Too Good To Miss-Batman: Noël
Christmas themed comic books can be hit and miss. Batman: Noël is all the hit of extra-strong eggnog surrounded by thousands of Christmas lights.
The arrival of the holiday season brings Christmas songs, Christmas movies and to a slightly lesser extent, Christmas comics books. Not as well known as your Christmas movies and often not as good, Christmas comic books can be vary in quality and sometimes feel like they are just trying to cash-in on the festive season.
Batman: Noël is anything but a knock-off Christmas special with a villain stealing presents or a madman dressing up as Santa. This is a genuinely good Batman story that is set at Christmas and also manages to encapsulate the essence of Christmas. And yes, it does contain Batman, The Joker, Catwoman and Superman.
Lee Bermejo’s artwork deserves to be framed and put on show in a gallery. The detail is amazing, the depictions of well-known characters are both immediately recognizable and appear fresh and new. And we’re not talking about the fresh and new that involves giving the character a slightly new variation of their costume. Bermejo combines the dark and sinister landscape of Gotham with a bright Christmas atmosphere.
The story uses Dickens’ A Christmas Carol as inspiration, but doesn’t merely provide a cheap rehash of the usual three ghosts approach to the story. Bermejo places Batman in the Scrooge role and challenges the reader to find very real comparisons between Batman and the elements we associate with Scrooge.
Bermejo makes great use of our knowledge of the Scrooge story. I mean, how many times have we seen that story in how many different ways? Everything from cartoon versions, the Muppet version, period dramas and the Bill Murray version. Does anyone actually read the original Dickens anymore? It definitely feels like Bermejo has taken the time to understand the complexities of Scrooge and Batman and instill them into the story.
The underlying narrative is immediate and easy to follow. Lives are at stake in this story. The life of a man and his son hang in the balance, and not just because they don’t have a turkey at Christmas. And then there is Batman himself. The story provides an insight to the incredible toil inflicted on Bruce as a result of his mission to fight crime against the relentlessness of Gotham corruption.
If you are feeling festive and want a really good Batman, this is for you. If you’ve read it before, then this is a reminder, it was great, read it again. And if you are looking for a Christmas-themed gift for anyone, and I mean anyone, who loves Batman, this is a great present. It’s a good read and a exudes prestige format.
Pick up your copy of Batman: Noël. Great for you. Great gift for the Batman fan in your life (this is a paid affiliate link and as an Amazon Associate I will earn a small income from qualifying purchases, but won’t cost you any more).
Originally published at https://neuromyths.substack.com.
