Gotham City’s new mayor, Pamela Isley, deserted by her allies both political and arcane, is about to make a last-ditch power play that will leave Gotham decimated by daylight. Having already declared war on the Bat-Family and flooded the streets with his private, paramilitarized police army, Police Commissioner Vandal Savage sees an opportunity to solve two problems at once. Storylines converge in Batman: Bad Seeds, a Gotham City. Its an event spanning one long, dark night in Gotham. It threatens to turn the entire city into a hostile world of prehistoric plant life unlike anything on Earth for millennia, at a time when its greatest heroes are hunted and in hiding. As the sun goes down and Gotham loses power. Plunging the city into darkness. Batman: Bad Seeds – Sunset is an opening chapter that shows the only thing scarier than the night just might be the morning sun…

Written by Matt Fraction and G. Willow Wilson, Batman: Bad Seeds – Sunset kicks off the next event for the Batman line. it pays off stories and issues that have played out for months. Pamela Isley, aka Poison Ivy, is Mayor of Gotham. Vandal Savage is the Police Commissioner. The Bat-family is back being hated and more towards the vigilante aspect that they dip their toes in to. For those that have been reading Wilson’s Poison Ivy, you’ve gotten a sense that Isley has actually been trying to do good but keeps running into the corruption and rot at the heart of Gotham. Savage, on the other hand, has been clearly up to something that has played out through multiple series. Together, these plans and “politicians” are going to clash as Isley doesn’t see a path to the future she longs for without resorting to her former villainous ways.

Batman: Bad Seeds – Sunset is an interesting start. Isley cuts a deal with the Parliament of Trees to give them Gotham in exchange for her safety. The result is a concept that works only in comics. A quickly changing environment directly impacts Gotham and will make it uninhabitable for people. The plants take over and again devastate the city. It’s much like what mother nature has done before in the classic “No Man’s Land” storyline. This issue shares more than just the destruction of Gotham but also some visual concepts. Maps of Gotham pre and post devastation give an idea of the changes. Unlike “No Man’s Land,” this story is a much more condense timeline playing out in a shorter period, a day. But the impact is just as deadly and on a similar scale.

The intro issue does a solid job in that it catches readers up while also balancing a lot of characters. Each member of the Bat-family gets their moment, teasing what’s to come for each. There’s also some surprising appearances and direction for characters. But, that’s a double-edge sword. There’s a few characters that might be unfamiliar those just tuning in. For the most part none of that impacts the story or issue directly. It might just leave new readers wondering who these characters are.

But beyond disaster story, Batman: Bad Seeds – Sunset also des a good job of some biting commentary. There’s of course the direct moment about corruption being in the way of progress but also some small moments like surge pricing during a disaster, a real world thing.

The art is solid. Giuseppe Camuncoli, Cliff Rathburn, Tomeu Morey handle the art with Clayton Cowles on the lettering. And the comic looks great as mother nature takes over Gotham, quickly enveloping it and smothering the classic brooding architecture with plant life that still makes the city look ominous. The members of the Bat-family look shaken and caught off guard. Isley bounces from frustration to madness with a look that screams she’s gone over the edge. Savage attempts to look strong but comes off as weak as the scale of what’s going on literally dwarfs him.

Batman: Bad Seeds – Sunset is a great start to the event that new readers can dive into but also pays off for long time readers of the current Batman storylines. It has a lot of interesting concepts and blends sci-fi, horror, political thriller, and good ole-fashioned superhero action. This feels like an event to check out that might go down as a modern classic that’ll reverberate for years to come.

Story: Matt Fraction, G. Willow Wilson
Layouts: Giuseppe Camuncoli Finishes: Cliff Rathburn
Color: Tomeu Morey Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Story: 8.25 Art: 8.25 Overall: 8.25 Recommendation: Buy

DC Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Purchase: Zeus Comics – Kindle