It’s officially illegal to wear a cape and cowl in Gotham City. Thanks to Mayor Poison Ivy and Police Commissioner Vandal Savage (yep, you read that right), vigilantism has become a criminal offense in Gotham City. This will certainly make a couple of lives difficult as Gotham City holds quite a few heroes. And the punishment for these heroes? Death. So, Batman seemingly has decided to do the only practical thing: Lose. If you’ve ever seen The New Batman Adventures episode “Over the Edge”, this issue has a similar feel to it. There’s a lot of intense moments and drama to fill the pages. and it’s a story that is likely to leave you on the edge of your seat afraid for your favorite Batfamily character’s safety.
DC
Here’s the thing: I’m extraordinarily tired of Batman vs. Gotham event stories. We’ve had so many over the last few years, and they’re starting to come off as meaningless due to their very minimal impact on the title as a whole. But this one changes that pretty quickly. Instead of rehashing something like Future State or Gotham War, “Operation Peregrine” takes a different approach by having Batman focus on minimizing his losses rather than taking a big stand. As a result, the issue feels more unpredictable and intriguing. More and more, it seems like we know as little about Batman’s plans as some of his closest allies. By the end of the issue, even longtime fans will be floored with the explosive surprises Matt Fraction has in store for us. If you think Barbara Gordon’s arrest was the big reveal, think again. Altogether, this issue is a great example of how surprising and confusing the reader can turn out perfectly when a story is properly executed.
DC
Ryan Sook’s art has really thrived in the emotional direction the last few issues have taken, both from his focus on having each panel flow from one to the next and emphasizing things such as posture and facial expressions. And let’s not forget the impeccable paneling that happens in the issue. So many pages have little kernels of mini-panels that give a zoomed in focus on something the reader should be paying attention to. It’s nuanced moments like these that help make this into something memorable and unlike many other Gotham events.
Additionally, Wade Von Grawbadger’s inks help to add depth to high-paced action sequences by giving them a more thrilling pace. Now, while I often enjoy a comic full of vibrance and color, I do not feel Tomeu Morey’s colors conveyed everything properly. First, for a thriller, I felt it was too brightly colored. Additionally, I found that Damian Wayne’s skin color was wrongly depicted and found this to be a negligent decision. It’s something I hope to be rectified in the future as there are not many Arab nor Chinese characters with as big of a spotlight as Damian and depicting him with such a white skin tone feels borderline offensive. Outside of this error, the issue was well illustrated.
Overall, I found this issue to be very captivating and ended with a few intriguing cliffhangers. While it feels like we’re rehashing a concept used frequently in the Batman title, I think this one was more worthwhile. Here, the story felt more mysterious and intense than predictable. This helped the issue to feel more similar to something like the TV show 24 by having a high stakes story unfold at a heightened pace. This is definitely an issue readers will want to pick up, despite a few notable shortcomings.
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