I have my doubts. And hopes. As Ever.
Batman: Death by Design could have been average in a lot of ways. The story touches on themes that are not new to the Batman world: legacy and corruption. But Death by Design avoids being average by having it's own style that is original to the core.
In this comic Gotham and the building that reside in it are characters. As a matter of fact they seem to be the characters most victimized in the story. They're held captive by a system that breeds poor design to encourage development. That seems to be the greatest antagonist in the story, although Joker is thrown in to act as a catalyst. It also helps that the art work conveys the grandeur of Gotham City in way that I haven't seen before. Buildings are given a personality and you can tell by the way things are arranged if something is a good building or not. It's a very specific point of view to have in a Batman comic book. One of the characters in a Architecture Investigative Report and in any other comic that would sound insane.
The story doesn't provide too many twists and turns but it makes up for it with a style all of it's own. I hesitate to say it has a film noir quality because I think Batman is already heavily influenced by noir but it has a black and white movie quality that is evident in the dialog and again in the design. This might not be the Batman you're used to, he's even refereed to as "The Bat-Man" which I like a lot. He is certainly a Batman of decades past. I also like the Greenside character and the foil that they create with him and Bruce Wayne. The Joker isn't the main villain of this book but he is an important character. I'm really refreshed by this take on The Joker. He's not your Killing Joke/The Dark Knight Joker that is so prevalent these days. He's a criminal and that's fine. There is also gangsters and a blonde bombshell... I said it took from old black and white cinema.
Batman: Death by Design is great read. While any part of the equation by itself may fail to provide Batman with an interesting story when all of them are added together we get a sum greater than the parts. Unfortunately I think we might be hard pressed to get a follow up (the formula runs it's course by the end) but maybe with enough time Kidd and Taylor and put their impressive talents together and produce something else good. I have my doubts. And my hope. As ever.
