Legends of the Dark Knight Issue 1 (2012) Review

DC Comics

Back in 1989 DC launched 'Legends of the Dark Knight'. The idea was to have a series with an ever rotating creative team and only a loose concern with continuity. It ran with varying degrees of success until it was discontinued in 2007 when it was replaced by Batman Confidential, which was the same when it comes to the creative teams, but followed a slightly different path story-wise. In 2012 DC relaunched the Legends of the Dark Knight series with an issue containing three stories. They are the following:

The Butler Did It.
Whoa man, I hate this story with a passion. That has nothing to do with Jeff Lemire's unconventional artwork, mind you. I only welcome artists that don't stick to the same old style. No, it's the story I can't stomach. The first plot point is actually clever, but everything takes a nosedive after that. As it turns out, everything that happens does so because of people acting way out of character. WAY out of character. It's hard to even read these people with the familiar names attached. They feel like completely different characters instead. As far as revamps go, this has to be one of the worsts starts anyone has ever made. It's a good thing the story is mercifully short, as opposed to tainting the whole issue.

All of the Above.
Don't let my negative review of the last story scare you away from the issue however, because 'All of the Above' is a really fun read that even has a bit of a classic feel to it, even though it takes place in space, which is not usually where Batman shines.The story showcases Batman's fast thinking skills and usefulness in the Justice League.

The Crime Never Committed.
Now, this. This is a Batman comic. This is the kind of stuff that makes me proud to be a fan. I know it's going to sound like a huge exaggeration when I say the story reminded me of Denny O'Neil, but it really did. The previous story was fun, but this one brought me back to reading back issues from the 70's. You owe it to yourself to read this. And the art isn't too shabby either. It's hitting all the stylistic marks, like Batman being shrouded in shadow most of the time, and I'm loving it.

And that was that. As you can see, there is a sharp increase in quality. If I were the editor, I'd scrap the first story, giving the other two more room.