Comic review: Gotham by Midnight (Annual) #1- One for the Goths

Writer: Ray Fawkes
Artist: Christian Duce
Publisher: DC Comics
Released: 29th July 2015


I intensely dislike comic book narratives that feature order following dogs of the state (soldiers and cops) as the heroic protagonists, and this comic book had two of them in feature roles.

These two ‘heroes’ could have wrecked the book for me, but thankfully there was a third character in the narrative, a ‘Gentleman Ghost’ who was so interesting and charming that he saved, and redeemed, the entire book for me.

I haven’t read ‘Gotham by Midnight’ before, and if all it has to offer is a fiesty, punk comic book cliché young girl detective and her gay partner (who turns into some kind of Christian moral crusader when angry) then I wouldn’t bother with it. I’m not interested in these two characters. The girl is the kind of young girl that you will encounter in just about every DC comic book today, and the guy still struggling with his homosexuality needs to wake up and realise that it’s 2015, and that being gay is no big deal these days.

Thankfully, the book’s main focus was on the villain, and not the two boring cop protagonists. Jim Craddock ‘The Gentleman Ghost’ is an old fashioned, charming, jewel thief, who will steal the girl’s hearts and their jewels as well. It’s all very old fashioned and quaint, I know, and the only reference to modernity was a quick use of a computer (as opposed to a library) when the detectives are doing a bit of homework on their foe.

Gotham by Midnight #1 is one of those comic books that could be set in 1950, or 1970, or 1990, or 2015. It doesn’t reflect anything about the world today, and it’s not even trying to. That’s okay. I can read the occasional comic book that is going for fun rather than trying to say something, and for pure fun this was an enjoyable book. It offers a mildly pleasant diversion to everyday reality, and as a gentle tonic to soothe my soul against corporate neo-liberal hegemony and celebrity culture ignorance of 2015, I found it to be an effective, if temporary balm.

Get the book if you enjoy old fashioned Ghost tales involving romance, train-top chases lit by the full moon and intriguing, villainous rogues that women will always find far more interesting and exciting than their feminised boyfriends who are waiting patiently at home for them like 1950’s housewives.

I enjoyed the book, the art has a nice ‘Gothic’ feel about it, and it left me wanting to read more about Jim Craddock, the very intriguing, charming, and roguishly handsome Gentleman Ghost.

I hope that’s not the last I hear about him, and if he returns to the DC Universe in his own title, sign me up for that one. Craddock is a fascinating character with a bucket load of narrative potential, and with a bit of updating (give the bloke a mobile phone at least) then he would be far more interesting than a lot of the other drippy, dreary, drossy, dismally PC characters that DC are unsuccessful trying to force down it’s readers throats these days.


Rating: 7/10 (Old fashioned and fun)