Batman

This was pretty good overall, but there are other Batman stories I have liked better, like the works by Loeb and Sale (some of which I have read and listed here). Having said that, this is an interesting look at the Batman. I did find a bit problematic that we never learn how exactly he is 100 years old, or if it is a different Batman. Once you leave that seemingly small detail out of the way, it is a pretty good story in a dystopian setting. In fact, I found that some of the gritty art and style reminded me of Orwell's 1984 setting where there is no privacy, and the government rules by fear. However, unlike Orwell, the Federal government here is constantly challenged by Batman, the one man they know nothing about.

The art is also interesting because Batman here does not wear the fancy suits you see in other comics or the movies. Initially, readers may wonder about that. However, the book includes a section where the author discusses the artistic process, including how he looked at Batman in more realistic terms: what kind of footwear he might wear and why; the kind of equipment in his belt, so on. Sure, there are some futuristic gadgets, but Pope put some thought rather than using the utility belt as a deus ex machina, which many other authors working with Batman often do. I personally found that interesting to read about, and it gave me a better appreciation of the art and Batman's look here.

As for the story, we are dealing with a government conspiracy, and in a world where there are telepaths working for the government, foiling that conspiracy may not be easy.

A note on reader appeal (mostly for me for reader's advisory): If you like Batman, this is a story to read. If you like dystopian literature, even if you are not a big Batman fan, I think you will appreciate this graphic novel as well. As a final note, there are some similarities with Frank Miller's work on Batman in terms of the gritty style, and I think if you have read Miller's work, you may like this one as well.