Honestly, I hadn't planned on picking up Blackest Night: Batman. I love the work of Peter Tomasi. Especially appealing is his return to writing Dick Grayson, who has recently taken the reigns of Batman. But for reasons I shall divulge, I simply wasn't very excited to pick up this tie-in title. My reasoning for this was relatively simple. Blackest Night has long been touted as a Green Lantern story that encompasses the entire DCU, but for whatever reason, I never really felt the desire for the tie-in books, even after the Final Crisis ones were so successful. In addition, when I heard that Blackest Night: Batman would be somewhat dealing with the unanswered questions of Bruce Wayne's death, I balked. Who else should really answer those questions besides Grant Morrison?
So what is it then, that drew me into this book, urging me to give it a read? Unquestionably, the art duties of penciler Ardian Syaf are what led me to give this book a read. From his Gotham City, to his Batman & Robin, to Deadman and his Black Lanterns, Syaf impresses in every respect. You can mark my words, Ardian Syaf is the next Ivan Reis. He is going to breakout real soon, and I would love to see him under the banner of DC exclusivity. His layouts are dynamic, his facial expressions horrifying and emotional, and his character work is iconic. Those that were in the same undecided boat as I was, I assure you that you'll want to jump aboard for the ride now, at the start of Syaf's career.
Luckily though, the enjoyment doesn't come to a screeching halt with the artwork, as those lured into the tie-in book will find a nicely presented tale featuring the new Dynamic Duo's first encounter with the Black Lanterns. More importantly, this issue has Deadman. A whole lotta Deadman. Tomasi leaps right back into the writing of Dick Grayson, easily transitioning into the new status quo of Dick as Batman and Damien as Robin. The dynamic between them that Grant Morrison has established in Batman & Robin remains in tact, and to Tomasi's credit, he is able to keep alive the memory of Bruce Wayne without letting the new team be overshadowed by it. I've also got to commend Tomasi on his balls: a Black Lantern Scarface puppet is not something I would've ever expected to see.
Unfortunately, the issue isn't perfect (well, the art is...), and there are some rather questionable choices in regards to the characters who are returning from the dead. It's not that I don't believe the emotional impact will be there, it is simply that - at the rate the Blackest Night event is going in general - it might simply become zombie overload. One other gripe with the presentation of this issue is Tomasi's apparent need to "reintroduce" Deadman to the readers, via trite exposition. It only lasts a few panels, but it literally reads like the brief hero descriptions present at the beginning of DC's books. "The name's Boston Brand - my friends and enemies call me Deadman. I used to be the best damn aerialist there ever was until somone murdered me! Now I'm a freakin' ghost!" and so on, and so forth.
To be fair, it does appear as though Deadman may be playing an important role in this series, particularly in the explanation of what a Black Lantern is, given his unique position of being able to posses his own bones that are currently re-animated with a Black Power Ring on their finger. As such, it is understandable that such a previously absent character that holds such a signifcant role would be reintroduced.
In all, Blackest Night: Batman is shaping up to be another stellar entry into the DC Comics event tie-in lexicon, as long as it can keep its bearings and puts characters before the action. As for the art...well, that part I'm not so worried about.
