This would be a lot easier with a Sharpie.

You don’t have to be the world’s greatest detective to figure out Bruce Wayne will somehow find his way out of that cave he was painting at the end of Final Crisis. Within the next year or so, he’ll likely resume the mantle of the Dark Knight.

So what if he was on the wrong end of Darkseid’s Omega Sanction back in Final Crisis #5? Barry Allen melted during Crisis on Infinite Worlds and Superman took a dirt nap thanks to Doomsday’s knuckles. But like Monty Python would say, “they got better.” And so too will Bruce Wayne.

If you don’t want to wait another year to read new material starring the one, true Batman, then don’t. If you take the time to scan the racks at BSI a bit more thoroughly before racing out of the blacktop to read the latest and greatest Blackest Knight crossover or newest episode of Captain America: Rebirth, then maybe you’d spot the first issue of Kevin Smith’s Batman: The Widening Gyre.

Granted, a lot of fans seem to be pleasantly surprised by Dick Grayson’s current tour of duty as the not-so-Dark Knight, but now is as good a time as any to get a Bruce Wayne-as-Batman fix without having to settle for a sixty-third reading of The Killing Joke.

Batman: The Widening Gyre is not only the best Batman book on the market today, it’s arguably Smith’s best comic book writing to date. Before we dive in, let’s get Batman: Cacophony out of the way. Released late last year, Cacophony was certainly a quality read but not on par with Smith’s Daredevil and Green Arrow runs. It was cool to see his take on Deadshot and minor leaguer Maxie Zeus. And there’s no doubt that Smith was born to write the Joker.

Yet Walter Flanagan’s pencils were rather pedestrian, and the plot was a bit, well, underwhelming. This is because many feel that Cacophony failed to live up to the glaring hype that typically surrounds Hollywood scribe Kevin Smith, whose inclusion of Green Arrow villain Onomatopoeia in that series as a key player alongside the Joker was sort of a head-scratcher.

While it’s always fun to see different villains take on different heroes, why didn’t Smith go for a more established DC criminal outside of Batman’s most wanted list? Perhaps one with a name that’s easier to pronounce, like Captain Cold or Deathstroke? Smith’s usage of Onomatopoeia, despite the villain’s ubiquitous style of communication and rather creative sadistic talents, was sort of like passing up Crème Brule for Twinkies—or choosing a Pontiac over a Porsche. Yes, you’ll eat the Twinkies and take the free Pontiac, but as Franz Ferdinand sang, you could have it so much better. Rest assured that Batman: The Widening Gyre is indeed a Porsche.

In Gyre, the cast of characters is a bit less eclectic, and Flanagan’s pencils are much sharper and multi-dimensional thanks to the infusion of Art Thibert’s moody inks, which lend Batman and the supporting characters that classic shadowy look from the 1970’s Marshall Rogers run. Also, Smith’s plot seems to be tighter and more engrossing, with a tone that’s an expertly crafted blend of his trademark humor and a true sense of horror that hasn’t been this bold in his comics writing since Daredevil.

Obvious plot-related and artistic upgrades aside, you can’t help but focus on Smith’s big league talent when it comes to dialogue. As in the case of Cacophony, his Batman is written with a subtle nod to Frank Miller, giving the hero a personality that’s not quite as stoic as we’ve grown accustomed to seeing for so long, yet appropriately falls well short of the borderline psychotic, and somewhat comical, portrayal in Miller’s All-Star series. Smith’s Batman has ample arrogance and aggressiveness, and he’s not above exchanging barbs with a punk, but he’s still the cerebral and ever-strategic detective here—which is an essential component that separates Batman from most of his non-super powered urban superhero brethren.

Exemplifying this well-executed balance in Gyre is the dialogue between Batman and Nightwing trying to stop a grocery store robbery in Blüdhaven—one of the best exchanges in recent memory between this dynamic yet dysfunctional duo. Smith aptly employs the flashback tactic to take us back to a time when there was a more brightly-hued Caped Crusader, who sported a yellow circle around the emblem on his chest and fought alongside Dick Grayson’s Robin—his fellow Super Friend chum, perfectly portrayed as the prolific punster with the green short-shorts.

The scene later circles back to the present day and the aforementioned grocery store robbery, with the now black-clad Dark Knight and his former partner, the adult superhero Nightwing, going back and forth about their relationship while doing what they do best. The scene does a great job showing how much the characters have changed over the years—and how much they haven’t.

Paying homage to classic incarnations of these characters brings to mind the framed portrait of the Batman family seen on the Batcave desk in The Killing Joke. In fact, in the first issue of Gyre, Smith alludes to Alan Moore’s classic Swamp Thing story in which the misunderstood muck monster infests all of Gotham City to spring his old lady from the big house. It’s obvious that Smith not only reveres Batman but also has a vast knowledge of classic DC stories and deeply respects the work of his comic book forefathers—including those kitschy beatniks responsible for the 1960’s Batman TV series.

The Joker makes a welcome return in Gyre, though this time around, Batman’s arch enemy serves as more of a backdrop than anything else. Instead, Smith saves the spotlight for other characters such as Poison Ivy. While Smith certainly doesn’t reinvent Ivy, he effectively builds upon the strong roots of the character that were carefully planted and watered over the years by the likes of Paul Dini and Jeph Loeb. Ivy’s seductive and shockingly explicit lines give the book a definite adult flair. Even just one of these lines could’ve served as the subject of an entire chapter in Seduction of the Innocent. And believe it or not, Flanagan’s renderings of Ivy are a worthy compliment to Jim Lee’s depiction of the emerald temptress in the now legendary Hush series.

Adding to the mature themes list in Gyre is an in-your-face penchant for violence and gore, particularly for a mainstream title. The blood in this first issue alone makes the entire Cacophony series look like a DC animation-inspired kiddie series in comparison. Much of the blood is courtesy of Jason Blood, also known as Etrigan the Demon, another character given the over-the-top treatment in Gyre. Like Poison Ivy, this treatment seems to fit like a glove thanks to Smith’s craftsmanship.

I know what you’re thinking, what’s he doing here? Isn’t Etrigan too magical or otherworldly to appear? Shouldn’t he be hanging with the Phantom Stranger? Ill-advised rhyming couplets aside, Etrigan, unlike Omnopoowhatshisname, is an established and familiar DC face. While big name comics creators like Smith are often compelled to apply at least some Tarentinoesque off-the-beaten bath casting, Etrigan is no stranger to sharing panels with The Dark Knight. If you’re old enough to recall Jim Starlin and Mike Mignola’s Cosmic Odyssey, then you know the two characters can co-exist in a good story.

Etrigan is more disturbing—and cannibalistic—than ever in Gyre. And for the record, cannibalism in the DC universe seems to be near the top of the ‘what’s hot meter’ right now, whether it’s at the hands of a hell-spawned beast or a black power ring-wearing zombie. There are a few panels in Gyre featuring Etrigan that are actually difficult to look at. Is this strong story telling or gratuitous gore? You decide. But there’s no denying that Smith wants us to know that, like a great many Batman stories, this is a horror story. And it’s hard to escape the fact that the Dark Knight has long been the ideal superhero for such tales.

With a healthy dose of double entendres and graphic flesh consumption, it should go without saying that if you have rug rats at home, you may not want to leave this book hanging around on the coffee table.

Hopefully, you’re almost sold on Gyre at this point, but the cynic in you remembers that many of us probably went to four weddings and a funeral in between issues of Smith’s Spider-Man And Black Cat. And we’ll probably see the Cubs win the World Series before we see the sequel to Dardevil: Target. But give Kevin Smith a shot here. The second issue isn’t late—yet. And if it is, well, like Old Man Logan, it’ll probably be worth the wait.

After all, you need your Bruce Wayne fix, and perhaps even a Kevin Smith fix to boot. And if you keep rereading The Killing Joke, you’ll ruin the spine again and have to buy a ninth copy.