I received a complimentary copy of this graphic novel. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Batman: The Imposter takes place early on in Bruce Wayne’s Batman journey. It is an origin story of sorts and focuses heavily on Bruce Wayne’s mindset. The darker, broody style of the illustrations matches well with this storyline. The plot is compelling and well written.

If you’re looking forward to the new Batman movie coming out this year, Batman: The Imposter would be a great read to tide you over until then.

Thank you so much NetGalley and DC Entertainment for an arc of this in exchange for an honest review!

I’m a huge DC fan and I’m so excited for The Batman - which is why I requested this book. I really enjoyed this perspective on Bruce Wayne and his past. The artwork is a little odd, because some pages are gorgeous and captivating, and others are too detailed and gritty for my taste. The coloring was great though and the story was interesting. I loved the mental health topics and I hope the movie provides these as well!

This isn’t my favorite graphic novel, but it is a good one and worthy among other Batman ones. I enjoyed the new take on his story and I’m excited to see where it goes from here. Thank you once again for the arc!

Not bad, but not my favorite. Good artwork throughout.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

The Batman mythos come in a plethora of delicious flavors. Perhaps this is why the character and his world have been able to appeal to such a wide variety of audiences during their time in the cultural spotlight. As times change, so do Gotham City and its iconic hero. For example, in early stories, Gotham and the Dark Knight weren't actually that dark at all. The Caped Crusader paraded around his bright city with an upbeat sidekick in Adam West's live-action series, engraining himself in the public eye as a campy, lovable do-gooder. As time continued, and the world became more complicated, the comics became edgier. Alan Moore and Frank Miller took the character's troubled youth and turned it into decades of violent, gothic storytelling. Batman became angry, and the lights in his city began to dim. For a while, it's seemed readers had already witnessed the darkest places a writer could take the protagonist. In all honesty, that may have been true, until Mattson Tomlin stepped into the ring.
Batman: The Imposter, a three-issue limited series from the Project Power creator, isn't especially dark because of any specific moment or event. Although, to be clear, it does have plenty of those. It earns it's anguished tone by nature of it's most prevalent recurring thematic device: soul-sucking despair. The story sees a young, inexperienced Bruce Wayne encountering his greatest career challenge in the form of a murderous copycat vigilante, while simultaneously falling for and running from GCPD detective Blair Wong. The world in which the book takes place is maybe more realistic than anywhere we've ever seen the character operate before, made evident by constant sobering revelations about the consequences of his supposedly heroic actions. When he was still credited as a writer for Matt Reeves' The Batman, the creative gave multiple interviews claiming the protagonist to be representative of "sheer human will and determination." In his comic, now the most authentically Tomlin take on the character, he puts this opinion to the test. For every minor victory the hero manages to take, it feels there are twice as many setbacks.
Cops are able to keep a healthy track on Batman by cutting down his deserted ziplines and confiscating his poorly-hidden equipment. Crooks are afraid of the Bat, but never fail to leave him bruised and bloodied after a fight. His single ally, Commissioner Gordon, has been run out of Gotham after only a year of Wayne's war on crime, with a wave of criminals put back on the street for his mistakes. To top it all off, this version of the character is also without the ever-loyal Alfred Pennyworth, who is shown to have abandoned a young Bruce after the child's sociopathic tendencies drove him to a near mental breakdown. Yes, that is correct. This is a book in which Bruce Wayne is shown to be an actual sociopath, trading in the typical socialite playboy personality for an angsty, bull-headed recluse convinced the world will never understand him. While all that may sound like a progressive downfall for Batman over the course of the Black Label series, it's actually just the way Tomlin sets the rest of his story up.
It's a strange thing to read about a Batman who, having only just entered the costumed scene, really feels like he may also be facing the end of his crusade. Truthfully, it's not really until the end of the comic that the intention of the whole thing becomes clear. The Imposter puts Bruce Wayne through the wringer not because it wants to prove how much he can take, but because it wants to show what obscenely deep-rooted emotions can drive a person to do. It is an ode to the complexities of depression. This is not to say it celebrates how immense sadness can manifest inside its host, just that it's not afraid to explore both the highs and lows of that cerebral rollercoaster. It does this most effectively when it puts Bruce up against other characters with the same depressive qualities. Readers see his willpower when he's put against would-be villains succumbing to their anxieties, determination when he puts everything on the line to confront his malicious doppelganger, and that small inkling of hope when he meets those that would seek to help him.
The comic is aided by the use of a Sopranos-esque plot point, where the stubborn Bruce is forced into therapy sessions to prevent his identity from being exposed. These direct conversations are often lapped over incredible artistic design from Andrea Sorrentino, who manages to transform entire splash pages into the same symbols that the characters fear will one day take over Gotham. The added effect increases the impact of the words on the page in the same way a gorgeous score may take a good film to the next level. Ultimately, it makes for a unique comic that achieves a certain 'film noir' aesthetic in both its visuals and its script. Batman: The Imposter may not be directed reading for the titular character, but it's certainly worth checking out if one would like to take a darker look into their favorite hero's psyche.

This was a good read. It dives into Bruce's character- which I love. There are a lot of mental health topics, which is great! Definitely could see it taking place in the world of The Batman (2022).

One of the better Batman comics to come out in the past several years. It’s being touted as a “jumping-on point” for fans of the Matt Reeves movie (though whether any of this is in continuity with that universe remains to be seen). Dark and gritty without succumbing to the nihilism of the Snyderverse. Strong YEAR ONE and GOTHAM CENTRAL vibes, with a few f-bombs thrown in for the grownups.

Why not five stars? The page layouts were overly complicated, something I’ve noticed with the artist’s other work. It might be difficult for new comics readers to follow—I had trouble with some pages, especially one that was purposefully upside down (and impossible to turn in the app I was using).

A fresh take, steeped in realism. This is the Batman book to read above all others, with fantastic art and a grounded reimagining of the world of Gotham.

Only read because I plan on seeing the movie that's coming out this year. I absolutely enjoyed this graphic novel. It was fun to read, had amazing graphics, and an A+ plot.

My thanks to DC Entertainment and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this superhero graphic novel.

The Batman is such a force of nature that it is hard to think about him as a rookie, all new to the I am the Night thing, and figuring how to get through the city he is sworn to protect. There have been a Year One, a Year Two, even a Year Zero, which showed him training, and finding his way. In Batman: The Imposter, writer Mattson Tomlin and artist Andrea Sorrentino not only capture Batman in his beginnings, the show Gotham City and its populous acknowledging the existence of the Dark Knight, and what it might mean for all of them.

A year into his calling Bruce Wayne is finding that it is not easy being the Caped Crusader. Wayne finds himself being blackmailed by Dr. Leslie Thompson to meet with her to help Bruce get passed his trauma and stop trying to kill himself engaging in his crazy night life. Alfred has left, Jim Gordon has been fired, and he might be falling in love with a police officer who is investigating the vigilante Bat, but shares the same tragic circumstances of seeing her parents killed. In addition, powerful business interests are seeking to stop the Bat, who is bad for business, and finally an imposter is killing criminals, while dressed in the Batman's cape.

This is a great, very realistic take on the Batman with alot of ideas that make total sense scattered throughout the story. Also the dialogue is excellent, the way Batman explains what he does, his inner and outer voice being different. Every character has a different speech, and it is quite clear in the comic, and really helps the story move. Yes there is another anti-Batman but again it makes sense, and flows really well. The art is very moody, and dirt, with some really beautiful splash pages, and action scenes, but sometimes, especially near the end it can be a little dark. I had to read a few pages over to see what had happened. Also the cover gallery is really very gorgeous.

Great story, good art, and a Batman that seems fresh and interesting. Again there are a lot of good ideas that are in here, the story moves well and a few of the characters I would like to see more of. Bruce Wayne is driven, and yet not the Batman that he becomes later in the comics. One of the better stories featuring Batman that I have read in awhile.

I was initially drawn to reading this given that Tomlin has worked on the new R-Patz Batman film. I can't say that this is my favorite Batman that I've read. To be honest I get tired of seeing this kind of overly gritty art. However, I think that the darker style suited the writing. That being said, the art just didn't really flow and didn't really capture the emotional beats of the characters. So perhaps, I'm just not a fan of this artist.

It was definitely heavy on the grit.

I'll be honest, I have watched a lot of Batman and have read very little, so I think my opinion shoudl be taken with a grain of salt. One of my main critiism with Batman in general is that the man needs therapy. And look, here comes Mattson Tomlin answering my prayers. It was really giving Mr.Robot like vibes in a way that mirrors his relationship with his Psychiatrist. I would have like to have Blair be a little more rounded out, but I will say that about women characters in Batman comics until the end of time.

Some of the main illustrations were amazing and would be lovely to see if full gloss print. So cheers Andrea Sorrentino, some of those full spreads were gorg.

Solid Batman offering, even if I think Alfred would never.

This was a very fast, fun and interesting read. It’s been a while since I’ve read something but m favorite Bat guy, let alone something new.

This takes place after the upcoming 2022 Batman movie, and Bruce has been found out by Leslie Thompson as the man behind The Batman. She demands that he come to her office each morning at dawn to talk about what he does and why, and how it’s tied to his own past. Subsequently, a news story rocks Gotham City that The Batman has taken life for the first time, and he did it all on camera. The MO of the victims is the same as Batman usually goes after, people who have gotten away with crimes. But it’s not Bruce, and he has to figure out who is tainting the legacy of The Batman with these crimes all while trying to get Leslie Thompkins off of his back.

The art in this issue was gorgeous in some spreads, but somewhat messy and confusing in others. I had a lot of difficulty determining what was happening in fight scenes, but the coloring and pacing of each panel was awesome. The story itself was interesting, if not exactly something new to the Batman repertoire. I enjoyed watching Bruce get close to detective Wong, as well as the ending when the reader learns that, despite the last events, Batman’s legacy and message will never have the same clarity it once did ever again. I think this was a cool story for Batman fans, and is probably going to be a nice companion to the upcoming movie.

Thank you DC Entertainment, DC Comics and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this title before publishing!