BATMAN: I AM GOTHAM by Tom King

This first volume of DC's new Batman Rebirth relaunch comes out the gate starting with a bad stumble, a one-shot hand-off issue where it seems like literally nothing happens. It's totally a throw-away story. What follows is a six-issue arc that sports an interesting concept but this story also falls a little flat. Two new heroes have risen in the city, Gotham and his sister Gotham Girl, who really look up to Batman and have Superman/Wonder Woman-like abilities. But they might not be ready to be heroes themselves.

The idea of new heroes in Gotham is interesting and the idea of having them corrupted was also cool but the execution is a real missed opportunity and very forgettable. I would've loved to see Gotham's desire to see justice done grow to extreme vigilantism, which is what causes him to kill, leading to Batman having to put him down, but instead he goes bad because a new throw-away villain with the power to control emotions brainwashes him? Meh. Boring.

And we never really got a sense of how powerful Gotham and his sister truly were, so I didn't buy it at all that he defeated every member of the Justice League single-handed like they were just random thugs. That would be kind of a big deal! It just feels like the book wasn't fully conceived to it's full potential and filled half-ass ideas. And what's the deal with Batman always wanting an partner? I've ALWAYS hated that idea.

Oh well, the upcoming second volume has a pretty cool plot and it seems to feature Bane, so I'll check that out and I hope it's better.

GRADE: D