Many readers considering Batman/Dylan Dog #1 this week will be drawn to the new Black Label miniseries by the first name in the title – Batman, DC Comics’ most popular and best-selling superhero. That’s as good of a reason as any to discover Dylan Dog, one of the most popular comics protagonists of Italy across the past 40 years. While Dylan Dog exists far from the superhero genre, their adventures as a down-on-their-luck paranormal investigator in London provide plenty of material for an outstanding crossover. American readers will find plenty of familiar comforts in the form of Batman but their team-up with Dylan Dog highlights what’s best about both pulpy heroes.
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Batman/Dylan Dog #1 does not assume any pre-existing knowledge, though, and utilizes a prologue to lay out the essential tropes for both heroes. Batman tracks down the Joker as the dark knight detective, while Dylan Dog utilizes his wiles to escape the clutches of Dr. Xabaras. They are presented as the prototypical form of characters regularly reimagined due to their popularity before their stories intersect when Joker and Xabaras join forces.
Prototypical doesn’t mean dull in this context. Batman may be grim, but his dour mood contrasts with the much more whimsical cast surrounding him and allows for the delivery of some hilarious one-liners. Dylan Dog’s cool attitude is tested by the fearsome monsters from Gotham arriving in London and a hero who regularly has the drop on him, for once. Writer Roberto Recchioni, primarily associated with Dylan Dog comics prior to this miniseries, understands the individual appeals of both figures and how they contrast one another in revealing fashion. The initial meeting between Bruce Wayne and Dylan Dog highlights their individual capabilities, but also their prejudices preventing them from effectively collaborating. Each subsequent encounter requires them to reassess their biases and approach, albeit with plenty of pride to slow the process.
Supporting casts prove to be as essential to this first issue as the leading men themselves. Appearances by Catwoman, Killer Croc, and Alfred offer an array of perspectives on Batman, even when visiting London, while Groucho and Inspector Bloch are quickly asserted as the essential supporting figures for any Dylan Dog story. There’s plenty of humor present in these individuals as they interact with increasingly strange scenarios, even within their already strange worlds. Groucho’s puns and asides arrive like the best forms of dad humor, while Alfred’s more subtle barbs and Catwoman’s pithy quips provide plenty of variety.
The characters and humor present in Batman/Dylan Dog #1 mark Recchioni as a writer who fundamentally understands both halves of this title, but it’s the artwork of Gigi Cavenago and Werther Dell’edera that make the issue a must-read for fans of adventure comics of any sort. Action sequences ranging from the streets of Gotham to the sewers of London are glorious to behold with technicolor shadows defining sharp forms. Splash pages are rare and utilized for immediate impact, like when Croc arrives, but the most memorable elements are defined by panel sequences that effectively capture a sense of motion. Dynamic and moody, these action sequences are stunning even upon a re-read and effectively utilize elements of both horror and heroics with plenty of suspense found in nearly every page turn.
What Batman/Dylan Dog #1 seems to understand from its very first page is that nothing is required to improve either of its titular concepts; their longstanding popularity attests to the quality of both heroes as icons of action comics. Instead, Recchioni emphasizes how their distinct personalities, supporting casts, and genres can enhance one another. That classic concept of two great flavors combining to make something every bit as good is achieved in every page from Cavenago and Dell’edera. A sewer battle with Killer Croc is made to look entirely new in their pencils and inks and Xabaras’ zombies are creepier than ever with wide, toothy smiles. The only truly new element in the issue is the combination of these two characters’ narratives, but the execution is so good that readers will be reminded why both names are considered icons.
Published by DC Comics
On March 12, 2024
Written by Roberto Recchioni
Art by Gigi Cavenago and Werther Dell’edera
Colors by Giovanna Niro and Gigi Cavenago
Letters by Pat Brosseau
Cover by Gigi Cavenago
