All of these elements come to give shape to a character that is given a menacing silhouette by the masterful Liam Sharp. The reveal of the main antagonist is also enthroned through impressive artwork but doesn’t strike as a novel concept, mostly reminding readers of cult classic figures.

Reptilian is all painted artwork and extremely dark - literally - throughout, so that it’s often hard to discern what’s going on amidst the murkiness. Není to pro každýho, je to silně off-beat, je tu hromada naprosto absurdních zvratů a naprosto náhodných až bizarně komediálních scén, že tohle opravdu je pro úzkou skupinu lidí. And although the ending falls apart a bit, with Batman's characterisation wobbling and a big explodey showdown that really doesn't sit right with the style Sharp is using here, I mostly enjoyed this one. I’m a big fan of he and Grant Morrison’s run on Green Lantern, but his paintings in this series are absolutely stunning. He seemed to have greatly enjoyed drawing it and I’ve enjoyed seeing it even though some readers might be put off-balance.Back in 2016, the Preacher show was just about to launch on AMC, and around that same time, Steve Dillon, co-creator and penciler of Preacher, was very ill and hadn’t been drawing very much as of late. Then, when the baby was born, it hunted down everyone who was "marked" by the pheromone, attacking them when it turned out they weren't its real parent. His attitude towards criminals comes off the same as a rich person who is inconvenienced by someone less fortunate. I saw an interview recently where Ennis talked about how this was one of the only superhero books that he genuinely enjoyed writing, and it shines through in the script.

With only Alfred and a Russian thug with connections by his side, this mystery leads him to shocking crime scenes that further corroborate the sole fact he’s got: there’s a monster out there.Not that I think it’s from a lack of opportunity - I’m sure he’s been offered every superhero title under the sun by Marvel and DC over the decades he’s been writing comics - but, if we assume the things expressed by characters like Frank Castle and Billy Butcher are similar to his perspective, it’s safe to say that Ennis doesn’t think much of superheroes in general.

An intelligent architecture, the way the mini-series unfolds manages to take us by surprise without playing the card of subverting expectations just for the sake of it.

As he gathers clues, his trail eventually leads him to Killer Croc, and to a discovery that will change everything he thought he knew about his reptilian foe. Yes, he's got form on giving good bastard, but here he manages to work within Bruce's ridiculous limitations so as to make someone who is widely known not to kill genuinely menacing all the same. A decidedly more cynical and grim take on the character, it also takes Batman back to his roots as "The World's Greatest Detective", with more of an emphasis on mystery and suspense than on super-heroics. He might be one of the only villains Ennis likes, but that doesn't mean he gets to leave the story with dignity.