Batman Beyond Unlimited #1 Review
I’m not coming to this as a Batman Beyond fanboy, but as a Batman fan with only a basic knowledge of the Beyond concept, that it takes place in the future. What attracted me to this were the artists Breyfogle and Nguyen. They both deliver in spades with gorgeous and fun images reminiscent of the characters’ roots in animation without being too cartoony. This is an all-ages book. Unless you don’t want your kid exposed to bloodless hand to hand fighting, there’s nothing to keep you from handing it to any kid potentially interested. They should dig it. It’s accessible to new readers without being too explain-y and redundant for the experienced reader. The Justice League portion in particular stands out as a model on how to “re-boot” a time-worn franchise in comparison to the actual JL title itself. I’m not saying that Johns & Lee’s JL is poor, but it has a lot to prove in the eyes of fans and carries the weight of those expectations in its storytelling. The JL Beyond goes straight to superhero-ing without that burden and it’s better for it. No need for an ultimate villain first time around, they meet up with some very fun and obviously B-grade bad guys & girls and we have a great time watching them get rounded up. It’s pretty basic silver/bronze age storytelling that introduces the characters and their world. Not really done in ones, these stories will continue next issue in the manner of most modern comics. If you’re looking for a Batman (or JL) that’s not dark and self important, but not juvenile either, this is the only place in DC you’re going to find anything like that.