31. Batman Death by Design

Batman Death by Design by Chip Kidd and Dave Taylor (DC Comis) 2012

Genre

Graphic Novel

Review

The story places the architecture of Gotham City at the forefront of the story.  A boom in building is occurring, but many of the structures are failing.  For example (see below), a restaurant is built above the city upon a single sheet of glass.  It begins to crack part way through its opening night.  It becomes clear that the building aren't failing on accident, and Batman rushes to find the person or people behind the failures.

A cameo by the Joker to the restaurant at the top of the city with stunning architectural detail on the verso page.

Opinion

The plot is a simple but clever superhero story featuring an original villain called Exacto.  The idea to focus on the architecture of Gotham is inspiring.  The city has been figured by all manner of different artist's over time and there have been hints of particularly inventive buildings and sculptures.  But here we really see a culmination of all the previous minor details.  Kidd came to the work with an interesting artistic sensibility: the drawings were first done in blue architectural pencil (as is shown in the sketches included after the story), then made to look more like a traditional comic book.  It gives the book a unique feel among superhero comics.  Often the city in a comic book is fairly amorphous, but in this case the city is wholly substantial.  

Ideas

The book would be a fun inclusion for a superhero program.  I think the book would also be interesting with a series on architecture.  It might be a good book for inspiring children's interest in design.