Wayne of Gotham: Batman: Ein DC Comics Roman

A strange conspiracy is overtaking Gotham, where criminals seem to be under someone else's thrall and vigilantism from ordinary citizens is on the rise. The murky trail seems like it's leading back all the way to Thomas Wayne, the saintly patriarch whose death was the catalyst for Bruce becoming Batman. And as Batman seeks to discover the clues behind this, he just might discover some dark secrets in his family past.

It's a really intriguing idea, and written by one of the authors of The Death Gate Cycle, an old fantasy favorite of mine, so I was excited to see how it would play out.

This was my reaction:


To start, there is no real basis in any of the Batman canons. I don't mind this, because Batman is a character given to many interpretations. People entranced by Ryan Sook's gorgeous cover and expecting something set in the comic's vast universe might want keep themselves from disappointment. There are a few winks and nods to the comic fans when he brings in some of Batman's varied menagerie of villains, but they are ultimately just a bone thrown to comic readers as they don't affect the plot at all. The one saving grace would be the Joker appearance, which might have been the closest thing to a fun scene in this dreary mess. It was enough to earn a star on its own.

As for the rest of it, it was very disappointing. I went into it thinking that this would be a completely different world since this is the one where Thomas Wayne might have had some underhanded dealings to bring all this calamity down on Bruce's head. However, there are ways you can have Batman be too out of character to enjoy a story. And Hickman's Batman has some glaring missteps.

1. There is no consuming drive to protect the innocent. Sure, we see Batman in a few fights, but when the city is going to ruin he's barely concerned about Jim Gordon being brainwashed into believing Batman killed Barbara Gordon (who is still paralyzed in this version but no word of Batgirl or Oracle). The fact that Gordon, still brainwashed and uncured, is allowed on duty is kind of baffling from a logistics standpoint, but their relationship being written as two rivals sniping at each other is worse. There's also the scene in the tunnels where Joker has taken control of all the trains and Batman's reaction to it is "oh he couldn't find one loaded with people." He doesn't worry for one second about major collateral damage, even when he almost crashes into one train and sees the engineer panicking. The good thing about writing for an established character is sometimes you don't have to explain the motivations, but they should still be felt, and this Batman's guardianship of Gotham seems more chore than raison d'être.

2. Batman is a dick. But wait, you say, he's often a dick in other stories! To which I reply, yes he is. But his unerring dickishness comes from control freak behavior and Not Putting Up With Your Shit And Sometimes Fun. It is a dickishness that, at its heart, is about protecting people and being a broken soul who cannot ever stray from his guardianship, even at the cost of his own happiness. This Batman is a whiny dick. He whines to Alfred about not wanting to be called Master Bruce, he enjoys playing pranks on paparazzi by dressing up with a fake beard and shades and letting Alfred cart him in a wheelchair on the grounds, he talks about feeding his hatred and rage going to the Dark Side. He says lines like this: "No, Alfred! Master Bruce does not want his cookies or his milk! Master Bruce does not want to be coddled or put to bed!"

3. Did I mention his relationship with Alfred in this one is terrible? Alfred, the steady, stalwart and loyal butler who is Bruce's surrogate father? Yeah, they're not close anymore. Apparently it's because Bruce put him as his press secretary while he went full on recluse, which doesn't make sense and still doesn't justify the fact that both of them are completely stupid about lying to each other. The part where Alfred knew all about the conspiracy behind Thomas Wayne's misdeeds and hid it from Bruce for all of his life could be managed, but is terribly executed here. This is the major unforgivable point for Wayne of Gotham, because even Christopher Nolan and Frank Miller knew how important Alfred was to Batman, and Hickman doesn't even bother to lay the groundwork to fraying loyalties of two friends. They don't talk, their conversations even at the start were mostly passive aggressive sniping, so when Bruce fires Alfred after years of service, it seems like two petulant children instead of a grave and deep seated betrayal.

So, let's say you ignore this divergence from Batman mythos and focus it as a completely new story. Does it hold up? Well...partially. As I said before, the groundwork is interesting, even if there are many set ups that are ignored or simply unresolved at the end of the story. Thomas Wayne's parts flowed seamlessly while Bruce was investigating which was both a benefit and a drawback. Benefit, because we see how all the pieces fit in a very straightforward fashion that keeps pace and guides the reader between the past and present so they uncover the mystery as Batman does. Drawback, because it makes Batman look very stupid at times, such as not knowing about a rash of vigilante murders in Gotham during the late 50's called the Apocalypse, being taunted by Gordon about it, and then first finding out about it through Wikipedia.

The World's Greatest Detective, ladies and gents.

Character-wise, the cast set in the 50's would be where Hickman had the most freedom, but they come off as simplistic too. Thomas should have been compelling in his history as a man trying to make himself into something different while finding a way out from his father's shadow. Unfortunately, he mostly reveals himself to be a passive character who has most of his decisions thrust upon him, with Nice Guy tendencies towards Martha (and their relationship is never touched on except to say the start of it was a sham). When things go awry, he gets in over his head and has to let Jarvis, Alfred's father, take care of his messes and that conflict is resolved off page. Jarvis himself is given almost nothing to work with. The closest thing to a truly sympathetic character might have been Lew Moxton, whose character arc was a mob heir trying to go straight and then falling into the family business when things go wrong. I would have wanted to read about his story moreso than Thomas Wayne's.

The ending is likewise aggravating, because it subverts the Batman mythos in a very unsatisfying way and often tries too hard to parallel Thomas's mistakes with Bruce's attempts at atonement; however, it doesn't make sense in doing so. The big confusion being that Thomas was responsible for contracting his own killing by Joe Chill because he might have carried the Richter virus. If he was the one responsible testing for the virus, why on earth would he not pay attention to its appearance in his family? There is a lot of tension built with little regard for how it works. The fact that the mastermind behind everything can do things like sneak up on Bruce unawares in his own home, knock him over the head and dress him in his father's tuxedo to try and kill him in the alley where his parents died is poetic, but completely unaddressed by how it could have conceivably happened. Very publicized events in the 50's flashbacks are completely new for Batman, even though we know he's obsessed with his parents.

At the end of it you feel like someone was trying to craft a great work of symbolism and dramatic weight, where the sins of the father revisit the son. However, they do this at the expense of the son's personality, his relationships with trusted friends, and his competence for researching the very history that is plaguing him. For some people that would make it a worthy novel to read, to see the parallels and foreshadowing play out, but for me I have to care about the characters to be invested, and Wayne of Gotham's are only shared characteristic is by their name.

Wow. That was a rough one to get through.Wayne of Gotham deals with the parallel and intersecting stories of Bruce Wayne and his father, Thomas Wayne. In Thomas' story we see his friendship with Martha Kane (later Wayne) and how he had to keep his feeling for her secret. We are also introduced to his emotionally abuse relationship with his father, Patrick Wayne, and Thomas' rebellion as he goes into medicine instead of following in his father's step. His choice leads him down a dark path and in the end the consequences not only affect his entire life, and Bruce's, but that of all of Gotham.In Bruce's story we watch as his father's story is fed to him in fits-and-spurts in the form of clues from an anonymous source. Suspicion is cast on the only person left in his life - Alfred Pennyworth. In the end, as he discover's his father's secrets he has to make a life-changing decision.The way I've written these summaries make the story sound pretty interesting, actually. Thomas' story is definitely worth a look. It's written interestingly and from a point-of-view I've never seen before. Bruce's story is SO INCREDIBLY BORING AND INSIPID that I almost stopped reading the book half a dozen times. I have never seen Bruce Wayne written so terribly. Even now that I'm (thankfully) finished, I kind of can't believe it. Even the "twists" that happen to Bruce are incredibly uninteresting and the ones that appear promising - his investigation into the Gruidae Paper Company - are complete dead ends.Finally, this book needed a much more involved editor. In one chapter, as Thomas chat's with a man named Lewis, we see him called both "Lew" and "Lou" one page right after the other. In another, the author describes the scenery by saying things like "The dawn had not yet broken", "early morning light", and that only "a few citizens were stirring" even though the timestamp at the top of the paragraph clearly says "Gotham / 10:46 a.m.". I know I'm getting nit-picky, but as a lover of books, sloppy editing does really bother me and during the course of reading, obvious inconsistencies like that take me out of the story. Bottom line is, Thomas' story is great and engaging, but only makes up about 35% of the novel. Bruce's story is mind-numbing and because it is the majority of the story, I cannot with good conscious recommend this book.

While reading this book I felt that there was too much everything. The crazy people were too crazy. The rich people were too snobbish and blind. Batman was too paranoid.And yet, after finishing and thinking back on it I cannot come up with a better way of handling the story. The crazy people only seem too crazy because fragmented and false memories really do leave people making no sense. And maybe rich people really are snobs and blind to the world beyond their money. And Batman being paranoid is not a new theme and why wouldn't it just get worse as he gets older?!

Not your traditional Batman vs. his rogues gallery book. Batman is aging, relying on technology to enhance his batsuit to keep him at top performance. Interesting use of tech for that purpose in the book, as well as for the new batmobile. We get to know more about Bruce's parents and grandfather, and their lives, we get some information about Alfred's family.

Interesting use of the rogues gallery too, but they're not the main antagonists. No, Thomas Wayne's legacy is the main antagonist.

Wow. That was a rough one to get through.Wayne of Gotham deals with the parallel and intersecting stories of Bruce Wayne and his father, Thomas Wayne. In Thomas' story we see his friendship with Martha Kane (later Wayne) and how he had to keep his feeling for her secret. We are also introduced to his emotionally abuse relationship with his father, Patrick Wayne, and Thomas' rebellion as he goes into medicine instead of following in his father's step. His choice leads him down a dark path and in the end the consequences not only affect his entire life, and Bruce's, but that of all of Gotham.In Bruce's story we watch as his father's story is fed to him in fits-and-spurts in the form of clues from an anonymous source. Suspicion is cast on the only person left in his life - Alfred Pennyworth. In the end, as he discover's his father's secrets he has to make a life-changing decision.The way I've written these summaries make the story sound pretty interesting, actually. Thomas' story is definitely worth a look. It's written interestingly and from a point-of-view I've never seen before. Bruce's story is SO INCREDIBLY BORING AND INSIPID that I almost stopped reading the book half a dozen times. I have never seen Bruce Wayne written so terribly. Even now that I'm (thankfully) finished, I kind of can't believe it. Even the "twists" that happen to Bruce are incredibly uninteresting and the ones that appear promising - his investigation into the Gruidae Paper Company - are complete dead ends.Finally, this book needed a much more involved editor. In one chapter, as Thomas chat's with a man named Lewis, we see him called both "Lew" and "Lou" one page right after the other. In another, the author describes the scenery by saying things like "The dawn had not yet broken", "early morning light", and that only "a few citizens were stirring" even though the timestamp at the top of the paragraph clearly says "Gotham / 10:46 a.m.". I know I'm getting nit-picky, but as a lover of books, sloppy editing does really bother me and during the course of reading, obvious inconsistencies like that take me out of the story. Bottom line is, Thomas' story is great and engaging, but only makes up about 35% of the novel. Bruce's story is mind-numbing and because it is the majority of the story, I cannot with good conscious recommend this book.

It's OK but the end was kind of a letdown. Some of it seems to take a cue from the Nolan movies.

Excellent Batman prose book. Sometimes in-tune with the Nolan movies, sometimes the pre "New 52" DC Universe, but always with strong believability and internal continuity. Judge it on its own merits when something mentioned isn't quite DCU, etc. and you'll be fine.

I'm not a graphic novel person or a comic book fan, but when the chance to read the new novel, Wayne of Gotham by Tracy Hickman, arose, I took it. First of all, the cover art is spectacular, with Batman overlooking Gotham City on the front cover and Bruce Wayne in the Wayne Manor library on the back, both on a deep forest green background.The novel tells two alternating stories- present day with Batman trying to save Gotham City from the evil residents of the Arkham Asylum, which leads Bruce to look into the circumstances behind his parents' murder and 1958, when his parents began their romance and his father, Dr. Thomas Wayne, became involved in an experiment at Arkham Asylum.There is enough action with Batman and all of his toys- the Batmobile, items in the Batcave and on his utility belt- to keep the fanboys and fangirls happy, but the storyline set in 1958 with Thomas and Wayne really appealed to me. We have seen and heard things about the Waynes, but Hickman really delves into their story, and does a terrific job bringing them to life. I mean, Martha Kane Wayne is a wild party girl? Who would have thought it.We also see a much deeper relationship between Bruce and his faithful aide Alfred Pennyworth, one that is sorely tested in this story. The story in 1958 introduces us to Alfred's mysterious father Jarvis, who became a loyal servant to the Waynes, and passed his loyalty down to his son Alfred.There is a lot of story here, Hickman has a lot of balls in the air, and he expertly juggles them to keep the story moving and the reader wanting to turn the pages. He further humanizes Batman, a hero who is not superhuman but only a man. This is a book not only for Batman fans but for anyone looking for a good action/mystery story with intriguing characters.

This is my first Batman novel (read some graphic ones.) I was a bit hesitant at first as novels like these are usually mediocre and not really that great. I decided to give it a try anyway because I like Tracy Hickman’s work. I thought it was a pretty good and decent read. I liked how the narrative changed from Thomas’ point of view, then back to Bruce. The mystery involved in the book was good enough to keep me interested. I liked how the story focused on Thomas and Martha Wayne before they got married (Martha seems to have gone wild child! haha!) There’s also a mystery surrounding Alfred and I thought that was a really good read. It certainly did deepen the mystery further. The relationship between Bruce and Alfred isn’t what I expected. It’s strained, and cool (yet there are reasons why they’re acting like this). The plot of this book was pretty good. It’s a bit hard to follow as there’s quite a bit of characters to keep track of, but the action scenes are well written and my two favorite villains, Joker and Harley Quinn make an appearance (which was fun reading). The two story arcs of Thomas and Bruce do have a nice way of having it all tie together at the end, and the ending was a great finish.It’s worth the time to read, the plot was well written, lots of characters (most of whom Batman fans will recognize), and a nice blend of action and mystery make this book enjoyable.

 Not a bad rendering of a Batman tale; however, there were both typos and inconsistencies such as referring to "sons" of Thomas Wayne. All in all the novel was cleverly done and contributes to the Batman legend.

Eh, it was okay. The book mostly involves exploring Bruce Wayne's father's past and (loosely) connecting them to present day events. Plenty of typos with several plot holes big enough for the Batmobile to drive through made for a sometimes frustrating read. Maybe I needed to know more Batman lore to make this book more enjoyable? As a casual fan of the comic books, maybe this book wasn't meant for me.

Late middle-aged Batman, aka millionaire Bruce Wayne, is becoming more dependent upon his bat-suit to give him the necessary strength to fight crime in Gotham City.I’ve tried graphic novels a couple of times but find the illustrations very distracting so to see a novel based on a favorite comic book character—no pictures—made me curious enough to give it a try.Though Batman is not as old as he was in the excellent cartoon series “Batman Beyond” (1999-2001) the undertones of this Batman are very similar-he is alone, save faithful Alfred, more so than ever, and coming to terms with his aging body; he is also faced with hidden truths about his parents.The story is told in both past and present – the dates parallel present day – but divided by the necessary years. This is handled well at the beginning of each chapter with small headings giving you where, time, date, year (or just “present day”).The story’s web is tight with many turns as it moves through his parents’ past.As with us all, a single decision can cause many results.His father, a young physician who has been dominated by his own father too long, steps out to fund research by a German scientist-physician, Dr. Richter. The research and experiments are behavior modification to the hilt (genetically engineered). Thomas Wayne and Richter want to change criminals’ behavior permanently and end all crime.But with all god-like experiments – it goes horribly wrong.It eventually leads to the death of Bruce’s parents when he is just eight, a murder he witnesses that is the catalyst for him becoming Batman.But someone knows the secret of how it all began and that someone begins to lead Batman into a trap; dropping tantalizing bits of his parents’ past such as old diaries and letters like fairy-tale bread crumbs.This same unknown enemy has developed a mind control that bids all to help ensnare Batman and see him as the enemy to destroy.The stress of the emotions this brings is almost too much for our hero and causes him to believe that his faithful Alfred has kept it all from him and therefore can no longer be trusted. He fires him in a rage which he regrets near the end.Intriguing, somewhat violent (it is Batman!), surprises such as the Joker actually on Batman’s side (but the reader won’t believe this nor does Batman), together with a perfect ending makes this a really good read.If you are a Batman fan you will like this book!