In Batman: Nightwalker – The Graphic Novel, Stuart Moore adapts the novel of the same name by Marie Lu with illustrations by Chris Wildgoose with Cam Smith, color by Laura Trinder, and letters by Troy Peteri. Like other YA original graphic novels based on DC’s characters, this story reimagines the familiar characters in a new setting freed from decades of continuity, although this one adapts a novel that did the same.

The story focuses on a young Bruce Wayne, just come into his inheritance on his eighteenth birthday. Meanwhile, a group called the Nightwalkers are targeting the wealthy in Gotham, murdering them in their homes and offices. Bruce begins to get involved in the case, slowly developing his detective skills. Bruce begins doing community service at Arkham Asylum where he meets Madeline, one of the Nightwalkers. As a result, he learns more about the class inequality that underpins life in Gotham. Even as billionaires donate to charities or engage in philanthropic works, they make their money from industrial prisons and other companies that siphon off resources Gothamites might otherwise use. Lu and Moore carefully try to position Bruce as a “good” billionaire and are greatly assisted by his youth and naïveté in this volume. The story works well as a standalone reimagining of Bruce Wayne with Alfred, Lucius Fox, and Harvey Dent adding a touch of the familiar despite changes to fit this story.

It remains unclear if Lu or others will return to this version of Bruce Wayne, but fans of Elseworlds stories and younger readers will likely enjoy Batman: Nightwalker. In terms of art Laura Trinder’s colors are brilliant, using heavy grays and faded blues in a way that both creates a noir aesthetic and recalls the Batman’s classic costume. The occasional pop of yellow to emphasize scenes completes the Batman color coding. In this, she recalls other YA graphic novels from DC that use their characters’ color palettes to bring the art to vivid life and compliment the stories’ tone. ( )

Note: I received an ARC of this book from the publisher at ALA Midwinter 2019. ( )

My parents did not approve of comic books. I wasn't allowed to read 99% of the titles on the shelf at the drug store (the only shop that sold comics in the little town I grew up in). Allowable titles were mostly Disney. Huey, Dewey and Louie are cute....and I loved all the comics I was allowed to read.... but the exciting, more mainstream characters were off limits for me. To this day, I don't really understand why. Superman, Batman and the other superheroes were fighting to save humanity, right? I guess it fell somewhere between "Violence and fighting are bad'' and "Girls don't read comic books.'' I think they were hoping I would turn into a dress-loving, girlie girl if they kept me away from what I naturally gravitated to....but it didn't work. I was always up a tree in the yard reading a book or chasing the neighbor kid with a garter snake. (In my defense, the kid was annoying.....sometimes the only way to get rid of him was to chase him with a snake.)

So......the end result....I was an adult, and married to a long-time comic book enthusiast, before I ever really delved much into comic books and superheroes. This leaves me out of many nerd debate topics on cannon, reboots, different artists, weird plot tangents, etc. I just read and enjoy. With slight rants about some of the horrible movies, I love Batman. What's not to love about a billionaire businessman who has every freaking cool gadget ever invented....plus an awesome cave lair.

My point is this -- I don't know cannon or most past plots from the comic book world -- Marvel or DC. I just love the characters, the art, and the storylines! So I jump on every graphic novel I can get my hands on that involves superheroes.....Love, love, love!

I thoroughly enjoyed Batman: Nightwalker! The storyline features a young, 18-year old Bruce Wayne who has just come into his fortune. A group of thieves is targeting wealthy residents of Gotham. The Nightwalkers start out stealing money from the wealthiest of the wealthy.....but they quickly descend into more violent actions like murder, blowing up buildings, etc. Bruce tries to talk to one of the captured Nightwalkers who sits in a cell at Arkham Asylum. She refuses to say one word to anybody, but Bruce gets to know her. He discovers that there really is only a fine line between his brand of vigilante and the Nightwalkers.....

I have never read the book this graphic novel is based on. I did however see much ranting about it online. And promptly ignored most of it. This is a young version of Bruce Wayne. He's a teen and trying to cope with the loss of his parents, coming into his wealth and figuring out what to do with himself. He's feeling a bit of angst....gets into trouble.... and ends up serving community service in Arkham of all places. And he meets someone who confuses and intrigues him. I enjoyed seeing his character develop. He makes a decision to use his drive to better the world in a positive way, rather than delving into the dark side of a more criminal element. It's a YA Batman story....with some nice tech elements (drones, robots, etc) and interesting "bad guys'' thrown in.

I enjoyed the story. The muted colors of the artwork was awesome! And I liked the message. Even superhero billionaires have to discover who they are at some point -- Batman included. I can see this version of the character as a nice update to the present.

Looking forward to the next Marie Lu graphic novel!

**I voluntarily read an advanced readers copy of this book from DC Entertainment via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.** ( )

Even though it's unrealistic that the police would force a high-schooler to volunteer at an asylum, I thoroughly enjoyed this story. So much fun! You have to second-guess every lie and the truth. ( )