Review: Future State: Gotham #1
[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]
Writer: Dennis Culver, Joshua Williamson
Artist: Giannis Milonogiannis
Letters: ALW’s Troy Peteri
Reviewed by: Carl Bryan
Summary
Following the events of Infinite Frontier #1, The Joker is the most wanted man in the world!
Positives
Let’s focus on this issue as it could simply stand on its own merits. Dennis Culver, and Joshua Williamson offer a great continuation story of how Red Hood is working the angle in his work with the Magistrate in arguably fighting crime with a mask on as the Magistrate is on the hunt for “masks”. Wait a minute? Don’t Peace Keeper #1 – infinity wear masks? Sigh.
Again, this story contributes more to the Future State that was created in the aftermath of the “Control/Alt/Delete ” of all of the DC Multiverse and The Batman Who Laughs saga. Billed as arguably the future that possibly could be, I always thought that DC would simply set us up for something we already knew due to the Future State series.
Picture Episodes 4, 5, and 6 of the Star Wars saga and then the prequels and then let’s jump ahead to the future even more. It then challenged the writers (readers) to put together what could happen, what should happen, what would be canon and what timeline they are subscribing to. Whew!
Again, the authors and artists do a superlative job in this issue, but let’s look at the entire picture.
Negatives
We already have a format for this in Batman: Black and White which is an awesome book. This format would have worked perfectly in a Future State issue within that book as it is “black and white”… albeit, some of the frames look like rough drafts, but I like that aspect of comics as well. But Batman; Black and White is the perfect place for this type of story telling as it skips around and the reader knows what they are getting.
Negatives (more)
Okay…We have the regular timeline (or do we?) I mean now Bruce is arguably not as wealthy as he was dealing with the aftermath of Bane and Joker and the beginnings of The Magistrate. But then we have to buy into Future State again as that was promised as the future that could be…Charles Dickens anyone? We also have the Murphyverse which is pared down a bit in characters, but an entirely different Batman saga. The Detective? Yep…got that one? You should. Urban Legends? Yep…buy that too. But Batman is still brooding a bit in Justice League. Confused…yeah me too.
Verdict
I enjoyed City of Bane, Joker War, and Future State. And now the prequel to Future State, but how can we “catch up” if the Future keeps coming at us. Ponder that as you read this comic. Is it good? Yeah…but it should have been in Black and White where it belongs.
