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Thursday, February 9, 2023

Book Review: Batman: Gates of Gotham by S. Snyder et al.

Batman: Gates of Gotham story by Scott Snyder and Kyle Higgins, dialogue by Kyle Higgins and Ryan Parrott, and art by Trevor McCarthy

A new villain, the Architect, is blowing up bridges and skyscrapers in Gotham. His vendetta against the city has its roots in the city's economic boom a century earlier when several rich and powerful families (including the Wayne family) worked together to make Gotham into a rich and powerful city. Those families depended on some brilliant engineers to build bridges and skyscrapers, though the engineers (two brothers) clearly were not on the same social level. The book presents both stories in tandem.

This story comes from the Batman, Incorporated, era of Batman's storyline. Bruce Wayne is a background character funding various national incarnations of Batman. Gotham has Dick Grayson as Batman and Damian Wayne (Bruce's son) as Robin. They are joined by Tim Drake (former Robin now going by the identity Red Robin) and Cassandra Cain (a former Batgirl now going  by the identity Black Bat). The Bat-group investigate the destruction, uncovering information about the founding of Gotham in the alternate story. 

The present-day story is interesting, providing a mystery to solve, some personality conflicts among the Bat-group, and moments of action. The parallel, century-separated stories work well, though the ending is not as solid as the beginning.

Mildly recommended.

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