Batman: Li'l Gotham #1

Halloween

I was delighted when I learned yesterday that this series would be coming out. Though all fans love the dark elements of Batman, I, and I think many others, have reached a sort of fatigue on darkness. It is delightful to see the world of Batman explored in a less dire setting. Clearly, Dusting Nguyen has the artistic chops to draw a cute version of the Batman universe, but can he also craft an amusing tale?

In this issue, Batman teaches Robin the true meaning of Halloween, dressing up and getting candy.

It's Adorable!

I do not believe the chemistry between Bruce and Damian has ever been better explored than in this issue. Batman is the loving father who steers Damian away from his baser instincts and towards doing the right thing. It is overwhelmingly charming and endearing.

The art, as you would expect, is amazing. Several of the panels deserve to be framed as character portraits.

However...

Though this is practically a love letter to Bat fans, I think it would be at least fairly confusing for non-seasoned readers. A series like this could be a great gateway for new, young readers, but there are many unexplored issues such as the relationship between Bruce and Damian, Damian's childhood, and the nature of the bad guys. Do not get me wrong, it would have killed the flow of the issue to go into these things, but it is a shame that the issue could not clue new readers in while servicing the old.

It appears this will only be released on holidays which will certainly be a treat on those few weeks of the year, but if there was some way to make this a regular weekly series, then "Li'l Gotham" would be a greatly serve to build a future fanbase.

One last minor complaint, the first two pages made a joke about the Bat Signal that just failed to land for me. However, the rest of the issue is pure gold.

Conclusion

Every Batman fan should pick up this issue.