Dean Poling
Matt Wagner is a comics legend. The creator of the independent critically and commercially successful "Grendel," as well as team-up classics between his Grendel and DC's Batman, Wagner brings his considerable talents, again, to Batman, both drawing and writing this mini-series. This adventure uses the "Legends of the Dark Knight" format by presenting a tale of Batman during the early days of his career, when Bruce Wayne is learning the ropes and Gotham remains steeped in corruption. This is a fun enough read, but it doesn't seem to be either Batman or Matt Wagner at their best. This first issue is not memorable, but Wagner fans know that he likes to build a story, some times slowly, and the pay-off is often worth it. Readers will have to wait and see.
