COMIC BOOK REVIEW - Batwing: Enemy Of The State
By The Masked Medic
I’m in this creative zen recently and that’s meant that I’m making sure I give time to focus on this website and getting you guys some good reviews. I was keen to return to something that would pique my interest quickly and we all know that the Bat-Family do that, but I thought why not decide to revisit the adventures of David Zavimbe, aka, Batwing!
‘Enemy Of The State’ is a two-story novel. The first part tells the story of a villain named Father Lost, who has mystical powers and has been brainwashing people in Tinasha, a city in the Congo, which is home to none other than Batwing! However, it’s not just Batwing that seems to be operating in the area. A vigilante called Dawn has been taking on Father Lost but with little success. During one raid, Dawn manages to stop the followers of Father Lost from sacrificing a group of kids, when Batwing attempts to help. In the ensuing chaos, he is corrupted by Father Lost. It takes a lot to break him out of the brainwashing and when David next faces Father Lost, he realizes that Dawn is actually another orphan he knew growing up, called Rachel. Rachel is hurt by Father Lost and Batwing’s priorities are split. The second story sees David continue to fight the corruption in his department, and when the son of Phillip Marksbury, a rich industrialist, is cleared of the murder of a young woman, David wonders where he can do better work, as Batwing or as David Zavimbe? As he begins to uncover the bribes taken by his fellow officers, he finds himself in their bad books. As Batwing, he finds himself in the crosshairs of a number of international mercenaries hired by Marksbury to take him down. Can David stop these threats and reveal the corruption in his country? And what will the price of this truth be?
I have to say, Batwing has been an extremely promising series. Creating a series based on a supporting character from Batman Inc. was a brave choice, but one that I believe worked out for DC quite well. In some ways, Zavimbe represents a similar mission as Bruce Wayne’s, but their worlds and upbringings are poles apart. David’s attempt to reveal and root out the corruption in his workplace is just as exciting as his antics as Batwing and fundamentally that’s what makes these novels enjoyable to read. That being said, I’m not sure how that ending will affect the character development going forward, but it could make or break this series!
The artwork wasn’t bad at all, lots of really good panels. However, the covers are what made me give this novel the score I did. Very good and vibrant covers. Overall, another good novel in a very good series. It’s underrated and I’d recommend it to anyone looking to get into the Batman Mythos from a very unusual point!
Favourite Panel:
Sorry, what!? After all that character development?
Favourite Character:
Batwing, easily. He’s such a layered character and proves himself to be a good part of the Batman mythos
Rating:
Story Arc: ★★★
Character Development: ★★★★
Artwork: ★★★½
Enjoyability: ★★★½
Re-readability: ★★★½
Level: Beginner