RKMBs Forums .::Robegories::. Comic Books BATMAN: CHILD OF DREAMS--the best Batman story in years!

Just as Kilgore Trout heartily recommends Supreme: The Story Of The Year as the best Superman story in years, I find myself making a similarly hearty recommendation for a book I bought just today.

I would like to know just who at DC told Kia Asamiya he could do a Batman story, because that guy deserves a hefty raise (or at least a generous Christmas bonus). Asamiya’s Batman: Child of Dreams is easily the best Batman story in a long time. I’ve personally found the overall quality of the Batman books to be wildly uneven since 1986, especially since I intensely disliked Frank Miller’s Bat-tales. Some Batman writers have done the character justice, others have made him an overly belligerent jerk. Asamiya fits the former category to a T, because his story presents us with a Batman who’s at once steely and determined but also human and likable, a very Finger/Englehart/Wein/Conway sort of Batman. But that’s not the sole reason I like this book so much. No, Child of Dreams takes this likable, human Batman and plunges him into an intense, absorbing story that, quite frankly, I still can’t put down.

From the two-page spread of Batman and the shadowy bat imagery on pages 4-5, this 338-page tome is absolutely spellbinding. I’d read the advance solicitations for the book, which would lead one to believe this was a simple drug-trafficking tale. But my God, I wasn’t expecting a complex conspiracy story where Batman himself would be the ultimate victim! I don’t want to give anything away if you haven’t yet read it, but as I went along, I expected the story’s heavy to try to blackmail Batman (I won’t say why—that’s a surprise) so he could continue peddling his wares…but man, was I wrong. Asamiya wrote a climax that was absolutely mind-blowing and unexpected. The mystery behind the drug and its ultimate purpose is a real corker; just when you think you’ve got it figured out, Asamiya throws you a curve ball and sends all your preconceptions into a tailspin. And I have to admit, the Fanatic drug (which allows the users to shapeshift into whatever superbeing they choose) certainly puts Venom and Tar to shame, especially in a couple of the big battle scenes. Again, I don’t want to spoil the story, but Batman almost gets killed in mano-a-mano combat TWICE by Fanatic-powered Batman-doppelgangers. And I tell you, those battle scenes are truly exciting. I was mesmerized, wondering just how the hell Batman was going to come out of those encounters alive. I never once got that feeling when Batman squared off against Bane; those showdowns were telegraphed from miles away. This book is a totally different can of worms. You’re constantly kept in suspense as whether or not Batman’s going to make it out in one piece, a quality that too many Batman stories lack these days. Of course, credit must be given to the superb English translation of Asamiya’s script by Max Allan Collins, himself no stranger to a good Batman story ("The Sound of One Hand Clapping" remains one of my favorite Batman yarns). These guys work really well together, and I hope they do so again if Asamiya decides to do more Batman stuff.

As for the art…why, oh, why couldn’t the Batman: Black & White anthologies look this atmospheric? Compared to the rich shadows and spectacular gray-tones of Child of Dreams, the Batman: B&W books look cheap and chintzy. This book looks dark, menacing, and foreboding, just as Batman should. In fact, I think the rich black and white palette of this book looks infinitely better than the full-color Batman books. (NOTE TO DC: Adopt this look for all the Batman titles! Go for a really foreboding and stylish film noir visual!) Check out the two-page spread on pages 144-145 to see what I mean; that spread wouldn’t look a tenth as good as it does were it in full color. And I much appreciate Asamiya’s way of sneaking around the "black bat vs. yellow halo" emblem debate—he just has Batman alternating between the two costumes! Personally, as one who prefers the yellow halo emblem, I think this was a wonderful compromise, one that I think the regular comics should adopt as well (in addition to the lush black and white look of this book). I also appreciated Asamiya’s sketches of the Batman villains at the end of the book, particularly Poison Ivy. It was a huge treat to see her depicted as the sexy redhead in green tights she should be instead of that anemic She-Hulk look-alike currently traipsing about the DCU (I think Ivy was a much sexier character before she got turned into the female version of the Jolly Green Giant; I really don’t like that makeover at all). And the cover is great, too. It looks like a painting of Val Kilmer in full Batman armor, a terrific nod to the movies (which Asamiya is a big fan). As for the manga art style, I will only say this…if Asamiya ever wants to do Batman full-time in the future, he’s got a standing invitation as far as I’m concerned. This guy’s good, ranking right up there with some of the all-time greats like Neal Adams, Marshall Rogers, Don Newton, Jim Aparo, and Norm Breyfogle.

If I have any complaints about Child of Dreams, it’s that it shows how little effort DC puts into its monthlies these days. Why isn’t Jeph Loeb even trying to write a Batman story half as good as this in the regular Batman title? Asamiya, with one simple hardcover, trounced the dreary and boring year-long "Hush" into the ground. His book bristles with effort and intensity; Loeb’s Batman is a half-hearted slog. And it also shows how DC blatantly refuses to take chances with a certain Man of Steel. Hell, the Superman fanbase practically slits the throats of anybody who even DARES to draw Superman differently than the Curt Swan model. Poor Ed McGuinness, Doug Mahnke, Mike Wieringo, and Scott McDaniel have all been savaged for having styles that don’t conform to the Swan/Byrne/Jurgens look, not on the basis of their talent and skill. All the them have been egotistically tarred and feathered as "manga," even though their art contains very little to none of it. And God forbid a writer want to tell a Superman story that DOESN’T rigidly conform to the Byrne-Jurgens mode/continuity. Could you imagine what would happen if DC did to Superman what they allowed Asamiya to do with Batman? The Superman fans would be screeching and bleating so savagely that DC wouldn’t know what to do with itself. And yet Asamiya was allowed to write and draw Batman his way without having to shoehorn it into continuity, fashioning a top-quality stand-alone story that anyone can come along and read without having to know or read anything else at all about Batman. Seriously, if the only Batman story a person ever read was Child of Dreams, they’d come away knowing everything they need to know about Batman and get a helluva good read out of it. You never see that with Superman. It amazes me how much creative freedom is allowed on Batman, while Superman is paralyzed for the sake of serving an increasingly selfish, egotistical, and ridiculously static fanbase that wants everything to stay exactly the same even if it means killing the character outright. Why can’t there be a Superman story as good as Child of Dreams? Why can’t Superman be allowed the same level of top-flight talent and creative freedom as Batman? Why are the fans so selfish and self-absorbed as to discourage such creative freedom and reject top talent in favor of the same-old same-old? It’s a good thing that Batman’s fans are open-minded enough to allow for different art styles and different storytelling approaches (perhaps because Batman’s changed so wildly over the past 64 years), otherwise Child of Dreams might never have been. As a reader, I think that would have been a horrible loss, because you don’t have be American or Japanese to love this story. It’s just good stuff all around.

If you haven’t yet picked up Child of Dreams…what are you waiting for? Go out and buy it already! You won’t find a better Batman story out there at the moment. (I apologize for not putting any spoilers in this post…but why should I spoil a great book for you? Why not yet you be as surprised by it as I was?) Heck, I’ve read it twice already and I still can’t put it down. This book would make a fantastic Batman movie!

Mr. Asamiya and Mr. Collins, take a bow. You’ve earned it.

bump, because this book deserves the attention

Child of Dreams was great.

I loved it.

Worth every penny.

It's a hardcover but it's gotta be over 300 pages so the price tag really isn't that bad.

I especially liked how Batman even tried to save Evil Batman the way he did.

I don't want to spoil it.

I like Kia Asamiya's art so that was a plus.

His Batmobile kicked some major ass. If I could have any Batmobile it would be that one.

Was this the novel about child slavery?

So its a "novel" novel?
Not a "graphic novel"?

And it isnt a collecion of Bat stories either is it? From the comcis I mean.

Ya know I get about every friggin Bat-book out there...but I am so freakin behind in reading its unbelievable...Ill check and see if I got it at home.

A bit too expensive for me, are they going to release it in non-hardcover form soon?

I tried looking it up at amazon the hardcover is sold out but you can preorder the paperback.

Im thinking I got it at home just didnt have the chance to check...

I don't know that I would call Child of Dreams the best Batman story in years.

Greg Rucka and Ed Brubaker were doing some truly amazing work on Detective and Batman before Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee came along and the emphasis switched from substance to style. Also, Dwayne McDuffie produced two of the best Batman stories you'll ever read for Legends of the Dark Knight.

That being said, Child of Dreams is very, very good. It is well worth the $24.95 price tag.

A very simple, but engaging, introduction to Batman and his world.

For 24.95, I expect masterpiece.

I got it!
I gotta read it yet!

Okay King...

I just ordered my copy of Batman Child of Dreams (along with Supreme: The Return) from Amazon...

I'll let ya know what I think!

Thanks!

Personally, I think the cover looks more like Michael Keaton, but anyway. . .

Question: What does the interior art look like? Does it look like the cover (good), or like Asimiya's Xmen work (bad)?

disclaimers. the above terms good and bad are used only in the sense of grimm's opinion of the aforementioned work.

bump, because Lor requested it

Read it the other day.
Pretty good!
Interesting concept explored.
S
P
O
I
L
E
R

I always wondered if someone really tried hard enough and had the money...they could probably discover Wayne was Bats.

I believe that Ra's al Ghul, no slouch in the dollars department, back in the '70s discovered Bats' secret identity by tracing what chemicals Batman must have been using to the original purchaser. ("That's a hole I'll plug" said the Batguy, always one to learn from experience.) It wasn't stated outright that it took money to uncover this info, but one assumes that costly computers and/or generous pay-offs were used.

I just read the first chapter and I would just like to state, that I can't believe Batman couldn't figure out that the guy was an imposter until he died. For god sakes his disfigurement was on the wrong side of the face. And not to mention the fact that he was somewhat out of character.

There were a few holes, etc in the story, buttt........

Holy crap, that was an absolutely awesome experience reading this book. A great batman story and worthy of the price of admission...
I like Asamiya and regularly get his Steam Detective TPBs...But this was very dynamic and solid art-wise throughout... This book gets and A-/B+...........

Check out Brian Vaughn's 2 issue Batman fill-in during Brubaker's regular Batman run..It's a Matches Malone story and very good...

I finally got my copy and enjoyed it, but my copy had about 7 pages where the ink didn't or barely touched the paper, making it look like blank pages were included in the story. Did anyone else have this problem with their copies?

It didn't affect my reading of the story, so it's not too big of a deal.

Nope, not mine. Every page is clear as a bell.

That said, I've bought my share of defective comics in my day and not realizing it until it was too late....