Before starting a review, I must admit I usually prefer the Superman story (yes, I watch Smallville) over Batman and was a little skeptical about American stories making their way to manga. For some reason, I had the belief that maybe the story and art would have too many changes because it was originally written for a Japanese audience before DC Comics licensed the rights to it. Although I am not an expert on Batman, I thought I would find this version unbelievable because I already had a picture of the American Batman in my mind.

However, when I first picked up a copy of Kia Asamiya's Batman - Child of Dreams, I was quite impressed with how the cover of this book was printed. The hard cover was very appealing and designed with a book jacket featuring an illustration of Asamiya's Batman. For some reason, I thought it resembled Michael Keaton, one of the many actors who starred in a Batman movie. Perhaps Asamiya used him as model for this painted cover illustration. The hardback version of this publication had the appearance that resembled more like a regular book than your typical graphic novel. Besides attracting manga and anime fans, I think this book has the potential to attract readers who may be completely new to the manga genre.

When I opened the pages of Batman - Child of Dreams, I was very disappointed in the quality of the pages. The pages are quite thin and resemble the type that is used in regular comic book printing. With such an appealing cover, it is a shame that it wasn't printed on higher quality paper. The pages are very easy to tear and having high quality paper would withstand humidity and preserve this book much longer.

The story itself was interesting, and reminded me a bit of a Superman story. Japanese budding reporter Yuko Yagi goes to Gotham City in hopes that she will land an exclusive interview with Batman, a man she is both intrigued and a bit infatuated with. However, when Yuko and her crew arrive, they end up hot on the scene of a breaking story where the villain, Two-Face, seemed to have. Things begin to get mysterious when Yuko suspects something was wrong with Two-Face's usual character. Also, when Two-Face's body literally melts away to a mummified corpse, they realize that there is more than meets the eye and perhaps that this wasn't real notorious villain as once believed. Soon after, more of these copycat villains appear with skills just as evil and powerful as the originals. As Batman and Yuko investigate further, they realize these incidents may be caused by a powerful drug and leads Batman out of Gotham City into the streets of Tokyo to fight this invisible foe.

I really enjoyed the artwork of Kia Asamiya. Asamiya's illustrations were very detailed, yet seemed to flow very well with the storyline. Although Asamiya is a Japanese manga artist, I felt no need to "compare" his interpretation of Batman with the American version. I appreciate the fact that he incorporated some of the setting in Tokyo. By having some of the action in Japan, I felt as if I was reading a "manga" and not just a Japanese version of an American story. Also, I enjoyed how Asamiya incorporated his illustrated versions of some of the most famous Batman villains into this storyline. Even though this was printed in standard western format (left to right), I wish the sound effects were left in their original format. Japanese sound effects usually seem to integrate with the illustrations, but the translations such as "Whomp!" or "Weeoooo!" seemed to remind me of those early TV episodes of Batman.

Overall, I think Asamiya's version of Batman did its job and drew me in not necessarily as a Batman or manga fan, but as a general reader. The story was intriguing enough to keep me all the way through. Although this work was based upon an American concept, Asamiya brings his own style and creative force to Batman - Child of Dreams.