Batman Dark Knight Dark City

                                                                       

                                               



     If you're looking for a great Batman story that kind of fell through the cracks look no further. Dark Knight Dark City is a three issue story guest written by Peter MIlligan and man is it good! The story itself is more supernatural and horror based, but it's well written and the art here is amazing. The story features the Riddler and a mysterious journal that describes a ritual that will raise a demon. The dark art compliments the story well and while it may only be a three parter, Milligan wastes no time in hooking you into the story. The RIddler kidnaps three babies and it's up to Batman to find them and figure out why. The interesting thing here is how crazy the Riddler appears and at times, he appears even crazier than The Joker which doesn't seem possible. As a fan of Batman I love the horror aspects of the comic and it's nice to see the writers branch off into a new direction. With a lot of shorter stories there's often a lot of filler, but there's none to be found here. Each panel pulls you into what's happening and you begin to wonder how it all ends.

      As a Batman fan it's nice to see these darker stories that have a bit of mystery to them. We get to see the Riddler acting more like the Joker which has his henchmen questioning his motives. The how and why is slow coming but the wait is well worth it as the city of Gothmam is also a huge part of the story. What this does is add more to what makes him so great. Dark Knight Dark city is a Batman comic that lures you in and then at the end, it all comes together and you see why the Riddler is acting the way he is. Is he merely insane or are the ulterior motives at work here? There are some parts here that add a great deal of tension which is done extremely well and I won't spoil it, but when you get there you feel Batman's desperation in these situations. It's a desperation you also feel which is a compliment to both artist and writer.

          The big question here is it worth a read? You have so many great Batman stories but Dark Knight Dark City is one I had never heard of but it's in my top ten and a huge source of pride to my collection. Sure, there stories that many would say are better than this, and maybe they're right, but if you're just getting into Batman, this is a great place to start. You have everything you need to make anyone a fan and the comic itself never loses momentum. You have the reveal which is a bit of a surprise even though you know that the hero will no doubt succeed in the end. Putting the Riddler here was good choice and it's even better when you have the villian acting out of character. It's a risk that sometimes doesn't pay off but here it does. This was a great story and one I plan on revisiting a lot.  I think there may be a trade available but you can find the story in Batman issues 452-454. This one gets a 10/10 from me.