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| Saturday, April 21, 2007 01:21 PM |
| A Japanese Batman |
 by Fëanor |
Batman: Child of Dreams - This is a black-and-white Japanese manga about Batman that I got out of the library a while back. It's actually an official Batman book, done in collaboration with DC, with an English script by novelist and comic writer Max Allan Collins (he wrote the graphic novel Road to Perdition, a book I coincidentally got out at the same time as this one). Although it has a number of the stereotypical tropes of manga, in story and style, including the determined but delicate young-woman-in-trouble main character, it is missing some of the more extreme manga elements, mainly due to the fact that this was meant to be a real mainstream DC release, and therefore Japanese creator Kia Asamiya had to tone it down a bit and not have the characters suddenly gain giant heads, or giant blobs of sweat next to their heads, for which I am eternally grateful.
Anyway, the story is about a Japanese TV news crew, including our pretty young anchor girl main character, who head to Gotham City supposedly to film and get an interview with Batman - but in fact there are mysterious and powerful people behind their trip, and far more to their mission than some of them realize. As soon as they arrive in Gotham, an odd series of crimes begin to occur, committed by people who appear to be Batman's classic enemies - Two-Face, the Joker, the Penguin - but who are actually poor slobs on some kind of drug that transforms them into copies of the supervillains for a short time, before killing them horribly. Batman begins an investigation, while Bruce Wayne becomes involved with the intrepid reporter (as he is wont to do), the violence ratchets up, and the conspiracy widens.
This is ultimately a rather ridiculous and nonsensical story, with dialogue that is dull and not particularly imaginative, and art that is your average by-the-numbers manga style. There's little humor here, just a plodding, overly-serious story that is over-explained by far too many word and thought bubbles. The only interesting thing about it is that its villain is an insane Batman super-fan who's obsessed with collecting Batman's gear, clothing, and ultimately Batman himself. This gives the creator a chance to take a sort of postmodern look at Batman and at Batman fans, and in one scene give us a look back at Batman's various different past costumes and gadgets. This is an idea and a premise that's ripe for exploration, but Asamiya doesn't end up doing much with it, instead giving us a talkative and irritating villain who is finally defeated by Batman mostly by mistake. All but the most obsessive Batman collectors should avoid this book. It's just boring. |
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