Gotham is going a little bit crazy. It’s nothing new. It’s happened before. It will happen again. They’ve been through a lot in the past year...and every other year before that. So they’re going crazy. It might be perfectly understandable under the circumstances. There’s something far more sinister at work as a certain crimefighter is about to find out in Batman: Gotham Knights – Gilded City #1. Writer Evan Narcisse establishes a whole new conflict for Batman in an issue rendered for the page by artist Abel. Narcisse and Abel develop an interesting plot that will ultimately tie in with the upcoming Batman: Gotham Knights video game. 

Bobbleheads. The madness seems to be coming from the bobbleheads that are being given away at the Gotham Guardians basketball game. Alfred sends Bruce a suit that includes a gas mask. He figures that the madness might have something to do with the Scarecrow, but there are actually A LOT of criminals in Gotham who work with chemicals, so it could be anybody. When it turns out to be a virus that drives citizens to looting, theft, and anger, the Gotham Knights will have their hands full trying to contain everything while investigating the source of the contagion.  

Contagion has been in the popular consciousness A LOT over the course of the past couple of years. A virus that causes madness in Gotham City is a very sharp amplification of fears over COVID. Narcisse lowers a contagion over Gotham City and allows Batman to go to work on it with the aid of Alfred. There’s a strong enough pulse to the rhythm of the investigation to keep it intriguing for the first issue. Batman’s investigation is paired with that of the masked retro figure Runaway patrolling Gotham in the mid-19th century. It’s a fun pairing that could lead in fascinating directions in the issues to come. 

Abel competently handles the flow of action. Batman moves across the page with style and poise, but the madness in the streets doesn’t have quite the impact it needs to give a real sense of menace to contrast against the grim determination of Batman. Gotham City’s already kind of crazy, so a total outbreak of some neurotropic virus that causes hysteria should really have more of a visual impact on the page in and around the corners of everything. As it is, Abel keeps all of the action well-defined in the center, which cuts down on the potential horror inherent in the premise.

It’s a video game tie-in. It’s a good video game tie-in that seems to navigate pretty well under its own power. But it’s still a video game tie-in. The story is enjoyable, though. Narcisse and Abel bring a fun energy to the premise, but it will remain to be seen if it has much life beyond the fact that it’s promoting the big push for the new game. 

Grade: C