Ever since I heard that Bendis had left Marvel and joined DC I’ve wanted to read a Batman book written by him. And I got my wish! It’s not the main Batman title, or even Detective Comics (though I’m sure he’ll get around to writing both at some point down the line), but a new series: Batman: Universe. Unfortunately, like most wishes, this one kinda backfired on me - Batman: Universe #1 isn’t very good.
Riddler’s stolen a Faberge egg and Batman’s gotta stop him - what is this, an episode of Batman ‘66? Throw Jonah Hex and his modern-day descendant Jinny, Deathstroke and Green Arrow into the mix and you’ve got the “universe” angle (ie. this is a series about Batman and the many characters in his world).
The problem for me is that Bendis is doing on Batman what he’s been doing on Superman: telling the same generic kind of stories we’ve seen this character go through a hundred times before. This is the type of story I expect to come across in a Batman game: it’s recognisably Batman and straightforward but is basically just a vehicle to get Batman fighting lots of people, which is more fun to do in the Arkham games though not nearly so much fun to read in a comic.
Bendis still writes it in his smooth, slick style and Nick Derington’s art is easy on the eye - it’s just not terribly interesting to read. I expect there’s more going on here as Bendis hints at with Riddler and Jinny’s behaviour, and maybe this is one of those titles that read better in the collected edition rather than in the monthlies, but for now Batman: Universe #1 is an inauspicious start to the series.
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