SUPERHERO

Now better known for his Y: The Last Man, Pride of Baghdad and Ex-Machina titles as well as being one of the keys writers on TV’s Lost, Brian K Vaughan started off as a jobbing writer. With his star now well and truly established in the world of comics, DC have pillaged their back issues for Vaughan’s early Batman and Wonder Woman stories (dated 2000-2003).

It’s interesting to note – as Vaughan points out in the introduction – that all of these stories seem to revolve around alter-egos and disguises. First up is a three-parter about Batman’s underworld persona Matches Malone, a quick Wonder Woman vs Clayface double issue and finally a short where Vaughan attempts to set up a major new Bat-villain, the Skeleton.

The Batman stories are fun and the Wonder Woman story has a few neat ideas despite some clunky dialogue. As examples of a writer’s earliest works, this is imperfect but still interesting showcase of a developing talent.