Red Hood must choose justice over his family and allies when the corrupt Magistrate enlists him to bring in the new Batman dead or alive! Featuring the entire cast from the popular Future State Batman titles, this story line kicks off the next chapter in this forbidding world of tomorrow, and does so in brilliant, monochromatic storytelling! This black-and-white collection will showcase the brutal world that's around the corner in Future State Gotham!

Includes stories from Future State: Dark Detective #2 and #4, plus Future State: Gotham #1–7.

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

224 pages, Paperback

First published April 12, 2022

Reviews

[Chad · Rating 1 out of 5]

DC attempts to make a manga. This future setting feels so far removed from Gotham that it doesn't even feel like Gotham. More like Neo Tokyo. I just kept feeling like I was reading a generic future manga and not a Batman Family comic. The artwork has very weak lines and is very manga influenced as well with very few backgrounds. Plus it's in black and white. Red Hood is missing all of his humor. This whole thing with masks hunting other masks doesn't make any sense either. Why wouldn't they all be outlawed? I thought this was one of the worst of all the poor stories to come out of Future State.

[Paxton Holley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Continuing reading all the Red Hood stuff I can.

I didn’t love this. This whole Future State Gotham is set in the future in a locked down, martial law Gotham. Masks are outlawed. Jason is on the outs with the Bat Family. AGAIN. You’d think they’d get it by now. Every time they think Jason has gone over the deep end, they have it wrong. EVERY. TIME.

This series is too post apocalyptic. Too grim and serious. Jason has lost a lot of his trademark humor which is what I’ve grown to love about him. I do love the black and white art. It sets the tone perfectly. But again, I miss Jason’s humor.

[Khurram · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this book much more than I yhought I would. Reading great first couple of chapters, I was afraid that this would be a few of the Future State books re-done in black and white. It is s lot more than that.

Jason Todd is working under cover, enforcing the no mask law in the Future State Gotham. Trouble is he has done such a great job the entire Bat Family has turned their back on him, also the Magistrates and Peacekeepers don't trust him either. Now he has his biggest assignment yet bring the new Batman. However as always there are other players in Gotham, and who's plan is he following.

I love the black and white artwork, the story is great, definitely moves the Future State story along and there is a lot of action. The book finishes with a deadly promise for the next book. The book also contains a full page and coloured varient cover gallery and sketch book.

[Sem · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'll be honest, I skipped an issue of this at first and didn't even realize it. Because, really, I'm not reading whatever the story is, I'm just admiring the art and the format. Those are real cool.

[musarboijatra · Rating 3 out of 5]

DC meets cypberpunk!

এক বিশাল বিস্ফোরণে যখন গথাম শহরের বুকে একটা ব্যাট-সিম্বল-শেইপড গর্ত দেখা দিল, ঝামেলা শুরু হলো সেখান থেকেই।

Future State: Gotham ভবিষ্যতের গল্প, যেখানে ব্যাটম্যান লাপাত্তা, আর তাঁর অনুপস্থিতি সামলাচ্ছে ব্যাট ফ্যামিলি। একমাত্র রেড হুড (জেসন টড) ছাড়া, যে পরিস্থিতির সুবিধা নিতে যোগ দিয়েছে পিসমেকারের সাথে। পিসমেকার এখন একমাত্র আইন, নিজের কর্তৃপক্ষ তৈরী করেছে 'ম্যাজিস্ট্রেট' নামে।

ব্যাটম্যান কোথায়? নিজের লোগো'র আকারে বোম ফাটানোর কী মানে? গণমাধ্যমে ততদিনে ব্যাটম্যান ভিলেনের তকমা পেয়ে গেছে। এর মাঝে গোপন তদন্তে নেমেছে রেড হুড, পরিস্থিতি সম্পর্কে এমন কিছু জানা আছে তার, যা অন্য কারো জানা নেই।

কাভারে দুর্দান্ত সব রঙিন আর্ট দেখা গেলেও পুরো কমিক সাদা-কালোয় আঁকা। গতিময়তার চেয়ে অনেক জায়গায় সংলাপের বাড়বাড়ন্ত মনে হয়েছে। গল্পও যেমন-তেমন। তবে আমি এখনো আগ্রহী, 'নতুন ব্যাটম্যান' আর 'নতুন জোকার' কারা হতে যাচ্ছে তাদের দেখার জন্য। দেখি সামনের ইস্যুগুলো কেমন হয়!

[Mia · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

Jason, as undercover cop, why did DC think that was a good idea, but at least Cizmesija art was good.

[Aidan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jason Todd, need I say more?

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the not-too-distant future of Future State, Jason Todd looks out for the vigilante community as best he can - by joining the hero-hunting Magistrate!

If nothing else, this book justifies the rest of the Future State line by actually picking up where they left off. Focusing on Jason Todd gives the poor guy a new ongoing now that his Red Hood book has ended, and he's not a bad vehicle to tell the story. If anyone's going to be playing both sides against the middle, it's Jason.

That said, there's sometimes a bit too much going on. You've got Jason, Ravager, and the Magistrate minions, then Jace Fox turns up, and Hunter Panic, and there's a subplot with Nightwing, and that's all before you introduce the villain of the piece who's fairly bland in comparison to everything else going on. The bigger mystery of the bat-shaped hole in Gotham is neat, but it kind of devolves a bit near the end and becomes a big slugfest.

The idea to do a DC book entirely in black and white is a bold one, that's for sure. It's not a bad choice, but I do think the artwork can sometimes feel a bit insubstantial - I think some heavier inking might have solved the problem. If there's no colour, it's easy to lose the depth of the visuals if there's not enough shading going on. I don't need thick sharpie lines or anything, but a little more weight wouldn't hurt.

Future State: Gotham's not a bad experiment, and I'm interested to see what it results in, but it does have some teething problems getting off the ground.

[jude · Rating 2 out of 5]

Started off strong with the plot of Jason and Rose hunting down people with masks in a future where masks are outlawed, but then it dissolves and falls short. It felt like there was too much going on as there were multiple subplots throughout involving Jason and whatever character they felt like introducing. I probably won’t pick up the rest of future state. 2.5 stars

[Shir Egoz · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story was good, but two things made me take a star off.
1. The entire collection was in black and white which kind of bugged me tbh, probably cause I'm not used to it.
2. It took me over a month to finish it, which means to me that even though I liked the story, I wasn't really eager to continue reading.

[Parker J · Rating 4 out of 5]

*read as monthly single issues*

Honestly, I'm really digging this series. After binge reading all of the Future State books DC released at the beginning of the year, I really appreciate this follow up. It wraps up and continues just about every single one of FS stories that took place in the magistrate-controlled Gotham. It makes reading all of those stories feel worth it because they come back into play here (and a lot of them ended on cliffhangers). I was pleasantly surprised to see even the Arkham Knight storyline pop back up in this. I'm excited to see how they will continue to incorporate other parts of the Gotham Future State lineup into this series (Grifter just appeared in issue 8, not collected in this volume, and I hope to see Catwoman and the Outsiders!).

I think the black and white art style really lends itself to this series and the art style. I love the somewhat manga/anime inspired art and action sequences, and the character dynamics are working really well for me also. I'm excited to see where this story will take us and I hope it has a decent run.

[Rae · Rating 5 out of 5]

The world-building, the art, the characters. Just wow.

I was nervous going in when I saw the pages were in black and white, but it actually wasn't that hard to deal with. So much fun, I would definitely recommend.

[Sam Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is absolutely a must read for any DC fan, especially for any Jason Todd fan. I have to admit, I was confused when I started reading: I hadn't followed the Future State line of books, I wasn't expecting the black & white, but once I got used to it, I really fell in love with it. It's a REALLY solid story that's clearly manga inspired, and it really managed to work-- I mean it's Joshua Williamson, so I'm not SURPRISED that it worked, but still!

It's got great character writing: I loved the Bat family interactions, I loved this new Batman, I,of course, loved Jason Todd. It's probably one of the best Red Hood stories for sure, particularly if you're also tired of Scott Lobdell and want literally anyone else to write him. Jason and the new Batman (Jace Fox) make a good team and honestly, I kinda wanna pick up more Future State titles now, particularly Jace's. Jace seems like a real solid character and I wanna learn more about him

[Anthony · Rating 5 out of 5]

As the present-day DC Universe attempts to curtail some of the darker futures seen during the Future State event, this title takes readers back into the grim world of Gotham’s Future State, following Jason Todd when he is once again alone and separated from his Bat family. As he works to protect Gotham from the threats looming over them, the powerful hand of the Magistrate he now works for threatens the freedoms and lives of both heroes and villains alike. The gritty future the story depicts reflects beautifully in the black and white artwork that brings these futuristic versions of iconic characters to life. A great title in DC’s Future State line.

[this_eel · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love some good Jason comics but unfortunately the script for this book was like loose scaffolding that was never built into the final product. Too much happened with too little impact or indeed anything like sufficient connective material. Ideally you’d want to feel yourself trying to work out the twists of the story while you read, but that tension really wasn’t in this book because without giving the reader any teasing clues it just sort of plunks down changes in direction at a rapid pace. While the art style might suit some people I think its partial abstraction and weightlessness exacerbated the problems with the writing. Not for me.

[Louis Skye · Rating 2 out of 5]

Started off strong then completely fell away. Tried to shoe-horn in so many different future plot lines when it should have focused on the main story, which was threadbare, to put it kindly.

Art style was interesting. The monochrome look is not something one sees often in Big Two comics. I liked the style but I felt like it lost definition as the story went on?

I liked Jason as the protagonist but he didn’t have much to do here apart from punch people (or get punched). Sets up more interesting stories, though.

[Ross · Rating 2 out of 5]

(possibly my shortest review)

This title wants to be too many things for too many people
* a continuation of 'Future State'
* a continuation of 'Batman: Black and White'
* a manga influenced title
* a loose connection to 'Batman Beyond'

It's...a lot.
None of it quite hits it out of the park

[Will Cooper · Rating 2 out of 5]

For me, the black and white didn't hit. I also thought it was a little weird that the world is supposed to be SO gritty (we follow Red Hood, the most edgelord) and the art feels more childish than usual. The story was the normal back and forth of Jason is tracking down suits but not really but everyone's mad at everyone.

[Grg · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this because I was excited to see a superhero comic in black and white. The art was very cool in places, especially in the Punchline side story. Most of the writing was pretty forgettable, but I admire them trying to do something different here.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

HATE the art in this, hate that it's another round of the Batfam picking on Jason (at least Tim acted halfway decent???), and the villain was boooring, but at least Jason was allowed to do some cool shit in the end. I love Jason trying to call back to early Batman times, even if he was misguided.

[Daniel Pappas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly? I liked the manga interpretation of Batman. I liked the artwork and I thought they nailed a ton of the Gotham city stuff. It was kinda the deep end for me cause I had no idea how this story got started but I liked it! I guess I’m just very easy to impress.

[Soph Garcia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the story, but I wish it was not black and white, there is nothing wrong with black and white artwork, but me personally when it comes with great character design, for me it the colors, anyway I do recommend this book as a Jason Todd fan 😁

[Charlotte Tracey · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I bought this, I thought it was a standalone. Now that I've finished it I'm glad it's not, I NEED MORE!!!!

[Jade · Rating 5 out of 5]

The art in this is just so clean. Great story and good development for Jason Todd. I'm definitely going to use this for inspiration.

[Danielle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wasn't super interested in this, and it seemed like every couple pages there was an explosion to avoid an actual plot. I do wish I liked it more, especially for the conflict within the Batfam.

[Daniel Butcher · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

I don’t really dig the black and white. But I do like some of the turns in Jason’s story…and maybe where it is going.

But me and Future State don’t fully blend.

[M.i. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pleasantly surprised at how this played out. Batman’s protégés getting the spotlight, most notably the red hood character was well told.

[Steven Heywood · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't expect much, I'm tired of the constant churn of the DC universe, but the quality of the storytelling by both the writers and the artists overcame my prejudices.

[Jonathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Black and white. I liked the part that showed how Robin is always pulling his punches when training with the family. Robin will one day get his Movie!

[Ex Libris Animus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not my kinda story line but not bad either and good art