The Best Comic of 2025: Dan Watters & Hayden Sherman's Batman: Dark Patterns
Dan Watters, Hayden Sherman, Triona Farrell and Frank Cvetkovic top my list of the best comics of 2025 with their stellar Batman: Dark Patterns maxiseries. 12 issues, 4 stories, 1 amazing run.
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Let’s talk about Batman: Dark Patterns
I think we can all agree that the best comic of 2025 was Batman: Dark Patterns1. The twisty little gem was the best book of a difficult year of corporate events and a deluge of indie releases, all coming out against the backdrop of the biggest sea change in recent comics history— the bankruptcy of Diamond Distributors.
2025 was a year where Chip Zdarsky was pushed to extend his run on Batman by six months to give Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee further runtime to deliver their sequel to “Hush”, the aptly named… “H2sh”2. And when that arc ran increasingly late, they couldn’t delay Matt Fraction and Jorge Jimenez’s debut any longer, and the new and shiny “no more rain in Gotham” Batman era began.
But every month, despite those scheduling maladies, a consistent title came out. One that defied all expectations— but when you look at the calibre of artists at the helm, was there ever any doubt?
Batman: Dark Patterns is set during Bruce Wayne’s third year as the Caped Crusader. This is a younger man, before Robin, before the Dark Knight has his feet solidly under him. And it is superb.
Described by DC’s press release as “A New Series of Lo-Fi, Mystery-Focused Batman Stories”, that description does not do the book justice. This is a thinking man’s series, leaning into the “detective” aspect of the character more so than Detective Comics is currently doing with Tom Taylor and Mikel Janin at the helm. Instead of relying on cameos and a vast, international cast of supporting characters3, this is Batman and Lieutenant Jim Gordon in the belly of the beast. New characters are introduced to act as foils, such as forensic pathologist Dr Sereika and journalist Nicky Harris, who only serve to deepen the ongoing mysteries laid out in the book.
B:DP delivered every month, with masterful artwork from Hayden Sherman reminiscent of peak J.H. Williams, mixed with Marcelo Frusin. I had no idea who Sherman was before this book, not really. I saw their work in Absolute Wonder Woman, and the sense of gravity and myth they delivered there was astonishing, but it was here, in B:DP, that I became a fan. If that book had debuted this year, it would have been in top consideration for the Best Of list.
This felt like a book mainlining the tightly plotted, bombastic vibes of Grant Morrison and Williams’ “The Black Glove”, which ran back in Batman #667–669, circa 2007. I was reading B:DP #1, and I thought someone had snuck Williams work into a brand new series, but as I turned the pages, I realised it was something else entirely, and I was hooked.
The writing by Dan Watters, who has steadily made a name that set it apart from the rest of the DC line, and a confidence in delivery that made everything else pale in comparison. This book was coming out at the same time as “H2sh”, the return of two comics megastars in Loeb and Lee, and B:DP absolutely overshadowed it in raw creative talent and energy. The odd thing is, I’ve been a fan of Watters for ages, without really realising.
I picked up Lucifer V3 (2018-2020) with Max Fiumara and Sebastian Fiumara on a whim, because I really enjoyed both of the previous volumes and “The Sandman Universe” relaunch seemed like a good starting point to begin again. Home Sick Pilots (2020-2022) caught my eye because of the mouth-watering art of Caspar Wijngaard, but it was the writing that sealed the deal.
Again, it was the artist who piqued my interest in Arkham City: The Order of the World (2021-2022). Dani may have impressed me, but combined with the writing, I was sucked in immediately. The follow-up, Sword of Azrael (2022-2023) with Nikola Čižmešija, continued that trend. Then there was The Seasons Have Teeth (2023) with Sebastián Cabrol, a sublimely sad and scary miniseries.
I enjoyed all of them, and never put it all together. Dan Watters, currently writing Nightwing4, is a comics tour de force, and B:DP was a statement piece for both he and Hayden.
I’d be remiss not to mention the colouring of Triona Farrell. I’m not a trained journalist or reviewer; I sometimes fail to fill in the gaps of my own writing or understanding when I write these “non-fiction” pieces, but I think it’s vital to note the contribution of the rest of a creative team on a piece of art. Triona saturates the art with burning reds and oranges as the heat permeates Gotham City throughout the run, culminating in the fantastic final arc, “The Child of Fire”.
Now, get this: This book featured two Batman villains. Three, if you count the appearance of The Red Hood Gang in “Pareidolia”, the third arc. The Ventriloquist and Scarface (they’re a package deal) once again return to the upper echelons of being one of the Dark Knight’s most unnerving villains in “The Voice of the Tower”5, and Firefly has a fantastic cameo throughout “The Child of Fire”, acting as arson-Hannibal-Lecter. My favourite arc is the first, “We Are the Wounded”, and Frank Cvetkovic’s letters shine as we’re introduced to… The Wound Man.
Another run of stories I’m reminded of is David Lapham’s 13-part “City of Crime6”, that ran in Detective Comics #800-808, was briefly interrupted by a crossover, then resolved in #811-814. With art by Ramon Bachs and Nathan Massengill, it’s a winding mystery, a grand conspiracy, both told so intimately that it left me feeling all kinds of feelings upon the conclusion. It also featured an extended appearance from The Ventriloquist and Scarface, so that’s always a winner.
All-in-all, I couldn’t have asked for a better Batman series than Dark Patterns. In a year where flash— “H2sh”— delayed quality— Fraction and Jimenez— this series was a bulwark. Substance over flash. I hope the critical success of the book leads to a sequel, though considering how busy Hayden Sherman’s schedule is, we may not see one for a while. If this were an audition for a lengthy run on one of the two mainline Bat-books— preferably Detective Comics, considering the content— then I’d say it was a lock. Who knows? I can live in hope, though.
That was my 2025. How was yours?
It’s fine, you don’t have to agree with me if you don’t want to. I won’t get mad.
No, you’re right, I do hate comics.
Tom Taylor’s fan-pandering tendencies are at their peak in Detective Comics. Starting from his run in #1090, nary an issue goes by without an appearance from Mr Terrific, Superman, Lois Lane, etc. I suppose it makes sense that a series set in a connected universe takes advantage of those benefits, but everyone’s such good mates in that book.
Watters started writing the book with Nightwing #119, but I’ve not picked it up. Why? I’m not a fan of Dexter Soy’s work. I’m sure it’s a step up from Tom Taylor’s pandering run on the book (I really dislike Taylor’s shtick when it’s given free rein), but comics are a visual medium, and it takes a lot for me to get past art I’m not a fan of.
What’s scarier than a ventriloquist dummy that acts of its own accord? An entire apartment building inhabited by that same malevolent presence.
This is the highest praise possible.