DC’s “New 52” is here -- a relaunch that revamps some old titles, revitalizes current titles, and reveals some new titles, which I will be reviewing for
BOF. And now that I’ve got all those prefixes out of the way, I can get on with reviewing this new
BATWING title from writer Judd Winick and artist Ben Oliver.
Although the New 52 is supposed to allow new or existing readers to start fresh, I’ve got to admit that I had a few expectations in place for this title. I was kind of hoping that it would fill the void of something like AZRAEL -- giving us an “agent of the Bat” whom operates mostly outside of Batman’s jurisdiction (and occasionally even his morals). I’m happy to report that this title delivers in that regard.
The story opens with Batwing fighting this tough-looking adversary called Massacre. Before we can get too far into this brawl, Winick takes us back six weeks to show us how we got to this point. We’re introduced to David Zavimbe, a man who spends his days as a police officer of the African city of Tinasha and his nights as Batwing -- one of the newest members of Batman Incorporated. This dude even comes with his own Batcave (The Haven) and Alfred (Matu Ba) to boot! How nice of Bruce Wayne to accommodate. And speaking of Wayne, he was in this issue a lot more than I expected, which isn’t a bad thing in the least.
We get to see Batwing forming his persona in Tinasha, trying to make a name for himself amongst all of the crime and corruption. One of the angles I really enjoyed seeing in this issue was how David uses his officer status in conjunction with his Batwing persona. After he and Batman discover the scene of a brutal massacre, David is able to slyly pass along information to other officers.
And of course, the issue ends with a “shocking twist” that we’ve seen plenty of times before (AZRAEL comes to mind, actually). Still, Winick was able to get a lot out of this first issue and really sets the stage for an intriguing arc. His strong suit usually lies in characterization but this story had a good mix of action in there too, aided by the very capable artwork of Ben Oliver. In my opinion, this one’s off to a decent start. The real test will come when we get more of David’s backstory and how Massacre fits into all of this. I’m looking forward to the next issue!
GRADE: B
Ryan Hoss reviews NIGHTWING, BATWING, and other comics for BOF.
He runs and maintains his own portfolio website at RYANHOSS.COM, as well as SMBMOVIE.COM.
Email him at RYAN.HOSS@MAILCITY.COM.
SYNOPSIS: Africa, a land of beauty – and of great horror. A land of creation and conflict. It is in desperate need of a defender, and from the ranks of Batman Incorporated comes a soldier to carry on the legacy of The Dark Knight in the most tumultuous region on Earth. Meet Batwing, the Batman of Africa!