REVIEW CORNER: Batman Beyond # 1

Writer: Hilary J. Bader

Penciller: Craig Rousseau

Inker: Rob Leigh

Letterer: Tim Harkins

Colorist: Lee Loughridge

Cover Date: November 1999

Rating:

This week, I’ll take a look at Batman Beyond # 1 and if you were like me, then seeing the cover to this will easily get you hooked into reading the story and it will remind you all of those classic covers from the Silver Age era where the editor gives the artist an idea for a story and when the artist gets done drawing the cover, the said editor will then show the cover to the writer and have him compose a story to complement the cover so that was the vibe I got from this issue and the story itself was (And still is) really good than some of the Batman Beyond episodes itself.

So the story kicks off with Terry McGinnis duking it out with Bruce Wayne (Who had no choice but to don his old Batsuit) and stop him before he does any major damage; For me, I really tend to get a kick out of the whole “Hero vs Hero” story as it does its job by freshening up a title but never going overboard where the lot calls for an all-out slugfest and I do enjoy the aspect of the protagonist going out of control and fans of the animated series will get a big kick out of Bruce briefly coming out of retirement to stop his protege but here we get the “Heroes tricked into battling each other” concept that will never get old unless the writer has a trick up his or/her sleeve and makes it fresh.

After Bruce and Terry realize that they have been brainwashed by a form of subliminal messaging that was being transmitted via television, Terry sets out to take down the villain and I like how using Spellbinder for this story was a very great touch (Although an easy one since he’s the type of villain that would use such extremities to try to take down Batman); I really love how Hilary J. Bader’s script made this story very worthy of launching the series and at the same time, it brought the fun and thrills of the series into the comic and I just love how stories like this can find a home within this title.

For any of the hardcore Batman Beyond fans, this is a title that should not be missed mainly because this title does a fantastic job of standing side-by-side with the animated series in terms of great storytelling, and with that, it will always be a fantastic addition to Batman’s celebrated legacy.

That’s it for me, I’ll be back with a new review next week so thanks for sticking around and I will see you all next time.