Batman: Creature of the Night, Book One - "I Shall Become..."

[laughing_tree]

It's all tied up in a project I did called Superman: Secret Identity, which was a story about somebody named Clark Kent gaining the powers of Superman in the real world. I used that story as a way to explore the secret self we all have inside, that we only share with people in specific ways. It was a success and DC was interested in doing more. I told them that we could do a Batman project but it would be very different. -- Kurt Busiek

Comments

[astrakhan42]

I know the giant bat at the end is metaphorical, but how cool it would be if Busiek did a swerve at the end and tied this into Dark Metal by having it be Barbatos.

[spider_man6]

Wait, I’m confused. Isn’t it Bruce using the bat to get justice, or is it just him as a kid?

[glprime]

Bruce *did* conjure a giant bat creature in this story.

[spider_man6]

I’m as interested in this as I was Superman: Secret Identity, which is good. I guess this comic is going for a “sleepwalker by day” Element.

[sadoeuphemist]

It's Uncle Alfred, right? The Batman is Uncle Alfred. Or at least a bunch of dudes he's paying to dress up like a bat and beat up criminals.

[lizard_of_aus]

How do you explain the flying, though?

[sadoeuphemist]

A) It's some dude on a hang glider (or a shadow, or the wind, or whatever) being blown up to mythic proportions by a child's imagination.

B) If we accept the premise that there's a supernatural component to the story, that there really is a flying bat-figure ghosting around and beating up bad guys, who's to say that it isn't the uncle who's got the powers instead of the kid?

[beyondthefringe]

Those cursive narration boxes, though.
It's probably just me, but I find them intensely painful to try and read, and it annoys me.

[janegray]

Same. I was thinking that the story does look interesting, but oh my god do I hope they change the font for the trade.

[theflames]

Agreed, terribly hard on the eyes.

[lordultimus]

Having read the full issue, Batman is some sort of self-aware psychic projection made by Bruce's desire for someone like Batman to exist.

[jaxjyls]

Alfred's 'lifestyle' is obvious to everyone else right?

[janegray]

I'm guessing they are following the formula of Superman: Secret Identity, where the "kid" portion of the story takes place in the past while the "older man" portion takes place in the readers' present.

That would explain why the guy had to hide/euphemize his being gay. It was a hell of a lot more of a big deal 20+ years ago.