Batman: Gotham By Gaslight - The Kryptonian Age #6 Comic Review

• Written by: Andy Diggle

• Art by: Leonardo Fernandez

• Colors by: Matt Hollingsworth

• Letters by: Simon Bowland

• Cover art by: Leandro Fernandez, Matt Hollingsworth (cover A)

• Cover price: $4.99

• Release date: November 13, 2024

Batman: Gotham By Gaslight - The Kryptonian Age #6, by DC Comics on 11/13/24, brings the circus to town when Harley Quinn and her crew of secret criminals are tasked with breaking into the Smallville bank.

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Is Batman: Gotham By Gaslight - The Kryptonian Age #6 Good?

How? How can an Elseworld story that appears to be reworking most of the mainline DC characters with a Victorian-age twist become increasingly boring? Either writer Andy Diggle has lost the plot, or he's writing for the trade with a story that never should have been chunked up into single issues. Either way, what should be a rousing Elseworld story reads like Random Things Happening: The Comic.

When last we left the rising collection of Victorian-Age superheroes in Batman: Gotham By Gaslight - The Kryptonian Age #5, Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen arrive in the small Kansas town to find out what Lex Luthor's excavation operation is really all about. There, they ran into flim-flam man Alan Scott, who sports a new ring and a surprisingly realistic illusion act. The issue ended with the appearance of an unusually clumsy and exceptionally lucky Sheriff Clark Kent.

In Batman: Gotham By Gaslight - The Kryptonian Age #6, Sheriff Clark Kent accepts and then declines a date with visiting reporter Lois Lane to attend the traveling circus that pulled into town. The Sheriff chooses to watch over his prisoners, Deadshot and Slipknot. His watch is interrupted by famed hypnotist Lazarus Lane, aka El Diablo, who puts the Sheriff under his spell to free his colleagues.

Meanwhile, John Constantine is brought before Ra's Al Ghul in Arabia to strike a bargain that would prevent whatever power Al Ghul holds from getting into the hands of the British military. We don't know what that power is, how John knows about it, why Al Ghul has it, or why John wants to keep the British from getting it.

Elsewhere, Adam Strange and Diana continue their sea voyage back to civilization. During the trip, one of the crew raises an alarm that a "green thing" emerged from the waters and crawled into the hull. When Diana descends into the depths of the ship's hold, she finds a man who looks like the Phantom Stranger warning her about an impending Doom. Diana ropes the Phantom Stranger to get the truth out of him, and he morphs into the Martian Manhunter with a warning that he must stop the Doom that destroyed Mars from destroying Earth.

Meanwhile, again, Harley Quinn's traveling circus show begins well enough, but Harley interrupts the entertainment to hold the audience hostage with the dynamite bundles secretly stashed under the bleachers. Why? Harley wants the townsfolk out of the way while her gang breaks into the bank to steal the secret item stored there by Sheriff Kent. Why? Nobody knows.

The issue ends with Batman tracking down Alan Scott to get back the ring, an explosion, and the 'S' stands for Sheriff.

What's great about Batman: Gotham By Gaslight - The Kryptonian Age #6?

There are more Victorian-Era DC character cameos than you can shake a stick at. This comic would be considered jam-packed by Justice League comic standards, so if you've ever wondered what a Victorian-era version of your favorite DC character would look like, chances are they're in this comic.

What's not great about Batman: Gotham By Gaslight - The Kryptonian Age #6?

Somebody, please send Andy Diggle an email and tell him to get back on target. This comic is all over the place with cameos and developments designed to hit that Elseworld novelty itch, but after six issues, we still have no idea what this 'Doom' is, where it's coming from, what it's all about, or where this story is headed.

Bluntly, Andy Diggle's world-building isn't interesting enough to carry six issues, let alone a 12-part maxiseries, but if you look back at the collection of issues published so far, that's all you've got... a lot of world-building with a vague sense of a future destination. This series has devolved into a chore.



About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.

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Final Thoughts

Batman: Gotham By Gaslight - The Kryptonian Age #6 is a frustrating, sometimes boring read. Andy Diggle places all effort on world-building and Vectorian-era versions of DC characters, but the plot is almost non-existent. World-build should be a good thing, but when that's all you've got, the comic turns into a slog.

5/10

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