Batman: Full Moon #4 came out on March 5th, marking the miniseries’ conclusion. While I’m sad the series ended, it is one less Bat story to keep up with. There’s been a full utility belt of Batman the last few months, outside the typical Batman and Detective monthly comics. That’s not even accounting for all the Bat Family and books where Batman appears.

Fortunately, I usually stick to Bruce Wayne/Batman stories; otherwise, I’d need a Bat credit card. That said, I’ve been pleased with the numerous diverse stories with him front and center that have debuted in quick succession.

Too Many Batmen?

DC is working on rebooting to try and freshen things up as comics, in general, are only doing so/so partly because they’re expensive and probably partly because people like to watch not read.

Regardless, DC’s been sort of stagnant off and on for a while until the recent Absolute campaign across the main titles with new stories behind the main characters like Batman, Flash, etc. The Absolute stories are sort of leading to a hard reboot later this year, but in the meantime, it seems we’ve got lots of Batman as a holdover.

Another possibility would be that it’s an effort to have readers focused on the new reboot when it launches rather than diluting sales across 8 titles. 

The Hero We Know 

Batman is a go-to for selling and consistently draws readers, but why? He’s a human, and everyone knows his story. So he’s relatable and understandable to most people simply by mentioning his name. You may not be Batman, but you know him. With that framework in place, releasing alternate versions of the character makes for an easy jumping on point. The result has been 6 Elseworlds/alternate Batman stories in recent months, including Batman Full Moon. 

What is Batman: Full Moon?

Batman: Full Moon is a DC Black Label(Mature) 4-part horror miniseries written by Rodney Barnes and illustrated by Stevan Subic.

It tells the story of Christian Talbot, a soldier who, while in Romania, gets bitten by a Lycan, otherwise known as a werewolf. For those who don’t already know, the name “Talbot” is a nod to the original Universal Monsters Wolf Man, Larry Talbot. Perhaps this is a descendant, but unfortunately, it doesn’t really come into play in this series. Talbot is in control when he’s human, but when he transforms, he wants to kill humans.

Batman is on the case but has never encountered a foe like this werewolf and does not know the danger of being bitten. He gets help from Kirk Langstrom, the sometimes Man-Bat, his girlfriend, the magic-powered Zatanna, and John Constantine Occult Detective, as he tracks, battles, and attempts to cure Talbot.

Spoiler…sort of 

The covers and summaries for the issues after #2 reveal that Batman, too, is infected after being bitten by Talbot. This situation leaves Batman on the trail of a killer, but when the time comes to transform, he has little control over how he acts. By issue #4, Batman and Zatanna are on Talbot’s trail while Constantine and Langstrom work on a cure. Batman and Talbot end up transforming and facing off wolf to wolf. 

The Look

The art by Stevan Subic on the covers of these four issues has been striking. The standout covers are black and white embossed and glow in the dark. They also seem to eerily glow in the dark, even when it’s not dark, because they are so black and white. Subic illustrates the interiors of the books as well.

The comic is a horror story, so the darkness within its pages makes sense, but it is dark. It is almost too dark, like movies with a lot of special effects that try not to expose any flaws in the graphics with too much light. There’s no CGI here, so it’s simply the aesthetic. It works to bring the story to a dark and unforgiving place. 

Interestingly, aside from the cover, Batman does not appear in this issue. In the previous issues, though, he appears as a shadowy, more serious version of the Batman in the 1989 movie sans any color. Talbot’s werewolf is a hulking, ferocious, drooling beast that looks like a rabid dog you never want to meet.

The most frightening part of the book is the visual transformation into the werewolf as the temporarily disfigured faces look like something between a zombie and a demon. The two both look great and so does the creepy gypsy woman that’s involved in the story. The visuals, particularly the characters, are the strongest part of the comic overall and are worth a look.

The Story

I feel like I wanted something more out of this final book. Bruce, as Bruce and Zatanna hiking and chatting while on the hunt, is okay but feels out of place.

Alfred visiting and offering money to the victims of Talbot is also not something I cared to see. To be fair, though, there is a clear social message on these pages that the story obviously wanted to send, which I’ll leave you curious to read yourself.

Letting Bruce Wayne and Zatanna be a romantic couple is a nice change, but again, it’s romance and not Batman in a Batman monster story.

I enjoy getting the inner monologue of Bruce and Talbot as they are werewolves and not in control. Talbot’s pain and suffering due to his affliction, contrasted with who he really is, is a powerful, tragic piece of storytelling done well here.

Throughout the series, there are a lot of flashes to Talbot’s encounter with the original lycan and the horrors inflicted after being turned. These are the best moments of the story as they are horror-based, which seems to be the strong suit of everyone here.

The Bitter End 

Finally, there is the ending, which is a bit brief and unexpected. In many old horror movies, the second the monster “dies,” the credits roll, but that’s not the situation here. The final fight seems to go on for a few pages but still feels short before ending unexpectedly.

Then, there’s the fallout afterward and a trip to a soup kitchen before the book ends. I’m not sure how this book should have ended, maybe I just wanted more Batman, who again doesn’t appear in this book.

Final Thoughts

With all the aforementioned Bat stories, this book falls in the middle. I don’t think it’s the bottom, but it’s certainly not Gargoyle of Gotham or Absolute Batman, which are the two at the front of the pack for me.

There is some incredible art here; it is definitely a horror book, gore and all. It was interesting to see Batman in a modern world of the Universal Monsters. Still, I’ve seen him face monsters plenty before and enjoyed many of those more. Even more interesting is seeing Batman as a werewolf, albeit briefly. Hopefully, at least, we’ll get a figure of some sort out of it!

This book is a pick-up for horror fans and werewolf nuts. It’s werewolf vs werewolf! The series is a must for those who MUST see these variations of Batman, like me. I give Batman: Full Moon #4- 2 full moons and a half out of 5.