Batman: The Bat Man Of Gotham

If Batman doesn't exist, Bruce Wayne will have to invent him.

"Yes, Gotham! I shall become a bat!"

Chip Zdarsky's current story arc in Batman picks up where "Failsafe" left off.  At the end of that story, the out of control android was only stopped by letting it fulfill it's mission. 

Batman was destroyed! 

Except...

No, not quite. 

Nope, Bruce Wayne was not killed but shunted out of existence from his Earth to another one. 

"The Bat Man Of Gotham" tells the story of Bruce Wayne consigned to an Earth where Gotham City is even more of a hellscape than ever. 

Crime is beyond rampant. The cops are more than just corrupt but actively working to make life a torment for it's citizens. The very air and water are making people crazy.  

Oh, Gotham is a good place to be if you're rich... no, rich is not good enough. Super rich, that's enough to put you in a good place in Gotham. 

Without the stratospheric protection of super wealth, everyone else in Gotham City is on a fast track of torment, torture and death. 

And there's no one to help them.

The Bruce Wayne of this world is dead. 

Our Bruce Wayne is trying to suss out how to get back to his world but damn if this one doesn't really need someone to save it. 

Which is a neat trick because in this world, Bruce Wayne lacks his own wealth and access to his support network of associates. But nonetheless, these people need help and Bruce arrives at the only conclusion he can. 

"I shall become a bat!"

The art for this storyline by Mike Hawthorne and Adriano di Benedetto with colors by Tomeu Morey has a retro look, clean lines mixed with grit and shadows. It's a hard core film noir Gotham with a Batman to match.  

The back up strip by Zdarsky chronicles Tim Drake's Robin working with Mr. Terrific to figure out where in the multiverse did Failsafe send Bruce Wayne.  

"The Bat Man Of Gotham" is off to a pretty cool start, putting Bruce Wayne in the role of Batman without the usual supporting mechanisms he has in his own world.  Some things still hold true. Criminals are still a cowardly and superstitious lot. But the members of that lot are not exactly ones that Bruce knows from his world.