Stuart Moore (1)

In Batman: Nightwalker – The Graphic Novel, Stuart Moore adapts the novel of the same name by Marie Lu with illustrations by Chris Wildgoose with Cam Smith, color by Laura Trinder, and letters by Troy Peteri. Like other YA original graphic novels based on DC’s characters, this story reimagines the familiar characters in a new setting freed from decades of continuity, although this one adapts a novel that did the same.

The story focuses on a young Bruce Wayne, just come into his inheritance on his eighteenth birthday. Meanwhile, a group called the Nightwalkers are targeting the wealthy in Gotham, murdering them in their homes and offices. Bruce begins to get involved in the case, slowly developing his detective skills. Bruce begins doing community service at Arkham Asylum where he meets Madeline, one of the Nightwalkers. As a result, he learns more about the class inequality that underpins life in Gotham. Even as billionaires donate to charities or engage in philanthropic works, they make their money from industrial prisons and other companies that siphon off resources Gothamites might otherwise use. Lu and Moore carefully try to position Bruce as a “good” billionaire and are greatly assisted by his youth and naïveté in this volume. The story works well as a standalone reimagining of Bruce Wayne with Alfred, Lucius Fox, and Harvey Dent adding a touch of the familiar despite changes to fit this story.

It remains unclear if Lu or others will return to this version of Bruce Wayne, but fans of Elseworlds stories and younger readers will likely enjoy Batman: Nightwalker. In terms of art Laura Trinder’s colors are brilliant, using heavy grays and faded blues in a way that both creates a noir aesthetic and recalls the Batman’s classic costume. The occasional pop of yellow to emphasize scenes completes the Batman color coding. In this, she recalls other YA graphic novels from DC that use their characters’ color palettes to bring the art to vivid life and compliment the stories’ tone.… (more)