Acclaimed manga artist and writer Yoshinori Natsume makes his American debut with a four part, manga style Dark Knight comic with Batman: Death Mask. It must be said that this is most likely an attempt to help build hype for the DVD cartoon of Batman: Gotham Knights due out later this year which is drawn in the same style as this manga by Natsume. The DVD is a short collection of anime style adventures of Batman as he takes on some familiar foes such as Killer Croc and Scarecrow. This way, true diehards of Batman will not be caught off guard with this art and story style and the fair-weather fans will most likely buy it because of its short release after the new live action movie in July.
That’s enough about something that won’t be out for another six months though. We’ll get more into details on the movies as they get closer to their respective releases. Onto the review! This comic series had been hyped for weeks up till its release since it gives you a sense and style you never see from Batman, but is a nice, fresh twist on the franchise, at least in terms of art style. Starting with having to read the comic from right to left, just like a Japanese manga, the story is driven by a somewhat stereotypical Batman plot. The Dark Knight is questioning his identity, whether Batman or Bruce Wayne are the dominant parts of his personality, driven by nightmares of him in a cage with a Batman-esqe silhouette acting as warden on his self-made prison. Meanwhile, a Japanese corporation has come to Gotham to work with the Wayne Foundation on a new project that they feel with help both the US and Japan, which sparks flashbacks to Bruce’s training in the Far East as a young man, long before becoming “The Batman”. A fundraising dinner is thrown and the eccentric Japanese businessman reveals Oni masks that he intends to put into the Gotham art museum as a show of goodwill and hope to spark an interest in Asian art and history. He encourages an attendee of the dinner to don one of the masks and, of course, when he puts the mask on, his personality severely shifts from happy, fun-loving partygoer to a martial arts master who puts down several of the art bodyguards before running out of the party. Bruce chases only to find the man with his face and the mask slashed off, a ridiculously clean cut, similar to something Bruce had seen in his dreams and also what looks like the mark of a new serial killer in Gotham. Batman must now come to terms with his own mask, try to recover the stolen art, and stop the new serial killer who takes the view that we all wear masks a little too literally as he wishes to “help us” remove them.
A strong showing by Natsuke, this looks like it will fit well into the Batman mythos. Although nothing revolutionary beyond the art style for Batman, those are waters you do not wish to disturb much to begin with, I can see Natsuke’s effort getting a warm welcome from the Gotham Guardian obsessed. I would recommend this story just for the sake to look at the well drawn characters and to try something different from what we are used to. If you are a casual Batman fan or a fanatic, I would definitely pick this up and add this to the collection. I look forward to the rest of the four issue series.
-Ray Carsillo
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