Batman: Nightwalker: The Graphic Novel (DC Icons, #2)

by Marie Lu

Stuart Moore and Chris Wildgoose (Illustrator)

This action-packed graphic novel based on the New York Times bestselling novel by Marie Lu transports readers to the shadowy gates of Arkham Asylum, where Gotham City's darkest mysteries reside...and now it threatens to imprison young Bruce Wayne.

This action-packed graphic novel based on the New York Times bestselling book by Marie Lu transports readers to the shadowy gates of Arkham Asylum, where Gotham City's darkest mysteries reside...and which now threatens to imprison Bruce Wayne.

A ruthless new gang of criminals known only as Nightwalkers is terrorizing Gotham and the city's elite are being taken out one by one. On the way home from his 18th birthday party, newly minted billionaire Bruce Wayne makes an impulsive choice that puts him in their crosshairs and lands him in Arkham Asylum, the once-infamous mental hospital. There he meets Madeleine Wallace, a brilliant killer...and Bruce's only hope. Madeleine is the mystery Bruce must unravel, but is he convincing her to divulge her secrets or is he feeding her the information she needs to bring Gotham City to its knees?

Adapted by Stuart Moore and illustrated by Chris Wildgoose, this graphic novel presents a thrilling new take on Batman before he donned the cape and cowl.

• ISBN10: 1401280048
• ISBN13: 9781401280048
• Publish Date: 1 October 2019 (first published 2 January 2018)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: DC Comics
• Imprint: DC Ink
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 208
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9781401280048

Reviews

[thepunktheory]

Full review on my blog!

Oh boy, where do I even start with this one?
I know these books are about superheroes so there will be some unrealistic stuff in there. This, however, is pushing the boundaries of what I am inclined to accept.
For example, why on earth would a detective/the court think it's a good idea to have a teenager on duty at the asylum with the most dangerous criminals in all of Gotham and where he is harassed by said inmates? This makes just no sense whatsoever, so a pretty big prerequisite for the story falls through for me.
But that's not the only mishap in the logic department for me. I don't want to add any spoilers here but there was just a lot that didn't come together for me.
Apart from those errors, I was beyond annoyed with the love-story thing. I don't consider this a spoiler because you can predict it from the very first moment on Madeline is mentioned. This part had me rolling my eyes so many times and really was nothing special.
You know how with some books you instantly think "This would make an amazing blockbuster"? Well, with this it's less of a blockbuster you'd think of. It reminded me more of an episode in a Batman series you'd see on TV on a Saturday afternoon. Nothing special, nothing impressive but halfway decent.

[Quirky Cat]

I received a copy of Batman: Nightwalker through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Batman: Nightwalker now has a graphic novel adaptation for us to enjoy! If you read and loved Marie Lu's take on Batman and his earlier days, then odds are good that you'll find yourself enjoying the graphic novel version as well.
Stuart Moore and Chris Wildgoose were brought on for this project, one doing the adaptation (editing down the book into a shorter format, that sort of thing) and the other as the artist. And I've got to say, they did a pretty solid job.
For those not familiar with Batman: Nightwalker, it's part of the DC Icons series, delving into the past of our beloved heroes. In this case, the focus was on Batman, or rather, on Bruce Wayne before he became Batman.
It turns out that Bruce was always a bit of a reckless teenager, which makes sense given the path he'll eventually head down. Here is his first experience with crime fighting – and it explains so much about how he eventually became the masked hero we adore.
Bruce Wayne has found himself in the center of a whole new crime mystery. The Nightwalkers have been targeting the rich, but unlike their Robin Hood inspiration, they're not giving to the poor. They are, however, happily killing the rich they steal from.
Madeleine Wallace is the only break in the ranks – the only member to be arrested and not die within hours of said arrest. And she's become fixated on Bruce. Or is it that Bruce has a fixation with her?

Batman: Nightwalker was a brilliant and animated read on all accounts. Seeing it in graphic novel format only helped to heighten certain elements. You can really see that this plot was designed with a more visual format in mind, as it adapted so well.
Visually speaking, there were certain elements that I absolutely adored. For example, most of the graphic novel was in black and white, but there were exceptions. Anything that the creative team wanted us to pay specific attention to was highlighted in a vibrant yellow. This was striking to begin with, naturally. But some scenes were amazing thanks to this one small change – such as the moments with origami.
I also adored the design of the breaks between parts. It was dark, yet oddly elegant. It was a perfect fit for this dark and brooding tale, that's for sure. And it fit in nicely with the artwork as well.
Speaking of the artwork, I absolutely adored the character designs in this graphic novel. I know that the artists had something to lean on, knowing how some of these characters would look in later years. But they were able to do what they wanted with their more youthful versions, and I think they did a brilliant job. Bruce, in particular, looked like the pretty and rich boy we all expected – with a complete lack of fear of getting beat up, of course.
I'm really pleased with how this adaptation came out, on the whole. I can't wait to see what the rest of the series is going to end up looking like. And I might have to go back and reread the original novel after this.

For more reviews check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks

[leahrosereads]

It's Batman, so it's obviously getting 5 stars for that alone! But, it's a really fun origin story. We see Bruce as a teenager, filled with determination to make Gotham City a better place, not as an angst ridden adult still stuck in the death of his parents (as the movies always make him out to be).

I really liked this Bruce and the friends were a great addition too. Too often, we see Bruce/Batman as this solitary figure without anyone around save Alfred and a sidekick from time to time. In Nightwalker, he has genuine friendships (one with a name that we all know the outcome of), but it was wonderful to see Bruce as this friend who's willing to help in anyway he cans.

It just help emphasize the loyalty side of Batman that I don't think we get to see too often.

This was the first of these DC Icons stories I've gotten to read, but I have a feeling it'll be my favorite. Batman will always hold a special place in my fangirl heart.

"You have a heavy heart for someone with everything." (Madeleine Wallace to Bruce Wayne)

A Bruce who is scarred after witnessing the murder of his parents. A Bruce who is consumed by rage and a need for vengeance. A Bruce who struggles to trust and isolates himself from almost everyone except a chosen few. A Bruce who still believes in justice and humanity. This is the Bruce Wayne that I was expecting to read about in Batman: Nightwalker.

Bruce Wayne in Batman: Nightwalker is a well-balanced individual with a good head on his shoulders. He doesn't obsess over the death of his parents, but it is something that affects his life. He is also friendly, trusting, naive, happy and hopeful. Bruce Wayne is ordinary and is totally opposite compared to Batman, who is bleak, grim, suspicious and paranoid.

The biggest problem that I had with Batman: Nightwalker is a me problem. I couldn't believe that the Bruce Wayne in Batman: Nightwalker had the potential to become Batman and it bugged me when Bruce does something that Batman wouldn't do. However, when I separated the two characters and pretended that Bruce in Batman: Nightwalker had nothing to do with Batman, I started enjoying Batman: Nighwalker.

The events that lead Bruce to all the action is unrealistic. Bruce is driving from a benefit gala one night, stumbles across a crime scene and chases after the perpetrator. He now has to complete community service at Arkham Asylum, a prison that houses the most dangerous criminals of Gotham, because he obstructed a police investigation and defeated the ends of justice. There he meets a prisoner, Madeleine, a member of a criminal organisation - the Nightwalkers - and finds himself intrigued by her. I couldn't believe that Bruce would be forced to be near dangerous criminals as part of his community service (but it is Gotham, so I let that one slide), that Bruce would be allowed to interact with criminals and lastly, that a detective would allow a teenage boy help her investigate a case.

Madeleine is an intriguing character and I like her perceptive nature. However, I didn't appreciate the romance aspect and although brief, it's unnecessary and poorly executed. Alfred has always been one of those characters that you can't help but love. He's supportive, but he also puts people in their place, especially Bruce. And while Dianne and Harvey are good friends, they are flat, throw-away characters.

Also, Batman is arguably the World's Greatest Detective and I expected Batman: Nightwalker to have a mystery aspect to it. However, the mystery aspect is not strong. Bruce is trying to solve the mystery of the Nightwalkers, but it's like he's a kid playing in detective shoes that are too big for him. Bruce doesn't investigate and solve cases because all the clues and answers are handed to him on a silver platter and even then, he's too naive and gullible so he doesn't do much about it.

I love Gotham City because corruption, seediness and poverty exists alongside wealth, opulence and extravagance and Marie Lu describes Gotham City well. I love the advanced technology in Batman: Nightwalker because it alludes to the fact that technology is an important part of Batman. I also love the nods to the Batman canon: Harvey Dent (when he was rolling the coin and it showed heads, Two-Face hint!), Lucius Fox, Commissioner James Gordon and Metropolis (I know it's a place but... Superman!)

I would have liked Batman: Nightwalker a lot more if it wasn't a Batman origin story. I was expecting something much darker and grim from a book about the future Batman.

"My job is to keep you safe, Master Wayne. But if that means making sure you don't try something absurd behind my back, then so be it." (Alfred Pennyworth)

[writehollydavis]

I absolutely loved this book! Marie Lu can't go wrong. I was unsure about reading about Batman, but after the prologue, I said yes Lord, Marie Lu gives me life! ha ha. I didn't know what to expect with this story, which was about Bruce Wayne pre-Batman, but I actually enjoyed it. We already have so many movies about him as Batman, so this was a welcome change. Marie perfectly characterized the young Bruce and by the end of the novel, he had evolved to become the Batman we all know and love. This story kept me on my toes until the very end! Perfection. :)

[Nessa Luna]

I've never particularly liked Batman; didn't enjoy any of the movies and thus never really liked DC as a whole. But honestly, this was a good book. I'd said it previously when I finished Warbringer that I probably would have still liked that book (had I not enjoyed the WW movie) because it was written by an author I love. It was the case with this book, I could really enjoy the book about a character I have no feelings towards because I love Marie Lu's writing. That being said, it was a nice read and I do definitely recommend it to people who do love Batman!

[readingwithwrin]

"If he was just Bruce Wayne, the boy next door, would anyone care?"


I've never been a big fan of Batman for some reason. I don't know why, but he's just never been one of my favorite superheroes.
Having said that though, I really liked this book. It was fun and entertaining all while showing a teenage millionaire doing good for a change and not just partying all the time. Wayne guardian Alfred is also one of my favorite characters ever.

"Either you hid from reality or you dealt with it. And over time, Bruce had built up a shield, had negotiated an unspoken truce with the press."

One problem I did have with this story is letting an eighteen-year-old who is in trouble cleaning an Asylum (this reminded me so much of how Aria from pretty little lairs volunteered at Radley to get info, and everyone was okay with it), like why is this a thing? It seems way to dangerous in my opinion and not very smart on the authorities part. Also using him to get info was just not smart considering the person is known to be a trickster.

"You should suspect me more than anyone... I may have the information you need, but you're the one who needs to use it."

His friends were so great as well, they truly wanted the best for him and didn't care about anything else. I loved that friendship was a big part of this novel and how it stayed that way for them.

The ending was so much of surprises that I was not expecting and I loved it! It made me give this book four stars and I would love to see more of this Batman in the future.

I think part of the reason I liked this book so much is because it helped me get out of a small reading slump I was in.

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[Stephanie]

I enjoyed tiny teen Bruce Wayne, but seriously. Gotham City PD needs to really rethink letting a teenager that owns a multi-billion dollar corporation mop floors at Arkham Asylum to finish out his community service.

Guess that's why they need BATMAN.

[Beth C.]

Bruce Wayne - we all know what happened to his parents and about his crime-fighting. But what about in between those things, when he became an adult and had not yet become Batman? This is just one possible version of what could have been those events, when Bruce had just turned 18 and was still...just Bruce. Famous, handsome, and rich - but still just Bruce. When his first run-in with the police and major crime at that age was when the Nightwalkers came to call in Gotham City.

The story is true to the Batman ethos, as far as I know it (I'm familiar, but don't read the comics or belong to any fandom). Alfred is, as he always has been, there for Bruce. Some characters that show up later in the the Batman stories make their appearance here, as well as a few who - to the best of my knowledge - are here only. They are all intriguing, particularly Madeleine, the girl Bruce meets at Arkham Asylum.

The story moves pretty quickly once it gets started - this is not a long book. But it's a fun read, well worth the time. There are a few spots where it *feels* like a YA book, but in general, it is just a good story that anyone can enjoy. Setting, of course, is Gotham City, and Lu does a great job bringing it to life in her story.

Overall, it's a fast, fun, interesting take on who Bruce was before he became Batman, and offers an idea of just how the mythos may have gotten started.