Batman has seen some dark stuff in his day, but he's got nothing on Detective Jim Corrigan.
Corrigan, as DC Comics fans know, is a storied character with a long, complicated history. Most of that was reset by DC's "New 52" reboot, but his basic backstory is the same. A Gotham PD detective, he was murdered but restored to life as the human vessel of the Spectre, the spirit of God's vengeance.
Gotham By Midnight, DC's new horror/supernatural monthly written by Ray Fawkes and illustrated by Ben Templesmith, finds Corrigan returned to his job as a detective, only now he's set up in a unique precinct that's been given special jurisdiction by Commissioner Gordon over supernatural crimes. He's joined by a team of equally macabre officers and consultants, including a squirrelly scientist named Dr. Szandor Tarr, religious consultant and nun Sister Justine, and Corrigan's partner Detective Lisa Drake.
Issue #1 concerns the arrival of an Internal Affairs officer named Sergeant Rook, who doesn't believe in any supernatural mumbo-jumbo and wants to know what this precinct is spending so much time and manpower on. It seems Corrigan and his team haven't filed any cases as "solved," which doesn't add up to the force's standards. Needless to say, Rook gets a quick education in the reality of Gotham's true underbelly, and it's enough to creep out even this hardened policeman.
Fawkes, fresh off stints on Gotham Eternal and Constantine, wastes no time jumping into horror mode, while Templesmith's so-messy-and-ghoulish-it's-beautiful art provides the perfect outlet for Fawkes' imagination. Each character carries secrets that should be fun to see play out in issues yet to come, and of course Batman puts in his requisite appearance, though he's seen doing something we've never seen him do before: deferring to someone else's authority in Gotham. He deems the supernatural stuff is too far outside his area of expertise, so he hands off those cases to Corrigan.
As for Corrigan, don't expect to see the Spectre show up just yet. Gotham By Midnight seems a lot more interested in the Spectre's human alter ego, so chances are we'll see Corrigan doing his best to solve these cases before the Spectre has to step in.
The issue ends with a seriously disturbing image, so needless to say, this is not a title aimed at kids. But for a first issue, it makes a lasting impression and definitely leaves you wanting more. It's hard to give a comic book much higher praise than that.
Story:
★★★★★
Art:
★★★★★
Overall:
★★★★★
