BatMan ’89 # 1
The long-awaited sequel to Tim Burton’s Batman movies has finally arrived! Sam Hamm, who penned the original movie, is writing “Batman ’89”. The miniseries focuses on Harvey Dent trying to stop the Batman, as he believes he’s the cause of all the bad things happening on Gotham.
Written by: Sam Hamm
Art by: Joe Quinones
Colors by: Leonardo Ito
Letters by: Clayton Cowles
“Batman ’89” is a love letter to fans of the movies, and Joe Quinones’ artwork makes it evident. He manages to perfectly capture the tone and atmosphere of Tim Burton’s Gotham while also giving his own touch to that world. In addition, the fact that he “casts” iconic 90s actors as the characters (Winona Ryder is Barbara Gordon! Bob Hoskins is Harvey Bullock!) gives his book a nice touch. It really feels like a sequel to those movies.
Plot-wise, issue #1 does a great job introducing the story we’ll be following over the next issues. Hamm manages to give Harvey Dent a lot of personality and an interesting backstory. It’s a fresh take on the character that works well in this universe. Another character that is getting a fresh take on this book is Robin. Richard Drake is briefly introduced at the end of the issue, and while we don’t see much from him, I like what we’ve seen so far. His dynamic with Bruce will surely be interesting to see and is one of the things I’m most excited to see in the upcoming issues.
The issue also explores the effect Batman has on people and Gotham. While it has been explored in other stuff before, it is always interesting to see how each writer handles that.
Personally, I’m thrilled that this book exists. As a fan of the original movies, it is exciting to see that universe expanding by the person who originally developed it. Here’s hoping we get some sort of reference to this book on Andy Muschietti’s The Flash, the 2022 film that will feature Michael Keaton returning as Batman.