If you’re anything like me (and, for both our sakes, I pray that you are not), you’re growing a little tired of the multiverse. It’s a pervasive trend throughout pop culture these days, and, despite whatever platitudes its advocates may evoke (i.e., “Anything goes! Anything is possible!”), it doesn’t suit every legacy character.

And, in this reviewer’s opinion, it certainly does not suit Batman.

So, if you too grow weary of the Caped Crusader’s tedious adventures through time, space, and reality, then you are in for a long-awaited treat. And I’m not talking about the return of Gotham City’s mystery mastermind Jeph Loeb coming back to the main title in 2025! No! I mean to tell you that there is a book on your local shelves right now that will restore your faith in the roots of the character we all love.

It’s Dan Watters’ and Hayden Sherman’s new series “Dark Patterns”, and it has arrived to announce itself as a contender for the title of DC’s mystery of the year.

Batman is hunting down a serial killer. The crime scenes are grisly, even for Gotham standards; each of the three victims has been found with pins and needles piercing nearly every square inch of skin, targeting the most painful nerve centers in the human body. After being kept alive just long enough to experience the full force of the torment, the victims were each found with facial expressions of such agony as to shake even Gotham’s most inveterate protectors.

Batman, like any detective, begins to look for patterns in the slayings and similarities in the victims. He, of course, arrives at a preliminary conclusion that the GCPD overlooked, one so terrifyingly simple as to only open the door for further questions.

What I think is important to understand about the success of this kickoff issue is that this story’s Batman in the third year of his mission. We’re meeting the character at a point where he has wrestled with doubt and cynicism and come out the other side with strength and resolve. This is a dark, brooding story, but it’s not a brooding Batman we get here. He’s coming to understand the nature of the perpetual threat looming over his city; coming to understand how potent the redemptive powers of light and hope can be, even for a creature of the shadows.

This is all accentuated by what perhaps might be penciller Hayden Sherman’s greatest contribution: the big, bold, yellow bat symbol on the suit, illuminating what otherwise might be a pitch black tale. His figures and action set pieces owe a big debit to the indelible work of Tim Sale, one that is at times hard to see past to the detriment to the overall artistic outing here, but colorist Tríona Farrell splashes the pages with enough of an expressive touch to lift the art out of the red.

If this initial mystery issue has one flaw, it’s the reveal of its villain. As of now, we’re led to believe that this new villain, well executed though they seem to be, is set to be the main antagonist of this first chapter of the new title. I won’t go into details like modus operandi or character design: it is, in a way, worth the reveal. I just feel like Dan Watters has played a major card too early. He could of course be leading up to something braver and bolder. I hope he proves me wrong.

This aside, this is an exciting first issue of what has been my most anticipated DC book of the winter. Don’t skip it.

Recommend if:

• You like your Dark Knight dark, but not too dark
• You wish your Gotham stories would get back to basics
• You love “Se7en”

Overall: This is a strong start to an exciting new mystery; a title that has plenty of time to shake the arguably derivative art and shaky pacing.

Rating: 8/10