By: Michael Uslan Publisher: DC Comics Average Rating: Binding: Hardcover Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 96 Publication Date: December 01, 2003 Reading Level: Young Adult Release Date: December 01, 2003 Studio: DC Comics
Bruce Wayne fighting crime minus the tights ^ DC Comics' "Elseworlds" stories re-imagine DC's superhero characters in times and locales different than the ones we're used to seeing. In this handsome, well-drawn hardback book, we meet a Bruce Wayne circa 1939 who takes on a dramatic but less theatrical persona than the Batman to fight evil and avenge his parents' deaths.
Of course, a Bruce Wayne in his prime in 1939 isn't technically an "Elseworlds" scenario, as that's exactly the time period when the character was initially introduced! What's truly an alternate take on the character, then, is Bruce becoming someone called "Detective #27", an agent in a secret society of detectives.
Comics fans, of course, know that Bruce Wayne/Batman originally appeared in Detective Comics #27, usually just referred to as Detective #27, back in the late 1930's, so Bruce Wayne's new persona here is a clever tribute to the character's history.
This is one of those stories where the main fictional character constantly interacts with famous historical figures of the time. Here, for example, Bruce Wayne interacts with Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Sigmund Freud, among others, and in prologues and flashbacks set in the 19th century, we also get to see Teddy Roosevelt, Abraham Lincoln, and others. If you enjoyed Caleb Carr's "The Alienist" and its sequel, you'll likely enjoy this tale of Mr. Wayne's secret society of detectives taking on an evil organization's 75 year-old plot to poison Gotham City with a mind-altering drug that induces intense fear.
Sound a little like the plot of the movie "Batman Begins", minus the historical settings? Maybe that's because writer Michael Uslan eventually went on to work on that very movie shortly after the appearance of this 2003 graphic novel. I guess it's fair that he decided to use elements of the plot of this story in the movie.
Sometimes this story is a little too dense with historical figures and plot explanations, but overall it's an involving story that feels like a pretty good novel. There's also a great revelation scene where we finally learn the identity of the real villain pulling the strings behind the scenes. It's great because it was actually a true shock to see who it was. Some great sleight-of-hand, Mr. Uslan!
As this book has been out a while, you can probably pick it up fairly cheaply with a little hunting around in Amazon's network of associated used book stores. It's worth seeking out.
Anything Goes Trivia
Megaton Man
Trevor
