John Byrne — Riddle Me This
Batman 3D Graphic Novel, May 1990
Part three of a multi-part series celebrating Batman’s 80thbirthday.
I missed this story, published nearly 30 years ago, the first time around. I don’t care much for 3D in media — comics, film, etc. And this cover didn’t do anything for me. I probably never even noticed that it contained a new story by Byrne, since his credit is poorly noted at the bottom. I’m guessing I thought it was a straight reprint collection at the time.
Well, the joke is on me. This is great Byrne Batman art, a fact that’s pretty obvious when examining the original pages.
The story itself is fine and, in support of plot, Byrne brings in Two-Face, Joker, Penguin, and of course, the Riddler. Art-wise though, the 52-page story is gem, featuring many catchy and dynamic pages. Byrne may have created the story to take advantage of 3D effects, but it works perfectly well in traditional form, as evidenced by its recent black and white reprinting in the DC Universe by John Byrne Omnibus (2017).
But… Black and White? No budget for color? Batman? John Byrne? Really?
Hey DC — how about coloring it for its 30thanniversary next year and issuing it in deluxe format one-shot?
If that doesn’t make a few nickels, nothing will.
