Legends of the Dark Knight #54 was a great issue of Batman, and one of the best issues from this week’s releases of Batman and Bat family titles.
This issue, the second part of a three issue story involving the Riddler, contained a nice, crisp story, and true feeling of suspense. The Riddler is not acting like himself, and Batman suspects that he may have a heinous crime up his sleeve.
After the last issue where the Riddler turns himself into the police, Batman grows suspicious of the Riddler’s intentions, and suspects that he is swaying from his normal antics into more brutal crimes. From that point, the story follows Batman as he communicates with Alfred, who is in the Bat Cave, to solve the Riddler’s clues.
After spending part of the night beating up criminals and stopping crimes, in which he is still communicating with Alfred, the two finally figure out the location where the Riddler is leading them to.
What Batman finds is a major discovery, and is a significant place of one of the major crime lords in Gotham city, a criminal who, in my opinion, has not received as much face time as he deserves in the Batman stories from the last few years.
The discovery Batman finds adds a nice, modern touch to the criminal activity of Gotham, as it involves using high grade technology and creativity to advance the activities of the criminal enterprise.
This was a great issue that I found to be really enjoyable to read. The story was simple, but that can be a strength in my opinion, especially when the outcome is unpredictable. The ambiguity of the Riddler gives the story a very suspenseful tone because neither Batman or the reader has any idea what the Riddler is up to, and the Riddler not acting like his normal self – makes the situation even more discomforting.
The writer was Charles Soule, and he deserves a lot of credit. Not everyone wants to write a simple Batman story, but that is what he is doing. What is even better is that he is using the simplicity to his advantage, and telling a thrilling and suspenseful Batman tale.
The art by Dennis Calero is exceptional. All of the characters look great. What is even more impressive is that he did all of the coloring by himself. The coloring alone is a strong asset to this story, as it sets up a dark and atmospheric tone that enables the reader to feel more involved in the story.
Overall, I was very impressed with how good this issue was. It is a digital only comic book, and by nature I associate that with a weak series because I figured if it was good then DC would print it. However, this issue proved me completely wrong. I read all the Bat and Bat family titles, and this issue was my favorite from a big week of Batman and Bat family releases.
In conclusion, this was great issue, if you like Batman, make sure to check out the Legends of the Dark Knight, because this Riddler story is fantastic.