At the end of “Failsafe”, Batman was seemingly blasted into the unknown. Batman #131 kicks off the next arc, “The Bat-Man of Gotham” that takes us on the journey of where Batman is, unfortunately it’s a story it feels like we’ve seen before.

Now on an alternate world where Batman doesn’t seem to exist, Bruce/Batman is seeing a skeleton version of Gordon while he attempts to get his bearings. This Gotham is one that seems to have the heavy hand of justice with police that have no problem acting as executioner. Everyone seems to be scared and few seem to be willing to stand up to fight the fascist police. But, where there’s injustice Batman will rise and he does exactly that here.

Writer Chip Zdarsky seems to channel a few Batman stories with this new arc. It partially feels like “Future State” mixed in with “The Return of Bruce Wayne”. And so far, it hasn’t presented too much that stands out from either. The police of this world are tough as nails, juiced up on Venom making them difficult to defeat.

In the DC universe, no Batman means greater crime which forces Batman’s team to step up and fill in the gap. Of course there’s discussion that they truly don’t believe he’s dead… and it feels like something we’ve seen before multiple times. All that’s missing is for one of Team Bat to put on the Batman costume and take up the mantle.

The main story features art by Mike Hawthorne with ink by Adriano Di Benedetto and color by Tomeu Morey. The alternate Gotham is interesting with slight tweaks to make it stand out. The redesigned police force is interesting with an almost religious fanatic aspect about it. But, even that reminds me of the comic turned movie Priest. There’s some good action sequences and Bruce looks like he’s sore and beat down, it really sets the tone and mood of the opening arc.

The backup story features Miguel Mendoca with color by Roman Stevens and lettering by Dave Wielgosz. It looks good with some solid action and emotion flowing. There’s clear anger and frustration from Team Bat as they not only have to fight but also deal with a missing Bruce. It’s a nice contrast from the opening portion of the comic.

Batman #131 is a decent opening to the second arc in Zdarsky’s run. But, it feels like it’s something we’ve seen before. It really needs to show how it’s original and can stand out from what has come before. Overall, not bad but also nothing that really excites.

Story: Chip Zdarsky Art: Mike Hawthorne, Miguel Mendoca
Ink: Adriano Di Benedetto Color: Tomeu Morey, Roman Stevens
Letterer: Clayton Cowles, Dave Wielgosz
Story: 7.5 Art: 8.0 Overall: 7.5 Recommendation: Read

DC Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

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Purchase: Zeus Comics – comiXology/Kindle