Batman and Dylan Dog cross paths as two of their lethal nemeses, The Joker, the Clown Prince of Crime of Gotham City, and Professor Xabaras, have an unknown history! Batman/Dylan Dog #1 has Joker traveling to London to seal a hellish pact with Dylan Dog’s nemesis, the Mephistophelian Xabaras!
Written by Roberto Recchioni, Batman/Dylan Dog #1 features a European adventure as Batman heads to London chasing the Joker. Dylan Dog isn’t the most well known character and for me, this was an introduction. I know of the name, but that’s about it. So, it was interesting to read the comic to see how easy it is to figure out Batman’s latest team up. And thankfully, Batman/Dylan Dog #1 does an excellent job of welcoming new readers unfamiliar with the Nightmare Investigator.
To me, Dylan Dog is John Constantine without the magic. Recchioni presents a character who is charming and full of style but a massive whiff of bullshit is underneath it all. Broke, who knows where the next dollars are coming from, and a reputation that seems to be shaky, we get a protagonist who feels very pulp overall bringing Batman back to his adventure roots.
Batman/Dylan Dog #1 definitely has that roots feel. There’s a sense of old reels that you might watch before a film, with a story involving zombies and a sense of B-Movie fun about it all. The comic does a solid job in every aspect of the story, weaving in Dylan Dog and Batman’s worlds, introducing characters, setting up personality conflict, and delivering action. There’s just a lot of fun within the comic and that extends to the art.
Gigi Cavenago and Werther Dell’Edera team for the art with color by Gigi Cavenago and Giovanna Niro and lettering by Pat Brosseau. The comic looks fantastic and perfectly matches the tone of the writing. Everyone looks great and the comic has a style that feels like a blend of European comics and a traditional Batman comic. The Joker especially looks fantastic and the tone of the visuals just nails the pulp aspect of it. The comic is beautiful from the design of the characters to the colors, it’s just great overall and a visual treat.
Batman/Dylan Dog #1 is a hell of a start. The comic delivers two characters in Dylan Dog and Batman/Bruce Wayne that are so perfect together in a story that makes sense and doesn’t feel forced. It has a look and flair that is a throwback to pulp adventures and Batman team-ups of the 90s. It’s a fun comic that even readers unfamiliar with Dylan Dog can enjoy. A solid debut that has us already wanting more of this new dynamic duo.
Story: Roberto Recchioni Art: Gigi Cavenago, Werther Dell’Edera
Color: Gigi Cavenago, Giovanna Niro Letterer: Pat Brosseau
Story: 9.0 Art: 9.0 Overall: 9.0 Recommendation: Buy
DC Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
Purchase: Zeus Comics – Kindle
