Bruce Wayne, formerly known as Batman, is dead. His longtime protege, Terry Mcguiness is no longer welcomed in Neo-Gotham as Batman, and in the midst of it, all Neo-Gotham still needs a Batman. 
New foes arise that will challenge Terry, and the only thing standing between Neo-Gotham and destruction is Batman Beyond! In a world without Bruce Wayne, can Terry survive his first year without him?
Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing team up to deliver an interestingly new premise and status quo for the hero of Neo-Gotham. While the focus is still on Terry as Batman Beyond, it’s a whole different world that Terry is inhabiting after the passing of his predecessor and mentor, Bruce Wayne. Many fans of the character are familiar with his adventures as Batman and share a mentor/ apprenticeship that is often the hallmark of this series. This time around, we get a different kind of story that propels Terry toward uncharted territory.
What is a world without Bruce Wayne? And what kind of Batman is Terry without Bruce to continually guide him? These are questions that Kelly and Lanzing take the time to explore as new foes arrive to shake up Terry’s world as he tries to make sense of the events that have drastically altered his life. The writing is pretty solid for a new Batman Beyond series that holds promise as a departure from previous stories and adds a new layer to the mythos.
The art by Max Dunbar is cinematically dynamic throughout the book, fitting the mold that readers have come to know in regards to the aesthetic and atmosphere that inhabit Batman Beyond. Sebastian Cheng provides colorwork that amplifies Dunbar’s linework and doubles down on what Dunbar has visually established on the page. Aditya Bidikar contributes lettering for this book and it fits in tone to the story and world of the book, keeping the visual narrative intact with the dialogue that is cohesive and appropriate. This title is a great start to a new chapter of Terry Mcguiness’s adventure as a solo act. If you’re a fan of Batman Beyond or looking for a bat title that focuses on newer ideas unencumbered by tie-ins and huge mainstream events, this is the book to pick up.
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