A worthy addition to the Batman canon… By PETER STONE I can only imagine that creating a new character for the Batman mythos must be incredibly difficult. In the past 25 years, for example, there have only been a handful that have stuck around: Hush, the Court of Owls, the Batman Who Laughs, and Punchline, among them. Sometimes, these characters are created carefully by accomplished writers. Other times, it is a talented artist who brings one to life. But when authors and illustrators are working in synch, the results can be especially dynamic. In the ’80s, Frank Miller and David Mazzuchelli gave us Carmine Falcone. In the aughts, Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee gave us Hush. More recently, James Tynion IV and Jorge Jimenez gave us Punchline. In between, there was Azrael, the antihero created in 1992 by writer Denny O’Neil — who was already a legend, thanks to some of the best Batman stories ever — and artist Joe Quesada, an up-and-coming talent who went on to run Marvel Comics for years. The inker was also one of the best in the industry, Kevin Nowlan. Batman: Sword of Azrael was designed to be the origin story for a new hero in Gotham. Instead of shoehorning this character into the regular flow of the Batman books, Denny threw out the idea to make the introduction a four-issue mini-series, allowing Quesada and himself to really dive in to Jean-Paul Valley’s beginnings. It was Quesada who asked the powers-that-be if it would be OK if Kevin inked. The answer to that question in ANY universe is, “Hell, yes!” The story opens with Azrael looking for all the world like an avenging angel of justice, being shot multiple times as he tries to eliminate a crime boss. It turns out, though, that he’s just a man, whose name and purpose stretch back to the 14th century. His son, cradling his dying father in his arms, promises to learn to be Azrael as his father did. Enter the Batman, who traces the insignia on Azrael’s sword to the Ancient Order of St. Dumas and a lonely chalet in Switzerland. Once they come to terms with each other, Batman and Jean-Paul, the new Azrael, “team up” to defeat the main villain. Since then, Azrael has appeared in comics, video games, and animated shows —...
Let’s not forget what came right after Hush… — DC in 2025 will be re-releasing the famed Batman: Hush storyline as a series of Facsimile Editions — and publishing a Hush 2 sequel by the same creative team, led by Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee. But don’t forget the excellent story arc that came right after, Broken City. — Dan — By PETER STONE For decades, drawing a Batman comic was the bellwether of the comics industry. If you wanted to find out if you were one of the best artists, you desperately tried to get on a Batman book to compare yourself to all the others who had come before you. I believe it is still that way. Look at some of the artists drawing Batman these days: Jorge Jimenez, Clay Mann, Jorge Fornes, among them. Every comics great has tried their hand at the Darknight Detective. Which brings us to a little artistic gem from 2003-04 called Batman: Broken City, written by Brian Azzarello and drawn by the unique and wonderful Eduardo Risso, with evocative, negative-space covers by Dave Johnson. Risso is an Argentinian artist who had a huge career before he ever set foot on American soil. With a knowledge of anatomy and storytelling, Risso takes Azzarello’s story and adds a brand new look to the Caped Crusader. His Batman drifts more toward Frank Miller than Neal Adams, but there are moments when Risso shows the Dark Knight in his more athletic form. His storytelling is always clear and concise and, as a reader, you’re never confused as to what is going on. There might be some David Mazzucchelli in there too, because there are very few forced perspective images.Risso just moves the camera around to create interesting compositions. He seems to love the close-up of main characters, showing their emotions or pain. Does it seem just a bit cartoony? Perhaps, but that just adds to the entire style he has created. Risso is a master of black ink. He creates silhouettes in a way no one else does. . foreground figure will be all black except for a necklace. A background figure’s face may be black except for his eyes and gritted teeth, but his upraised arms are clear as a spring morning. Black shapes fill the backgrounds, and sometimes even foregrounds are loaded with...
A new, recurring feature that spotlights great, lesser-known comics that demand your attention…
We kick off Pete Stone’s new feature with a three-issue Jonny Quest spinoff…