Yet another splinter of the Batman empire reaches trade, with David Finch's series The Dark Knight, featuring more supernatural themed Bat-stories. In Golden Dawn we see Bruce drawn into a search for missing socialite and former childhood friend Dawn Golden -- a search that pits him against familiar foes Penguin and Killer Croc, as well as more demonic adversaries.

Finch's artwork remains exemplary. His fine, gritty style is perfect for Batman. His action scenes carry a lot of impact and his wide vistas are impressively detailed. That first image of Batman, lurking in the rain, is one that instantly becomes your mental picture of the Dark Knight; simply radiating his patient determination. The only oddity here is that, for a writer/artist, Finch seems to constrain himself in the tight panels, although he does make up for it in the double-page spreads. He is also aided here by Jason Fabok, who should consider it a high compliment that I could not figure out where one ended and the other began.

Unfortunately, the story does not live up to the intensity of the art. It is far from terrible, however, in fact it handles its multiple plotlines very well, pacing them smartly so as not to lose you. But a muddled tone does dilute the atmosphere created visually. Levity in a murder mystery is fine -- necessary, in fact -- but it should either stand out like a pin bursting a balloon, or be weaved into the overall narrative. Golden Dawn represents neither, and just trips you up as it shifts from light to dark.

Numerous clichés do drag things down somewhat too. For those of you who have been living in a cave for 73 years: Batman's parents were killed in front of him. As a child. And that's terrible. This is something Finch feels the need to remind us of, often and bluntly, in the beginning. I cannot help but feel that, especially in recent years, this is something the character has gotten over and moved on from, and we no longer need to have it repeated for us. Even more so, considering that it plays no part in the central story.

The character of terribly Bond-girl-named Dawn Golden is also, at best, predictable, and at worst, non-existent. While the wheel of the plot does turn around her, she has very little effect on it. This, coupled with her skimpy outfits and provocative poses, makes her feel like a boring damsel in distress. The only thing surprising about her is her final fate, but this is squandered in an anti-climactic moment.

While this does seem like an awful lot of complaining, I should reiterate my early expression that Golden Dawn is not terrible. The mystery is quite engaging. Classic characters are well-represented. The sub-plot with Commissioner Gordon and his snaky rival is troubling and new. And a guest appearance from Etrigan the Demon is always dark fun. But in a fiercely competitive comics market -- where there are four ongoing Batman titles alone -- the battle is always to stand out. While it is a decent enough yarn, Golden Dawn fails to shine.

(Also collected here are Grant Morrison's Batman: The Return and Superman/Batman #75 -- both very good.)

Rating: 3/5

Writers: David Finch and Grant Morrison
Artists: David Finch and Jason Fabok
Publisher: DC Comics
Collects: The Dark Knight #1-5; Batman: The Return #1; Superman/Batman #75 (2010-2011)