Publisher's Weekly Review
While this introduction to Batman pays plenty of homage to the original comic's noirish aesthetics, Cosentino (The Marvelous Misadventures of Fun-Boy) makes two astute concessions to the sensibilities of his target audience. First, Batman's face and body is less chiseled and angst-ridden than the characterizations aimed at older readers; he's still the Dark Knight, but he's also less remote. Second, Cosentino unfolds the story largely through a series of double-page and single-page drawings composed from a straight-on perspective; by not breaking up the action, by eschewing a more cinematic presentation, the artwork enthralls but does not overwhelm. The text, written in Batman's voice and set in traditional comic book fonts, is both hard-boiled and reassuring: "In the dark of the night, criminals think they can get away. They are wrong." Some elements are scary (the murder of Bruce Wayne's parents, the disfigured villain Two-Face), and some readers may bemoan the omission of Robin. But for kids already acquainted with the animated Batman or his action-figure counterpart, this is a gripping, sensitive celebration of superherodom--and an outstanding introduction to the joys and narrative power of classic comics. Ages 3-5. (June) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
This book offers the barest essentials of Batman's origins, illustrated by a mix of traditional picture book spreads and comic panels. While there is no real story, the book does introduce Batman's primary villains and his motivations for fighting crime. The art hews closely to the original comic-book style. Readers will leave hungry for a true adventure. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
Joining the pre-release buzz for his latest film (scheduled for summer), Batman steps out of the shadows to introduce himself to less practiced readers who might be a little hazy on what he's all about. There must be a few. In pithy bursts of boxed prose--"In the dark of the night, criminals think they can get away. They are wrong"--he retraces his origins and training, describes his work and introduces a rogues' gallery of foes, from the Joker ("He never plays his cards right") to Catwoman. Using appropriately dark colors and bold, heavy lines, Cosentino depicts his Caped Crusader, massively muscled and with a chin like a sledgehammer, leaping into action, collaring crooks and, as a closing image, sharing rooftop with a crouching gargoyle as a flock of bats crosses the full moon overhead. To younger children, Batman will come across as sinister, but not uncomfortably so, and despite all the crimefighting depicted, the level of explicit violence is relatively low. (Picture book. 6-8) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Cosentino's take on Batman, from orphaned child to self-made superhero, features crackling, atmospheric art that honors the source material while giving the story a modern sense of depth and energy. Even the page design is well conceived, merging picture-book layout and comic-book page composition into a slick, fluid style. But the question of audience looms. The story of Batman seems a peculiar choice to introduce the superhero's mystique to young children, given the traumatic murder of his parents (covered only briefly here) and his nightmarish gallery of enemies, such as Joker and Two-Face. Exacerbating the problem is Cosentino's penchant for showing the defeat of villains as a matter of punching them in the head rather than outsmarting them. With imagery too mature for young children and text too simple to engage older readers, this isn't entirely successful. Readers able to appreciate Cosentino's artistic style and verve will get the most from this awkward match of subject and audience.--Karp, Jesse Copyright 2008 Booklist