The Good
GOTHAM BY MIDNIGHT feels like a HELLBLAZER story, minus John Constantine. Yes, there is currently a CONSTANTINE book at DC, written by Ray Fawkes, who also writes this book, but that book tells large stories that deal with world altering events, which is fine. GOTHAM BY MIDNIGHT is an easy recommendation to someone who longs for a book that has the feel HELLBLAZER did.
So what's this book about? Well, to sum is up quickly, it's a precinct of the GCPD that deals with the super-natural. It's this combination of GOTHAM CENTRAL and the supernatural, but it reads a lot differently than you'd think. The book sounds a bit gimmicky, but it reads like a solid detective book, with a small twist about half way through the book.
Readers learn about two girls who are just like any other girls, except they seem possessed. They don't speak any known language and they have a vacant stare. A couple detectives from Precinct Thirteen check it out. Writer Ray Fawkes builds on this world incredibly well, and he gives readers a tinge of horror and suspense towards the end. It's a great build and readers will be glued to the book.
Even though Corrigan has been a part of PHANTOM STRANGER and BATMAN ETERNAL, Fawkes keeps this book extremely new reader friendly. Yes, that sounds silly that a first issue should always be new reader friendly, but it's not always the case. Fawkes throws readers right into the mix and part of the adventure of the book is learning how all these characters fit.
The reason some people will pick this book up is the art of Ben Templesmith. For me, that was what I was most excited for and Templesmith does not let me down. He and Fawkes are the perfect combination for a story like this. Templesmith's art is haunting and sits with you, even after putting the book down. It's exactly what I hoped for and I love the sheer creepiness of the final page of the issue.
The Bad
There is one problem with the first issue. Each of the characters, excluding Corrigan, comes off as a tad one dimensional. It's a tough balance for a first issue to introduce the characters to the reader, the world, and the story. While Fawkes and Templesmith give the reader the latter two, the character introductions suffer a little bit. However, that's the only real problem with this book, and future issues will probably resolve this.
The Verdict
Even though there's a a small problem with characters coming off a bit flat and it may be too soon to call it, this is my pick of the week. GOTHAM BY MIDNIGHT surpasses the high expectations many fans have for it. This is some of Fawkes' best work at DC and putting him together with Ben Templesmith is a genius move. While it's not a super-hero book and it's very different from the norm, this is a must buy for the week. Fawkes and Templesmith explore the characters of Gotham in a new way and it's superb. The more and more I read this, the more and more I love it.