Posts: 1099 Location: Cheektowaga, NY Joined: 29.07.05
Posted on 13-04-2008 00:03
by Nathaniel Ruff (aka Binker on Newsarama, and Nate on BYTB)
BATMAN: DEATH MASK #1
Written by Yoshinori Natsume
Art and Cover by Natsume
PLOT:
Acclaimed artist Yoshinori Natsume (Toguri) makes his American comics debut with this Prestige Format miniseries that presents an original Batman manga tale! There's a new serial killer in Gotham, and he may have ties to the training Bruce Wayne acquired as a young man in Japan. Does the murderer know Bruce Wayne is the Batman
REVIEW:
A version of Batman that is Japanese-influenced has had its share of hits and miss. From the animation, or a Japanese anime, standpoint; The Batman was good for what it was, but nothing beats the classic Batman: The Animated Series. Plus, it was western-style anime that looks okay, but weird too. The REAL Batman Anime will be Batman: Gotham Knight, which its seemingly early review pointed out that it will be great when it comes out on July 8th. But out from anime and into manga, the only Batman manga before this new one was Batman: Child of Dreams, which was great in both the Japanese artwork and the storyline. So when Batman: Death Mask was announced, the question of what to expect was something we all get to any comic book that is announced for the first time. But because Child of Dreams was done so well, there was a question of whether or not Death Mask was going to be good too. Now with issue #1 out, let's take a look!
Batman: Death Mask is in every way a manga, like any other you may know. This first issue to the manga is done very well, in terms of both the story and the artwork. The story takes the already told "who is the real guy (or the mask), Bruce Wayne or Batman?", but adds philosophy into it. The philosophy is in the theme of the story, which happens to eb the theme of masks. The philosophy is in Bruce as he has an unspecific connection toward the serial killer (the killer doesn't have a name), and finally the philosophy on how the killer attacks his victims, which is of "removing" the front side of the head, of the face, like a mask. Like I said: philosophy. The book has many mysteries: who is the killer, what kind of connection does he (or maybe she) have with Bruce Wayne and his past, and what does he (again, or she) want ultimately. And like any other story with its own mystery, there isn't anything like an answer toward each of these mysteries in this first issue. Despite that, I'am really trying to figure them out by myself before even reading the following three issues. Best to say; I love these kinds of stories.
The serial killer basically wears a costume similar to Batman's, but the killer happens to be always in silhouette. You may say that how the killer looks, as well as the story where Batman and the killer connect back into Bruce Wayne's past, are all very similar to Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, the animated Batman movie from Batman: The Animated Series. I would agree with the similarly part, but it's the other things this manga has that doesn't make you think those similarities until, let's say, a few days later or even as an afterthought after reading this first issue.
The book does give only two suspects into whom the killer might really be. One is Jiro Agurama, the president of the Agurama Corporation, and he is a primary suspect because he is the one who brings in a set of masks (again, masks are the theme in this story). And when he asks one person to wear one of the masks, that person goes berserk. The secondary suspect is this woman named Aya Himemiya, whom looks very much like another woman that Bruce met at a young age when he was training in Japan. Altogether, these two are enough to make you wonder if these two may or may not the killer in this storyline.
Overall, the first issue to this new Batman manga series has given me feelings and moments similar to other great Batman works with a similar storyline like this one. In many ways, this could be another great Batman manga alongside Batman: Child of Dreams, because of the story and of the philosophy that's added into it. That might be saying much as we're only into the first issue, and something could happen that could make my prediction come off as wrong in the end. But oh well, a prediction is a prediction anyway. If you don't read mangas, or haven't in a while (long or short), I would say try out this first issue. It is about Batman, so someone familiar to everybody is already in this already. So with that in mind, I can't wait for the next one!
RATING: Yay
Next Issue: Bruce Wayne must confront his past!
You don't get it, boy... this isn't a mudhole... it's an operating table.
(crack!)
And I'm the surgeon.
- Batman - The Dark Knight Returns
Author
RE: Batman: Death Mask: Discussion and Review Thread
Posts: 130 Location: Oklahoma City Joined: 11.09.06
Posted on 23-04-2008 16:47
Nice review, I appreciate that!
I've been wondering how people will think about this book since some Americans totally hate Manga, mainly comic book purists. I appreciate many different art forms & I'm curious about this book. The art I have seen from this book looks kinda cool & it's very different than the normal comic art we see all the time. I might have to pick it up on my next comic shop visit.
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