Cover Image: Batman: Nightwalker (The Graphic Novel)

Batman: Nightwalker (The Graphic Novel)

Pub Date:   |   Archive Date:

Member Reviews

I really enjoyed this graphic novel. I loved the direction it took with a young Bruce Wayne. The art work is done really well and does a great job of enhancing the story.

Was this review helpful?

In this entertaining adaptation of the Marie Lu novel, a young Bruce Wayne - literally traveling home on the evening of his eighteenth birthday - has a brush with the newest crime syndicate to terrorize Gotham City: the Nightwalkers, a gang of avenging vigilantes who are murdering some of Gotham's richest citizens after relieving them of their fortunes. Bruce's rash decision to try and stop a particularly daring Nightwalkers crime lands him in trouble with the law, and from there to a stint of community service if he's to avoid trouble with the cops. To make an example of the newly-minted millionaire head of Wayne Enterprises, the cops make Bruce serve his sentence at none other than Arkham Asylum, where Bruce finds himself drawn to Nightwalker member Madeleine Wallace - a heartless murderer with her own plans for Bruce Wayne, even as he tries to use her to break up the Nightwalkers gang for good, though it becomes clear pretty quickly that it's up in the air who is using who. Though a bit slow in spots (while still building up to a more-than-satisfying climax), I genuinely liked the story here; another bit of character background for Bruce Wayne, pre-Batman, that develops and spotlights the personality that would become the Dark Knight. Madeleine Wallace got on my nerves from time to time, yet I think she was supposed to; for most of the graphic novel she seems always two steps ahead of both Bruce and the cops, which is quite vexing for Wayne himself. Artist Chris Wildgoose's depiction of Gotham and young Wayne are spot-on and dark in tone, though I would have liked a bit more variety of color in the book; that said, having read this first I am more than anxious to dive into Marie Lu's novel now, while the graphic novel itself is definitely a worthy addition to the story of Bruce Wayne's road to becoming Gotham's only hope of redemption. 4/5 stars

Note: I received a free ARC of this title from NetGalley and the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?

If I’m being entirely honest I was not a huge fan of this version of The Bat. It felt like they took Bruce Wayne and made him the epitome of angsts teen, he felt like one big YA trope. I love Batman and I consider myself a fan, having read several comic and watching the movies, but this really did not do it for me. I found this version of Batman so uninteresting that I couldn’t finish it.

Was this review helpful?

I'm enjoying these Young Adult graphic novel takes on DC heroes. This graphic novel is an adaptation of Marie Lu's Batman YA novel. I haven't read that book so this was my first introduction to this story. Bruce Wayne is the world's youngest billionaire at age 18. An anarchist group known as the Nightwalkers are targeting Gotham's rich. Bruce is assigned community service at Akrham Asylum.

I really enjoyed seeing Bruce Wayne as a modern teen. This book brings up interetsing topics of wealth responsibility and inequality in a capitalist society. Also how tragedy affects people differently. I give this graphic novel a 4/5.

Was this review helpful?

The graphic part of this book is ok, the story not so much. It really shouldn't be called "Batman" when Bruce isn't even close to becoming him yet. Basically the same story as the original novel, so I felt like this graphic adaptation wasn't really needed.

It is a fun read for reluctant teens not familiar with Batman's story.

Was this review helpful?

I was not able to open this file for review.

The document wouldn't open.

So sorry about the inconvenience :(

Was this review helpful?

I liked the artwork a lot, but to be honest nothing really stood out about this story wise. There’s just so much Batman material out there, and I don’t think this really added anything to what we already know about Batman.

Was this review helpful?

Very fun and well developed. I loved the interactions between Bruce and Madeline. The illustrations were very well sequenced and executed.

Was this review helpful?

First of all, Batman should be removed from the title and the book renamed Bruce Wayne: Nightwalker. This Bruce Wayne feels far removed from the traditional character of Bruce Wayne. He's more your typical YA hero. This is definitely a YA book at heart. It focuses way more on the romance than the action in this book. However, it's not nearly as bad in that area as the novel was. I actually liked this better than the book. Wildgoose's art brought this to life more than the novel. I enjoyed the muted color palette as well. Bruce also doesn't seem quite so lovestricken and naive in this version. While still not great, this works better as a graphic novel than prose.

Was this review helpful?

I loved this graphic novel by Marie Lu. I hope she does more because I think this is a unique way to read books. I thought everything was done quite well.

Was this review helpful?

Ahh!!! this was such a fun read!!! I loved every bit of it! Its so fun to see the story we loved so much from Marie Lu turned into this visually stunning graphic novel! I also loved that it wasn't over within 10 pages. This is a full length graphic novel with all the details and guts inside to keep you interested and completely intrigued all the way to the end!!

The artwork is fantastic, I loved the mainly monochrome with a splash of color here and there to make certain key things pop. There is so much to take in that I found myself at times starting at a single page for a few minutes before I could bring myself to switch to the next.

The story is so much fun too, learning how Bruce came to be batman and his history with certain characters before things become estranged. And how good ol sweet Alfred has been there for him from the start.

The romance was a little bit too much too fast for me and also a little unnecessary but it didn't distract from the plot or the graphics in the least. This story is so much fun and so unique on its own that I am really interested in how the rest of the story plays out and also for the other DC Icons graphic novels and how they might turn out!!!

Was this review helpful?

Marie Lu's Batman novel was a great introduction to Bruce Wayne, not the dark Bat detective that we know today. The graphic novel portrays this well with a fairly monochrome color scheme in the purple/black category (of course). Bruce's character is shown not just in his writing, but in his relationships with his friends.

Was this review helpful?

I was never much of a Batman fan, but I did want to give the original novel a chance after meeting Marie Lu at an event and going on about looking forward to the upcoming Wonder Woman novel (she brought it up after I told her my name) then not remembering until I got home that she was also writing a book for the series. I figured this graphic novel was the best way to read it and also deiced if I want to try out the novel now that I've gotten to know Bruce a little bit. I think I would like to spend some more time with the story. Marie Lu did a great job setting up who Bruce is and who he wants to be. And I definitely came around towards a character I was completely indifferent to.

Was this review helpful?

I really enjoyed Marie Lu’s version of Batman so I was super excited to read the illustrated graphic novel of the novel. I was not disappointed. The characters and the scenes were just as I imagined them to look and I loved being back in the world of Batman: Nightwalker.

I highly recommend this if you are just starting out in the Batman world, or if you want to just be back in the world that Lu created!

Was this review helpful?

A pretty good graphic novel based on a book I've actually never read before. You definitely do NOT need to read the original story in order to read this graphic novel. I thought the artwork tended to lean towards one color palette, but other than that, a good origin story.

Was this review helpful?

While I haven't read the original novel this adaptation is based upon, I have read other Marie Lu titles and this certainly feels like her, which is a great thing as her works are immensely popular at my library. I really liked that even though this is a Bruce Wayne before Batman story, it isn't an origin story. It's just Bruce Wayne being a stupid kid getting into things he shouldn't necessarily get into, but who we all know does go on to become Batman; sure there are bats randomly through the book, but Bruce never dons the cowl he's so famous for and it's just kind of a refreshing take.

Was this review helpful?

Thanks NetGalley for this beautiful ARC, in exchange for an honest review. First, I really loved the art style, the action scenes pack a punch without getting “lost in the lines”. Per usual, Lu gives a fast paced, grab you by the collar YA novel. I really enjoyed the original and this adaptation certainly stands up to it! I can’t wait for the fanboys & fangirls get a hold of this, oh the conversations to be had! Excellent!!,

Was this review helpful?

'Batman: Nightwalker' by Marie Lu with adaptation by Stuart Moore and art by Chris Wildgoose is a graphic novel and it's part of the DC Ink line.

In this story, Bruce Wayne is just turning 18 and isn't quite Batman yet. A group of criminals called Nightwalkers has started causing problems in Gotham City. Bruce makes a bad choice and ends up getting probation by cleaning Arkham Asylum. While he is there, he meets a young girl named Madeleine that is part of the Nightwalkers. Bruce tries to help, but should he?

Batman doesn't show up in costume in this story, but his shadow is all over it, from Bruce's friendship with Harvey Dent to his relationship with Lucius Fox. There are other foreshadows as well. The art was really good, and like other DC Ink books, the colors are muted except for an accent color that has to do with the story. I consider these DC Ink stories to be sort of alternate universe stories and this one was pretty satisfying.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from DC Ink, DC Entertainment, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

Was this review helpful?

This was a fun read!
Like Raven, this is a fresh new start for Bruce Wayne. The main story remains the same: he still lost his parents and is still a billionaire.
But somehow adding Harvey Dent to his circle of friends was actually a very good idea, And introducing him to Gordon at the end made it Beverly bittersweet. I loved every part of the story!

Marie Lu’s storytelling in comic book was very good and the art itself was amazing!

Was this review helpful?

This is soooo stunning. Marie Lu's writing style is impeccable as always and the graphics are breathtaking. I highly recommend this to any DC fan, comic book fan, or lover of graphic novels.

Was this review helpful?