Batman: Child of Dreams

Asamiya has great skills in plotting a story so that it captures and reader and moves you along. Asamiya also makes skilled use of dialogue - he relies very little on the narrator's voice because he is able to convey a remarkable amount of background information and character-development through his use of dialogue and a novelist's sense of timing when he switches viewpoint characters.

The story revolves around a number of disturbing themes that should have the intended unsettling effect on the reader: things and people are not what they seem; the most obvious, apparent enemy is not the source of the problem; and identities are always contested and sometimes compromised.

Asamiya introduces other themes as well, such as blurring the lines between "news" and entertainment, blurring the lines between television and reality, the dangerous extremes to which a fan (or fans) can take their identification with a celebrity and fantasy role-playing, and it touches on Commissioner Gordon's inability to control the crime in his own city - his, perhaps, over-reliance on one vigilante.

Oh, and did I mention the consuming public's perhaps over-reliance on pharmaceuticals to make us feel good, "get back in the game" and to imagine that we are that which we wish to be?

And then there are the very central themes of the relationship between dreams and reality, and the question of whether or not it is merely genetics (biology) that makes the man, or if something more is required?

This brings us back to the artwork. It didn't take long before I realized that Asamiya's art actually added to his ability to tell the story, rather than detracting from it. Most images are minimal and simplistic, but there is also a significant amount of detail in many of the frames; and the details Asamiya selected are just the right details to enable the reader to experience the story.

Night frames with aerial views of Gotham have all the feel of New York City. Frames inside the hotel lobby, the hospital, gritty back alleys, Wayne Manor and the Batcave are highly effective. And I could actually feel the hot shower as Yukio tried to relieve her stress back at the hotel after making a shocking discovery in the Gotham Cemetery. Tokyo is equally well-captured.

In other words, this story works. It works because the plotting pulls you in and holds your interest; it works because the dialogue tells the story and makes the characters real; it works because the themes the writer selected are not far removed from the reader's day-to-day reality - and that has a rather chilling psychological effect; and it works because the art sets the right mood and calls your attention to details that will stimulate the intended sensory and emotional reaction in the reader.

While the climax of story seems to drag on a bit, Asamiya is making an important point about what it is that really makes Batman who he is. As Frank Miller humanized Batman in his revolutionary treatment of the character, Asamiya also provides a revolutionary and humanizing treatment, but without resorting to an anti-heroic image.

There is also something Mooresque (as in Alan Moore) about Asamiya's ability to weave themes through his story, creating an integrated whole. Asamiya's themes, as mentioned above, center on dreams, fans, role-playing, identity and what it is that makes a person who he or she really is.

Asamiya weaves a good story and illustrates it well. I highly recommend it.


Anime and Batman fans this is for you.   April 20, 2010
Apollo Latimer (Jacksonville, FL)
If you love anime and Batman then this is the perfect fusion. The art and story are amazing. This is east meets west and total bat-action. The clever story and superb art will keep the nest of the Bat-fans and anime fans glued. The only thing better would be to make this into a Anime movie. Batman has quite a following in Japan and America.


The detail is spectacular   August 15, 2005
Corum Seth Smith (Hendersonville, NC USA)
3 out of 5 found this review helpful

While I don't think this is the best Batman storyline out there, let me explain the five rating. I like manga. The art is so fantastic, the characters so detailed. Asamiya is a fantastic artist. He draws the Joker so well. By giving the Joker a wild smile, yet with grimacing eyebrows, Asamiya portrays the character as a homocidal lunatic masquerading as some harmless clown. That is exactly what the Joker is. When Manga doesn't always connect with dialogue, the amazing thing is that the art itself is a form of characterization.

The eyes, the lines, the perspective, are all elements of drawing that can add an effective element to creating a character. In a comic book, you have visual aids to help you picture the character. In America, I think the dialogue and writing are superior; however in Japan there is little question that the art is superior. The characters, by their mere appearance on the page, lend some insight into what lies beneath the character in a metaphysical sense. That is how good the best manga art is.

However, the story itself is a very interesting, and creative one. Someone has the ability to recreate Batman villains at the genetic level. Due to the havoc it wreaks on the body, however, the "villain" mummifies within two or three days. Who is behind this strange development?

Someone who is utterly obsessed with Batman! Someone who takes the saying "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery" to the next level: He wants to become Batman!

The art is just so well done, and the story is pretty darn good, too. If you want to experience Batman in a new, and interesting way, and you are a manga fan, I recommend this book.


A fantastic fusion of manga and Batman!   September 26, 2003
Kurt A. Johnson (North-Central Illinois, USA)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful

When a Japanese news crew arrives in Gotham City, hoping to catch an interview with Batman, the whole world begins to change. Batman's old nemeses - Two-Face, Penguin and the Riddler - start a campaign of terror, acting unusual, even for them. When Batman catches each in turn, they burn up and turn into mummies; a new drug has hit the street, one that can turn people into the super-villain of their choice. The Japanese news crew seems to be at the center of it all, but when a pseudo-Joker grabs Yuko Yagi, the team's anchor, they seem to be in as much danger as Batman himself. Someone is out to get Batman, someone with a great deal of knowledge about pharmaceuticals, and the trail leads straight to Tokyo.

This great graphic novel is the brainchild of Kia Asamiya, one of Japan's foremost manga illustrators. Combining traditional manga artwork with the Batman world produces a fantastic fusion that is true to the earlier Batman works, and yet is new and exciting! I loved the story and the artwork in this book; I was worried that I wouldn't like either, but boy was I wrong! The whole book is in black-and-white, but the lack of color goes along great with the story, keeping that Gothic feeling that one expects. I highly recommend this book to any, and every, fan of Batman.


The Ultimate Crazed Batman Fan - Batman Beware   May 18, 2003
K.H.
2 out of 4 found this review helpful

Finally, a decent and entertianing Batman graphic novel, which has been sorely lacking in the last couple of years. Kia Asamiya with Max Collins treat the reader to an entertianing read with outstanding artwork. The black and white, magna styled pitchures add to the dark mysterous Batman mythos.

The plot, though a little predictable, is written well enough to string the reader along. The strength is in the characters Batman and Yuko, a Japanese reporter out to try and do a story on the Batman. But someone, on the heals of Yuko's arrival, is duplicating Batman's villians and even Batman himself. Batman must battle these strange duplicates. Of course, the world's greatest dective knows that this is no coincidence and heads back to Japan when Yuko does.

This journey leads Batman to his ultimate crazed fan. Th story is enjoyable. I highly recommend it for the artwork and storytelling. Much better than the recently released "Batman: Absolution."