Batman: Ego and Other Tails
Before embarking on the epochal New Frontier, Cooke wrote and drew several Batman stories, notably Ego, Cooke's first published comics story other than one apprentice effort. It remains a stunning debut, a psychologically loaded tale in which Bruce Wayne confronts his innermost fears in the form of a grotesque embodiment of his costumed alter ego. Even this early in his career, Cooke's striking style, made up of dynamically simple drawings, cinematic compositions, and noirish lighting effects, is fully formed. Besides Ego and a handful of shorter stories featuring the Caped Crusader, this collection includes the Catwoman graphic novel Selina's Big Score (2003), in which that villainess attempts a final heist before her reinvention as a vigilante defending the downtrodden. Its presence here might be questioned, for nowhere is Batman to be found in it, yet it's so impressive—the high-water mark of Cooke's pre–New Frontier career—that it's petty to quibble. The many fans Cooke has acquired since these stories first appeared will seize the chance to read these early efforts. Flagg, Gordon--This text refers to theHardcoveredition.