Child of Dreams

In American comic books, Batman is treated as an urban legend, someone who may not exist but is talked about to strike fear in the hearts of criminals. In this story, originally serialized in Japan, he's a public figure, sought after for an interview by a Japanese TV crew. While tracking him down, the reporters find themselves taken hostage by Two-Face. Except it's not really him. There's a drug that turns people into various Batman villains. Conveniently, this allows Asamiya to draw a variety of well-known antagonists without worrying about the details of their histories or characters. The author states that one of his intentions was to introduce the real Batman to Japan, where most people are only familiar with the movies. To that purpose, he creates a character to stand in for the newcomer: young reporter Yuko Yagi is determined to make her mark, so she's traveled to Gotham City in order to interview Batman. Visually, the story incorporates manga conventions like a reliance on close-ups, lots of raised voices and heightened emotion, and action punctuated by vibrant sound effects. Asamiya's particular style gives all the characters very sharp pointy noses. Overall, as Batman fights Batman, the book is about the nature of identity in a media-obsessed society. There's a nice explanation of this process at the back of the book, along with an interview with the artist.