Batwing #1

DC

Written by Judd Winick; Art by Ben Oliver; Colors by Brian Reber; Letters by Carlos M. Mangual

Sep 10, 2011 DC New 52 By Kyle Lemmon

It seems as though Grant Morrison’s Batman Incorporated concept is part of DC’s new continuity. Good idea. For those that didn’t catch it, Batman, Inc. was the excellent series where Bruce Wayne opened Batman franchises around the globe. Batwing is an OK spinoff from that well-done series. Its African setting is quite a novelty. The fact that the lead character, Tinasha policeman David Zavimbe, is a minority is a rare thing as well. Batwing goes beyond a string of novelties, though.

Zavimbe is dealing with crime in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and corrupt co-workers. His closest ally is the sexy officer Kia Okuro. She is trying to “swim in cleaner waters.” Zavimbe wishes she would “try harder.” It will be interesting to see if a romance develops between those two. The history lesson on Earth Strike and a mysterious, seven-person superhero team called The Kingdom is more interesting.

Judd Winick (Catwoman, Green Arrow, Green Lantern) told CBR TV that he’s doing his homework on 21st-century Africa. That remains to be seen based on this issue alone. I did find Ben Oliver’s (Judge Dredd, The Authority, The Losers) airbrush-like computer colors to be hit or miss. The violence is dialed way up via a machete-wielding baddie that goes by the name Massacre. The addition of a rogue named Blood Tiger gives you a strong hint that this title is not for kids.

This being a Batman title, The Dark Knight has to show up and give Zavimbe some pointers. These segments are just fine. I’d rather read more about Batwing’s origins. His version of the Batcave, called The Haven, is pretty awesome. We have piles of chopped-up corpses and a solid premise here. Batwing just needs more character motivations and that Kingdom super-team to eventually show up. Time will tell whether this book will be on your pull list. Check it out when you get a chance. It’s worth $2.99. (www.frumpy.com / www.benoliverart.blogspot.com)

Author rating: 6/10

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Average reader rating: 7/10

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