Writer: Peter Tomasi
Artist: Alison Borges

 

In the interest of preserving the surprise in case you’ve not played, or plan to play the Batman: Arkham Knight video game, the comic deals intimately with the Arkham Knight’s secret identity, and you’ve been warned. Video game tie-in comics can be a hit or miss ordeal, both in terms of how relevant they are to the story of the game in question, and in whether the quality is there. But the Arkham Knight comics have thankfully not been the case here, Pete Tomasi, late off his run on Batman & Robin, has taken the lead on the Arkham Knight comics. While basically there to supplement the game’s story, in this case Genesis covers a much needed bit of backstory in the form of Jason Todd. While Arkham Knight had a very tight story, much of Jason Todd’s relationship with Bruce is left largely unexplained, and while that’s a fault of the game, this gives Tomasi a great deal of ground to play with.

While it’s easy to ask why to bother with an origin for Jason Todd and tinker with stories as significant as his origins and death, the differences between the comics and the game are significant enough to justify it as Tomasi shows in this issue. It goes a great deal into showing where his propensity for anger, and why he could have enough hate for Batman to attempt to kill him. That being said, the comic does enough to stand alone as its own story, even without having read the currently ongoing Arkham Knight comic, or having played the game. While it does spoil it, it’s a good Batman comic for someone to walk into.

In terms of the craft itself, Tomasi does a good job as usual of getting into the heads of his characters. Jason Todd can be a difficult character to nail, and while he isn’t sympathetic, he is an agreeable character which can be difficult element to nail. Alison Borges also does a great job with the art. DC’s digital first comics have had a better pedigree of late when it comes to the art. While it’s easy to see why keeping quality art flowing on an accelerated schedule can be difficult, these recent offerings such as Genesis, Bombshells, and Wonder Woman’ 77 have all had great art coming out, and that helps the story tremendously. If you’re looking for a new Batman comic to check out, this does stand out from the crowd.

4 out of 5 Ratcatchers

Review by Slewo