Batman Incorporated #1 Review

Writer: Ed Brisson
Art: John Timms and Rex Lokus
Letters: Clayton Cowles
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $3.99
Release Date: October 11th, 2022

In Batman Incorporated #1, someone is brutally killing the people who trained Batman and Ghost-Maker and leaving their mangled corpses behind with cryptic messages. Ghost-Maker becomes obsessed with finding the killer, sending he and the rest of Batman Incorporated across the globe to protect the teachers who are still alive and find whoever’s doing the killing.

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The Story

Grant Morrison created the concept of Batman Incorporated decades ago, combining the heroes across the globe who were inspired by Batman, and it’s been fascinating seeing the many variations of Bat-themed characters across DC’s world. In Batman Incorporated #1, we get to see a great subset of the characters, including their new leader Ghost-Maker, as well as Clownhunter, Knight, Jiro (the Batman of Japan) and El Gaucho, among others. It’s a great mix of personalities and character designs, making the book a fun read and a visual feast. The most fascinating character in the book, Black Mist (who’s based in Ireland), isn’t a member of Batman Incorporated, but with her decked out tech-enhanced ninja outfit, shock of short red hair and unapologetic desire to operate alone, she’s more like Batman than any of the Batman Incorporated members.

The mystery set up here is a tantalizing one. Not only are some of Batman and Ghost-Maker’s mentors killed, they’re killed in brutal, “Seven” style ways, giving subtle clues on who the killer is. It’s a great start to the series, with a mystery that strikes deep into Batman and Ghost-Maker’s pasts and also pushes Ghost-Maker to his limits, as he scrambles the team to prevent any more killings, while agonizing over every detail of the crime scenes, desperately trying to figure out who the killer is. It’s always nice to see the detective aspect of Batman and his family of characters in action, as opposed to the usual kicking and punching of cackling villains.

The Art

John Timms and Rex Locus’s art on Batman Incorporated #1 gives visual flair to each member of the team. Their work on Knight and Ghost-Maker are especially good, as they convey emotion through postures and gestures (both characters wear full face masks, covering their features). Timms’ panel layouts are standard but keep the action moving smoothly and Locus’s colors (dark browns and reds) make this world seem much like a Film Noir-type film, a perfect mood for this series.