By d. emerson eddy — 'Twas a few nights before Christmas and all 'cross the grounds, not a creature was stirring because of lockdowns. I hope that everyone's relatively safe and sane this holiday season. I know it's been a rough year for many, and that many were delivered another blow through further restrictions just recently implemented in some regions and countries, myself included, but have hope that we'll all persevere with a light ahead of us in the near future. That current personal sacrifices will allow us to see our loved ones also safe and sane when we get this nasty virus back under control.

In the mean time, we can take tidings of comfort and joy through tools of communication and seeking solace remembering a few of our favorite things. Like Batman: Noel by Lee Bermejo, Barbara Ciardo, and Todd Klein.

To me, Batman and Christmas go together fairly seamlessly. They were probably inextricably linked in my eyes with the release of Batman Returns, but it has endured through various forms in comics, the animated series, and the Arkham Origins video game. Batman: Noel takes that one further and not only take place during Christmas, but also serves loosely as an adaptation and retelling of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. The story takes the form of a telling, more or less, of Dickens' classic, changed a bit as we're told it's being told from memory, superimposed atop a current caper of Batman's as he works to follow one of Joker's underlings to capture his boss.

Naturally, the retelling of Scrooge's plight parallels what we see in Batman's actions and case, weaving through visions of ghosts and otherworldly visitors. It has an undercurrent that Batman has more or less become too dark, too driven to extremes in the name of “justice”, and lost focus on what really matters in his one-man fight against crime. It nicely works through a representative of Batman's past, a shining beacon of hope for the present, and a grim rictus for the future.

Lee Bermejo's artwork throughout the story is stunning. His highly detailed, mostly realistic style gives the Batman story an edge. It gives the story that verve in visual presentation that we can connect with the more visceral, darker, and, for lack of a better term, “realer” feel of Batman's quest for justice. That he's changed from the goofier, lighter aspects of yesteryear. This is reinforced by Barbara Ciardo's color choices, which often hover between a slate grey, black, and white, echoing the bleakness in this Gotham.

But there's also a kind of soft palette that goes along with that grey base coat, a few other colors that creep in, including a more gossamer use of that white, that gives the story the feeling that this is a fable, consistent with the retelling of A Christmas Carol.

That retelling itself forms the crux of the narration for the story. Presented by Todd Klein without narration boxes, a hovering white text atop the artwork. It's an interesting choice, giving it almost a storybook feel. Bermejo choosing a fairly colloquial, conversational tone for the storyteller, making it fairly relatable as an everyman tale. There's a very nice central tenet set out in the beginning, consistent with the moral message of A Christmas Carol, in the belief of change. That situations can be made better and that the hardhearted can potentially open up and feel again.

Ultimately, Batman: Noel from Bermejo, Ciardo, Klein and a helping of Dickens, reminds us to have hope. That things could be dark now, that situations could be dire, but not to give up, not to follow the hardships down a dark path, and to always strive towards something better.

Classic Comic of the Week: Batman - Noel

Batman: Noel
Writer & Artist: Lee Bermejo
Colorist: Barbara Ciardo
Letterer: Todd Klein
Publisher: DC Comics
Inspired by Charles Dickens' immortal classic A Christmas Carol, BATMAN: NOEL features different interpretations of The Dark Knight, along with his enemies and allies, in different eras. Along the way, Batman must come to terms with his past, present and future as he battles villains from the campy 1960s to dark and brooding menaces of today, while exploring what it means to be the hero that he is. Members of Batman's supporting cast enact roles analogous to those from A Christmas Carol, with Robin, Catwoman, Superman, The Joker and more playing roles that will be familiar to anyone who knows Dickens' original holiday tale.
Release Date: November 2, 2011
Price: $4.99
Buy It Digitally: Batman - Noel

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d. emerson eddy is a student and writer of things. He fell in love with comics during Moore, Bissette, & Totleben's run on Swamp Thing and it has been a torrid affair ever since. His madness typically manifests itself on Twitter @93418.