Gotham City: Year One (2022-) #1

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However, if this whole first issue is just the opening scenes the story, then it becomes far more appropriate and fits within the overall style that King is going for. It manages to tie up all the loose ends, meaningfully place a thematic poignancy on the characters’ actions, and remain tense and exciting through to the end.

Wayne is namely: a drunk, a gambler, a womanizer, a wife beater, a rapist, a mass murderer, and most importantly - a racist. Superstar creators Tom King and Phil Hester team up for the first time to tell the definitive origin of Gotham how it became the cesspool of violence and corruption it is today, and how it harbored and then unleashed the sin that led to the rise of the Dark Knight. This is all wonderfully mixed in with Slam fighting his way into the heart of the city and pillar of what Gotham supposedly stood for.It was always a story without Batman, and his inclusion is more there to remind us an entire city can crumble and fall because of a few poor choices and ill intentions. The ingredients alone led me to believe some twisted shit was going down and I was surprised a couple times. As the world falls apart around him, Slam must decide between justice and revenge–a choice that will echo down the generations and redefine both Gotham and Batman!

As the black people of Gotham are violently attacked during the riots, Slam talks about what it was like for him growing up. Sam is taken by surprise when Constance reveals she followed Richard and Sam to Finger Apartments and found Helen in the room Queenie kept her in. DISCLAIMER: DC Comics provided Batman News with a copy of this comic for the purposes of this review.There are even a couple of panels where Slam looks just like Humphrey Bogart, which I feel has to be intentional.