Reality is about to come crashing down on a grown-up Bruce Wainwright. But what will it mean for his imaginary friend? Your Major Spoilers review of Batman: Creature Of The Night #3 awaits!
BATMAN: CREATURE OF THE NIGHT #3
Writer: Kurt Busiek
Artist: John Paul Leon
Colorist: John Paul Leon
Letterer: Todd Klein
Editor: Chris Conroy & Joey Cavalieri
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Price: $5.99
Release Date: April 18, 2018
Previously in Batman: Creature Of The Night: “Bruce Wainwright isn’t a child anymore-but the trauma that shaped him, and the monster he created, is still with him! Has Bruce grown enough to deal with the shock when he learns that one of his most closely held beliefs was a lie?”
A COMPLEX TALE, A WHOLE NEW WRINKLE
Moving forward a few years (it feels like it might be around 1989 or so, given references to “that spooky movie”), we find Bruce Wainwright under surveillance by the police, who suspect a tie between him and the mysterious Batman. Batman’s existence is becoming less and less secret, and Detective Gordon Hoover is certain that there is a tie between them. Bruce is satisfied to have helped things get better and even to have tempered the murderous urges of his… friend? Tulpa? Other self? Regardless, a random interaction with his Uncle Alfred leads Bruce to what may be the truth about Batman, but that realization leads to the truth about Hoover, which leads to a world-shattering revelation for young master Wainwright. Worst of all, they may have made things worse than if they had stayed out of it from the beginning…
A “REALISTIC” TALE DONE RIGHT
I’m always skeptical of stories that claim to be super-realistic and yet also have superhero elements in them, but this one does a really good job of balancing the two. Bruce keeps finding that no matter how many criminals he takes down, new ones move in to take over their turf, and when Hoover starts feeding him information on possible suspects to target, things get even more complicated. There’s also quite a bit of time spent on a possible explanation of what Batman is, which works for me as a reader. This issue was delayed for quite some time, thanks to real-life issues for the creators, but I’m happy with what we get, as Leon’s art is just as detailed and just as exciting as in previous issues. Best of all (for me, anyway) is the use of a clearer cursive font for Alfred’s portion of the narration, one of the few weaknesses that I found in issue #1 when we discussed it on Dueling Review…
BOTTOM LINE: STILL INCREDIBLY ENGAGING
Even with the wait, even with the story transitioning into the answers (which can be disappointing, since we all have/had our own thoughts on what has been happening) Batman: Creature Of The Night #3 hits a real sweet spot for me, with a cliffhanger ending that makes buying #4 a no-brainer, beautiful art and a story that gets the rare balance of reality and fantasy just right, earning 5 out of 5 stars overall. I’m starting to appreciate Stephen’s theory that delays are meaningless if the finished product is good enough…
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