Gotham by Gaslight by Brian Augustyn and Mike Mignola

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Gotham by Gaslight
by Brian Augustyn and Mike Mignola

Batman meets Jack the Ripper? YES PLEASE! I picked this up because the cover caught my attention. It wasn't until I got home that I realized it was an AR of Batman in Victorian times. How clever is that? I loved the "car chase" scene with carriage and horse. I love the daggers on his utility belt. I mostly loved how simple the Bat-Man's origin story is, allowing it to very easily change time periods and not lose a lick of emotional impact. Bruce's parents still get shot in a mugging. Bruce still hides his identity and his costume away in his mansion. Alfred's still the faithful butler. Gordon's still got the measure of the bat. The Joker is still someone you want to kick in the kneecaps. And the society Bruce is there to help still resists his help and thinks he may be a danger instead of a caped crusader.

This volume contains two stories. In the first, Jack the Ripper leaves London and shows up in Gotham to start his spree again. Having been on a Jack the Ripper tour and seeing all the locations in Whitechapel and hearing tons of the theories, I really enjoyed this version. It was Batman meets From Hell--dark and beautiful all at once. The reveal and ending were satisfying, though I wished the story could have been even longer. In the second story, there's a guy named Alexandre LeRoi who wants to blow up the city. Batman hitches a ride on his airship and stops him. It's beautifully drawn but otherwise unforgettable. I feel like a reimagining of a familiar modern day villian would have held my attention. Victorian era Penguin? Victorian era Two Face? Riddler? Catwoman? So many possibilities! There's some political complications/twists, but generally it was a much less exciting story compared to the first. For all the reasons the concept and first story worked for me, the second story was lacking.

But it was still a great read. I'm so glad I stumbled upon it!