When I first started writing comics reviews for this lovely website nearly a year ago, I sat down with a cup of Irish Breakfast tea and asked myself a crucial question:

What makes a great Batman comic?

After two days I had no answer. So I changed the question. Instead I asked:

What makes my ideal Batman comic?

This I could work with. I fired off a personal treatise about brooding urban mysteries, a wounded, flawed Dark Knight Detective, and Gotham’s shaky, codependent, tragically ongoing relationship with its masked protector.

Readers, in the time that I’ve been reflecting on these elements, continuing to devour all of DC’s Gotham offerings, no single issue, past or present, has reached the heights of the finale of Dark Patterns Chapter 1 Finale.

After a frankly sickening flashback to the Wound Man’s first victim, we pick up the story with Batman in the suburbs upstate uncovering the full extent of Ace Chemicals’ criminal environmental negligence and the disastrous effects the prolonged exposure to the nerve toxin waste has had on the locals. But before he is able to explain all of this to the residents of this ostensibly blighted town, they turn on Batman for meddling in the affairs of their savior, the Wound Man, and for jeopardizing their blessing of a life free from all physical pain. Chemically unburdened by a body’s natural responses to stress and impact as a result of the toxic exposure, a gang of suburbanites is able to beat Batman to within an inch of his life.

One resident, however, still possesses a shred of humanity, and is able to drive the mob away, nurse Batman back to consciousness, and help him point the Batmobile back in the direction of Gotham while telling him the tragic truth of who the Wound Man is and how he came to be.

We then jump to the Wound Man himself, tenuously in the custody of one Christopher Sionis, who toys with his captive’s, erm, unique physical accoutrements, bleeding the Wound Man before losing control of him. Batman, with Gordon’s help, deduces Sionis’ involvement in the Wound Man case, and tracks both of them down for a climactic showdown of sheer intimidation.

Hayden Sherman’s artistic efforts are masterful in this issue. The inventive panel structuring and deftly suspenseful sequencing take a very good script and elevate things to that next level of quality. Tríona Farrell’s expressive coloring shines here as well. The whole things is reminiscent of Francesco Francavilla’s work.

A lot has been made about the “bare bones” nature of this mystery series so far. While I don’t wish to argue with that assessment, I do think a distinction has to be made between an absolutely unfeeling procedural and what we have on our hands here with Dark Patterns, at least with what this storyline has accomplished. There is a story here. One with themes and tones. They’re subtle, but potent. Why do we feel pain? What happens when we ignore pain in favor of sheer will? What moral lines do we draw for ourselves? Why?

If these sound like retreading of past stories, I invite you to examine the title of this series: Dark Patterns. Dan Watters has given us an early career Batman coming to terms with the tragically cyclical nature of crime in Gotham City. The ability for this series to continue to be such a triumph will be largely reliant on the extent to which it is able to cast these dark patterns in fresh light.

So far, so good.

Recommend if

• Your ideal Batman is a detective
• Your favorite Batman adaptation is The Animated Series
• You want to pick up one of the best titles DC has to offer

Overall:

This series has not struck a false note so far. It’s a winner of a mystery anthology that has a confident point of view, both artistically and narratively. It’s ruthless, bruising, bleeding, Batman-y goodness. Do not skip Dark Patterns.

Score: 9.5/10