‘Batman Justice Buster 1’ Manga Review
Batman meets the Joker.
From a collaboration between DC Comics and the Japanese publisher Kodansha comes the manga Batman Justice Buster volume one. The duo behind Ultraman, Eiichi Shimizu and Tomohiro Shimoguchi, handle the writing and illustrating, respectively.
A young boy named Danny witnesses Batman take down some gunmen and dreams of fighting crime in Gotham City while living with his uncle, a retired clown. Using the supercomputer ROBIN, Batman tells Alfred he hopes it will help him fight crime and turns down an offer from Superman to join the Justice League. As Batman battles Firefly and Killer Croc, a mysterious private investigator watches, but soon sees another vigilante arrive. This is the Joker, who wears a clown mask and clashes with the Batman.
This reimagines a younger Bruce Wayne who relies heavily on technology to fight crime and rewrites the Joker as a vigilante who is seemingly losing his grip on his sanity. It is a good twist on the mythology, and while this is not the first version of the Joker who is seemingly a hero, it is definitely the best.
I also enjoyed the artwork. Batman is drawn similarly to how he is presented in The Dark Knight trilogy, and it seems to borrow that vibe a great deal. It works well with the story and adds to the vibes very well. I applaud their work and find it excellent.
It is exciting, action-packed, and addictive. It is a shame that Batman fans have to purchase tales outside of the United States to get good tales about the Caped Crusader. I look forward to seeing how it develops over time.
What do you think? Let me know in the comments below. Tell me if there is a comic book, movie, or anime you would like me to review.