by Tony Rhea, Reporter

Can we talk for a minute about cosmic horror? Among the sub-genres that make up horror, cosmic horror has been gaining in use and popularity, but why? Monster movies are fun, but don’t really scare me, as I’ll never have to come face-to-face with something like Freddy Krueger. Ghost movies are neat, and lots of us have ghost stories, but I’ll never live in the Amityville house. Cosmic horror strikes a nerve, though, due to the fact that a large component of it is about your sanity and your perception of reality. I’m much more afraid of losing my mind then I am of ghosts or monsters. This week, Christian Ward takes a leap into this realm with the release of Batman: City of Madness Book One.

Official Description:
Buried deep beneath Gotham City there exists another Gotham. This Gotham Below is a living nightmare, populated by twisted mirrors of our Gotham’s denizens, fueled by the fear and hatred flowing down from above. For decades, the doorway between the cities has been sealed and heavily guarded by the Court of Owls. But now the door swings wide, and the twisted version of the Dark Knight has escaped…to trap and train a Robin of his own. Batman must form an uneasy alliance with the Court and its deadly allies to stop him-and to hold back the wave of twisted super-villains, nightmarish versions of his own nemeses, each one worse than the last, that’s spilling into his streets!

Visionary writer-artist Christian Ward unleashes his cosmic-horror take on Batman’s world, in a tribute to disturbing Dark Knight classics like Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Gothic! You’ll never look at Batman’s villains the same way again…you simply won’t have the stomach for it!

Creative Team:
Written and Drawn by: Christian Ward
Letters by: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou

We start Batman: City of Madness Book One with Alfred, expressing his worries and concerns in a letter Batman will never read, and join the Dark Knight as he tracks down Two-Face, who may have wanted to be found.We get a short look behind the scenes with the Court of Owls as we learn of a door, and a threat. We meet a young boy who has dealt with tragedy, and seeks retribution. As Batman enters Arkham, and we ponder it’s effectiveness, we learn Harvey and Two-Face might not be a twosome anymore, and come face-to-face with something that none of these characters may be able to face alone.

Bookending Batman: City of Madness Book One with a letter from Alfred permits us a glimpse into the mind and motivations of the person who is arguably closest to Batman, and serves as a great way to start a look into the psyche of these characters. The use of Two-Face also serves Ward well, as the nature of this character and his internal struggles not only serve as an outright representation of duality and struggle with one’s mind, but also work as reflection of Batman (who also struggles to balance the two sides of himself). Ward hits a lot of the great notes of cosmic horror throughout the issue, even utilizing a surprise cameo directly questioning reality. Ward does a fantastic job setting the stage narratively for what is sure to be an interesting jaunt into something Lovecraftian, and makes full use of the world of Gotham to do it. 

Visually, Ward does some very neat things in Batman: City of Madness Book One. I appreciated the understated version of the bat suit that he chose to use, which drew the eye to the surrounding scenery, which is very colorful at times. Two-Face is a wonderful blend of both color and understatement, with some great accenting around the “Bad Harvey” side that make him seem a little more off-kilter. The scenery in this book is done very surreal, sometimes nondescript, and color is used to enhance these effects. There are also some wonderful small touches, like the barely perceptible scrawlings on the “Bad Harvey” side of the cell in Arkham. The end result of all of this is a comic that looks amazing, feels unsettling, and leans in hard to the “what is real” side of cosmic horror. A lot of care and detail has been put into this book, and Ward has really done something unique and beautiful in this issue.

I wasn’t sure what to expect going into this book, but found myself pleasantly surprised and entertained by what I found within its pages. This visually stunning comic is more than worth your time this week, and what a cool start to spooky season that DC has put on offer. 

Rating:
ComicsOnline gives Batman: City of Madness Book One 5 out of 5 fractured psyches. 

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