#IReadsYou Review: GOTHAM BY GASLIGHT: An Alternative History of the Batman

GOTHAM BY GASLIGHT: AN ALTERNATIVE HISTORY OF THE BATMAN
DC COMICS – @DCComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Brian Augustyn
PENCILS: Michael Mignola
INKS: P. Craig Russell
COLORS: David Hornung
LETTERS: John Workman
EDITOR: Mark Waid
48pp, Color, $3.95 U.S., $4.95 CAN (February 1989)

Batman created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger

Introduction by Robert Bloch

Gotham by Gaslight: An Alternate History of the Batman is a one-shot Batman comic book published by DC Comics in 1989.  Although this comic book's first printing does not carry the logo or imprimatur, Gotham by Gaslight is considered to be the first entry in DC Comics' “Elseworlds” line of comic books.  “Elseworlds” titles feature DC Comics heroes taken out of their usual settings and alters the usual plots and personalities and then, places them in alternate worlds and time lines.

Gotham by Gaslight: An Alternate History of the Batman (Gotham by Gaslight, for short) is written by Brian Augustyn; drawn by Michael “Mike” Mignola (pencils) and P. Craig Russell (inks); colored by David Hornung; and lettered by John Workman.  Gotham by Gaslight is set in late 19th century Gotham City, a time when two mysterious figures arise – one a costumed vigilante and the other a vicious killer – and cause a besieged city to feel even more under siege.

Gotham by Gaslight finds wealthy socialite Bruce Wayne returning to Gotham in May 1889, after being away from his hometown for more than a decade.  After training and consulting great minds and intellects, Wayne is ready to embark on his mission in life.  He will don a costume, cape, and cowl and prowl the night as an other-worldly, garbed vigilante and deliver swift and sometimes vicious punishment to criminals.  Soon, Wayne's activities are the talk of the town and some are referring to his costumed identity as “the Bat-Man.”

However, this “Bat-Man” isn't the only figure of mystery stalking the nights.  Gotham is apparently now the home of a killer that strikes like the infamous “Jack the Ripper,” who terrorized London, England just half a year earlier in 1888.  However, the dual appearance of both “the Bat-Man” and perhaps, Jack the Ripper will make people fearful and stupid and endanger the life of the only man who can stop the killings.

I had not read Gotham by Gaslight: An Alternate History of the Batman in decades until recently, and it still holds up as a strong story.  I would not call Gotham by Gaslight a great comic book, but what writer Brian Augustyn offers here is better than nine out of every ten Batman comic books that DC Comics has published since Gotham by Gaslight.  What Augustyn does is capture the sense of mystery, of the supernatural, and of the storytelling possibilities that writer Bill Finger and artist Bob Kane presented in that very first Batman comic book, Detective Comics #27.

Believe it or not, many Batman comic books cannot recreate the strange magic of early Batman comics, so while, I many not call it great, Gotham by Gaslight is certainly special.  It is a single-issue, stand-alone story – beginning, middle, and end – that joins readers at the hip to a fantastic character and takes them on a fantastic adventure.

On every page of Gotham by Gaslight, artist Mike Mignola gives us at least one striking graphic, like the panel that depicts Batman on a horse, in a full gallop after a carriage.  Inker P. Craig Russell, who is himself an exceptional comic book illustrator, delivers mixed results inking Mignola's pencils – some good, some misfires.  David Hornung uses his colors in imaginative ways; some of coloring turns particular Mignola/Russell pages into paintings of Gothic art quality.

John Workman, who is the comic book letterer as high-artist, makes this story work as a Victorian tale of dread.  Workman's lettering turns some exposition and dialogue into something like journal entries and makes some pages scream out like newspaper headlines.  I don't know if Gotham by Gaslight would capture that primeval Batman vibe quite as well without Workman.

Brian Augustyn would write a sequel, 1991's Master of the Future, but Gotham by Gaslight remains special because there is still nothing like it.  Augustyn and his collaborators wove a spell of magic that would not be repeated, primarily because this creative team would never come together again.  That's a shame.  I think Gotham by Gaslight could have yielded an exceptional follow-up, another one-shot or even a miniseries.

8.5 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2018 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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