By Michael Climek
With the spotlight feature I’d like to showcase works that may have ‘fallen under the radar’ for many comics readers. Works that are particularly entertaining, and would be beloved, if people managed to pick them up.
Justice League Unlimited is the ‘all-ages’ book that ties into the Cartoon Network version of the show Justice League Unlimited. The comic continued to be published long after the show had ceased operations.
The comic is one of my favorite series ever, as it is done-in-one spotlights on characters, it is non continuity so a lot of dead characters are alive, and it really emphasizes the family aspect of the Justice League as a unit.
This particular issue, #28, is very note worthy. It is admittedly Christmas themed but that’s not what makes it interesting, nor should it be treated as some sort of deterrent. It’s a character study of Batman, notably the issue explores what Bruce Wayne was like as a child after his parents were killed. As clearly the path to becoming Batman did not start when he was an adult or in his late teens, it started the moment his parents died.
To the best of my knowledge this is not explored in other works (aside from a few brief scenes in Paul Dini’s Detective run right now), most other writers start to focus on the journeys of Bruce Wayne in his late teens and begins traveling the world and learning and honing the various techniques it takes to become Batman.
But in order to get to that point Bruce
Well Justice League Unlimited #28 deals with this. It’s actually fairly heartbreaking and I even got all chocked up at one point. For anyone with even a passing interest in why Batman is Batman you need to read this book. Or heck, for anyone with even a passing interest in Christmas stories you need to read this book.
It’s going to be a bit hard to find, as it’s currently uncollected, so you’ll have to resort to Ebay or a site like Midtown Comics or Mile High. But you’ll be glad you did.
It’s a movie year after all with the Batman. Don’t you need to know more info about why Batman is Batman and what he had to do to get there? This book is indispensable. Check it out.
