A Pinoy Blog About Nothing

So this mini-series by writer/artist Paul Pope with colors by Jose Villarrubia, slacked off a bit in the second of four issues. Batman Year One Hundred picks up the Dark Knight in the year 2039. Is he Bruce Wayne? Where was he hiding out all these time? Why is he being called the “last mask” by the cops of Gotham and by the Feds?

Issue #2 is like a pause after the break-neck pace of issue one. Pope introduces us to yet another dystopian future of Gotham City. We see a wounded Batman escaping from policemen who looked liked they came out straight out of the pages of Judge Dredd. Apparently they were surprised to see a “bat-like thing” in the rooftops of Gotham. And very much like the first time Batman made his debut in Gotham City a hundred years ago, they haven’t seen anything yet.

Pope brings a gritty feel to the whole package. Batman is not pretty. His gadgets doesn’t look very cool. In fact the cops seem to have better toys this time around. Even the costume doesn’t seem to fit very well. In the backdrop, there’s Gotham City which has fallen more into the shadows. Picture Blade Runner on its way to Zion of the Matrix. There’s a sci-fi tone to the whole proceedings and definitely a lot more grim than usual. This is the first time we’re seeing Batman 100 years later: injured, cornered and hunted down by the authorities - the police of Gotham and psychic federal agents alike.

In issue #2, we see his allies. There’s a Robin. There’s a mother and daughter team, the former of which is a medico-legal and the Batman’s inside man, who tends to his injures. Batman dons his detective hat this time around as he tries to figure out a murder he has witnessed. He barely escaped with his life and has the law enforcement authorities hunting him down.

Of course it opens up to more questions: is this man Bruce Wayne? Why did all the super-heroes or the ‘masks’ disappear? Why did the Batman don the cowl and cape again after all these time underground? Who are his allies? The guy named Gordon in the GCPD is a distant relation to Commissioner Jim Gordon and apparently has no idea who the Batman was.

Two more issues left and I sure hope Pope begins to give us a decent ride rather than a cop out ending.

Oh and in case you’re wondering if it’s like Dark Knight Returns - it’s not. At least not yet. At least what were seeing now is a straight-up sci-fi/detective story from an artist who has a style of his own.