Tags
Batman, Batman #1 Annual, Batman (2016) Annual #1, Batman Annual #1 review, Batman Silent Night, Bilquis Evely, David Finch, DC Comics, DC Comics Rebirth, Gabe Eltaeb, Gotham, Ivan Plascencia, Jordie Bellaire, Mat Lopes, Neal Adams, Paul Dini, Ray Fawkes, Riley Rossomo, Scott Bryan, Scott Snyder, Steve Orlando, Tom King
Batman (2016) Annual #1
Review By Paul Bowler
The hush of winter snowfall settles over Gotham City as Christmas draws near in the Batman (2016) Annual #1, but as we all know, there can never truly be a “Silent Night” in Gotham for the Dark Knight, his allies, or even his enemies, in this quintet of special festive tales from the Bat-Caves finest talent!
So, considering Gotham City can be a bit of a gloomy, crime ridden, place for much of the year, you’ll be pleased to know that this Batman Annual brings some surprise Christmas cheer for Batman and Gothamities alike as the holiday season fast approaches.
First off, we have Good Boy, written by Batman series writer Tom King, with pencils and inks from David Finch, and colors by Gabe Eltaeb. Ok, well, I have to admit the first page of this one freaked me out a little. Ever since I was a kid I’ve always been very, very weary of dogs, so the start of this story put me on edge a bit. Still, its testament to King’s writing and some rather fine art from Finch that I found myself, along with Bruce, being won over by Ace and this story that turned out to be a far more heart warming tale than I first expected.
Scott Snyder returns for the next story, together with Ray Fawkes, to bring us Silent Night, a thoughtful and moving Christmas story with Declan Shalvey on pencils and inks, and colors by Jordie Bellaire. Snyder and Fawkes bring an ingeniously techno-themed spin to the Bat-Signal with a new system designed to guide Batman’s actions, and one that ultimately leads into the eponymous silent night of the title itself. Its a lovely story, beautiful rendered by Shalvey and Bellaire, and one that gives us all call to take some time out from all the technological noise and clutter of our haphazard modern world to enjoy those small moments of grace and wonder while they fleetingly last.
Not So Silent Night of the Harley Quinn is actually every bit as festive as its title suggests. The script by Paul Dini throws Batman and Harley Quinn together for a jaunt around Gotham in the Batmobile while Batman patrols. This was easily my favourite story in the Annual, mostly for the distinct style, tone and look of this story because of the pencils, inks, and colors by the brilliant Neal Adams. It was great to see this more classic take on Batman’s costume again, and the Christmas spirit also permeates every aspect of this fun story.
On the flipside, Stag, written by Steve Orlando, with pencils and inks by Riley Rossomo, and colors by Ivan Plascencia, proves an altogether different affair. There’s a sound Christmas message beating at its heart, well-meaning and indeed quite thought provoking, but I felt the coda to this story jarred somewhat. It sets up something for 2017, but it all just seemed a little too grim to me, especially considering the other stories around it.
The Insecurity Diversion rounds of this Batman Annual with a trip to Arkham and an audacious escape attempt by one of the inmates. Scott Bryan Wilson’s script builds a concise and complex narrative as the mystery unfolds, with Batman shadowing the escapee every step of the way until the real villain of the piece – who isn’t really a surprise – is revealed, but it is a journey that is nevertheless a compelling and insightful one. Excellent artwork and inks from Bilquis Evely set the scene perfectly, and Mat Lopes colors nicely complement the festive tone with cool icy tones, before the story closes as Batman turns the tables on his enemies in fine style.
I don’t normally tend to read comic book annuals as a rule, however, considering the great writers and artists involved in this Batman (2016) Annual #1 from DC Comics I simply had to check this one out (especially with its gorgeous cover by David Finch and Brad Anderson), and I’m pleased to say I wasn’t disappointed. It’s a great little anthology of Christmas themed Batman stories, each is uniquely different and brings something new to the table, and while I enjoyed some more than others, overall I thoroughly enjoyed reading this annual.
Sci-Fi Jubilee 
That is one cool cover. I’m a big fan of annuals and always like it when they feature Christmas stories or specials 🙂
I love this cover, think it would make a great poster! Yeah, I like comic book annuals as well, especially when its got a Christmas theme like this one 🙂
Here I am once again! 🙂 When DC launched The New 52 line, I was enthusiast about it, because 3 characters I deeply loved had a solo series: Nightwing, Blue Beetle and Grifter. But all good things must come to an end: Blue Beetle and Grifter lasted only 16 issues, and shortly later Nightwing became the incredibly awful series named Grayson. These decisions made me feel more and more distant from DC: I was still buying some of their comics, but I wasn’t enthusiast about them anymore.
And then DC launched the Rebirth operation. Blue Beetle and Nightwing came back, and Grifter will star in The Wild Storm series that will debut in February 2017. DC dusted off all my favourite characters, and I really couldn’t ask for more.
I was surprised by the high quality of Nightwing, because I had already read a comic book written by Steve Orlando (Midnighter), and I dropped it from my pull list after 3 issues, because it was painfully bad. Luckily this writer is doing a very much better work on Dick Grayson’s solo series.
As for Blue Beetle, I’m puzzled. I read issues # 1 and # 2, and both of them contained some good pages and some terribly boring ones. It’s a good comic book, but it’s not a pleasant read from the first to the last page: I hope it will improve in the future.
Of course Nightwing and Blue Beetle are not the only DC series I’m reading: I’m also a regular reader of Green Arrow, and I think this series is one of the brightest gems of the DC line.
What about you? What are your thoughts about the Rebirth operation? What are you reading? And most of all, how are you? 🙂
Hi there! Yes I’m very well thanks. Glad to hear from you. Yes, The New 52 had its high and low points, especially with the books you mentioned. I was never a fan of Grayson either tbh, didn’t like the whole secret agent thing at all. I’ve been really enjoyed DC comics a lot more since Rebirth. Like you, I dropped several titles, but now I like Detective Comics, The Flash, and Green Arrow. I like how Rebirth has reinvigorated so many of DC’s comics and characters.
That’s the main purpose of every reboot, and DC apparently achieved this goal brilliantly. Thank you for your reply, it’s always a pleasure to discuss about comics with you! 🙂
I agree, I think DC have got the balance just right with Rebirth. You’re welcome, always enjoy talking about comic books 🙂
This really is a great anthology comic. Each of the stories works in their own way, my favourite being the Harley Quinn story. If there’s only one complaint I have, it’s that it released in November, a month too early. Then again, November did have 5 Wednesdays. the fifth Wednesday of the month tends to be a good time to release extra issues, something that DC understands better than Marvel does. So it’s a very minor complaint at best and has nothing to do with the actual quality of the comic.
I really enjoyed this Batman Annual as well. The Christmas themed stories are great, my favourite was the Harley Quinn story as well! Yes, scheduling means this issue is released end of November, but I think I’ll probably end up reading it again near Christmas as I enjoyed the stories and art so much. Awesome cover as well. Cheers for commenting 🙂
Sounds interesting Paul, I generally don’t read comic annuals myself as they tend to be a waste of time but I might give this and the Superman annual a look.
Thanks! Yeah, I’m the same with Annuals as well. This Batman Annual was very good, a great mix of Christmas stories. Would certainly recommend it. I’ve not read the Superman annual, but I’ve heard that’s quite good as well. Cheers for commenting 🙂
Sound very old school in the tradition of these seasonal anthology annuals. It allows artists and writers to create a range of story lengths and approaches that can create classic pieces. But then again, I am an old guy who remembers those great summer JLA/JSA meetings and Christmas mixed bag tales and team-ups. 😀
Many thanks for dropping by my Implied Spaces blog. My Media Literacy blog features some comic related material. 🙂
You are right, in a way, this annual is very traditional in style to those older comic book annuals. Which is good I think, nice this one is Christmas themed as well. I love those old JLA and JSA crossovers and teamups as well, wish they’d still do them. You’re welcome, always enjoy reading your posts, will have to check out your other blog, Cheers for commenting 🙂
The artwork on the cover is INCREDIBLE. The whole annual has artwork of this quality?
It sounds like an interesting read, especially if it has some holiday-themed stories.
Its a fantastic cover! Yes, there are five different stories, by different writer and artist teams, it looks great. Each story has a different look that perfectly complements the Christmas themed stories. Well worth checking out 🙂
The annuals from the big two have not been wowing me of late the last couple of years, but this one was actually pretty good. Great review!!
Yes, I don’t usually get comic book annual as a rule, but with all the great names involved in this Batman Annual I just had to check it out. I really like the Christmas theme to all the stories, yet they are all very different in tone ad style. Highly recommended. Cheers, glad you enjoyed the review 🙂