After the shocking events in last month’s issue, Batman is preparing to take the offensive. After all, blowing up Wayne Manor and having Barbara Gordon arrested all in one night is a devastating blow to the Bat-family. But The Dark Knight isn’t one sit by and watch his city be taken over by capitalists and criminals. Wait a second. A war on capitalists? Is this a Batman comic or a Green Arrow one?! Well, my favorite loudmouth archer isn’t the only vigilante who’s willing to stop at nothing to protect his city from injustice. And these days, it seems injustice is capable of coming in various forms. Here, Matt Fraction decides to have both the criminal’s underworld be reminded that Gotham City is under The Batman’s protection by sending them a firm message.
DC
It seems like whenever you get rid of one problem in Gotham, another shows its head. Batman seems to have a proverbial hydra to deal with looming over Gotham (Vandal Savage, The Minotaur, eventually the Joker and Doctor Zeller). Not to mention quite a few Bat-Bunkers are now out of commission. But Bruce seems pretty whelmed about the whole thing. Throughout the story there seems to be this annoying cloud of someone or something trying to induce fear or anxiety into Bruce. Maybe it’s the Bat-family, concerned about what to do next. Or maybe it’s the board at Wayne Enterprises. Regardless of the threat he’s facing, Fraction depicts Bruce with a level of calm, collected, coolness that perfectly embody his experience and wisdom as a crime fighter.
DC
Is it just me, or is Jorge Jiménez just getting better and better? While his style has always been quite distinguishable to me, thanks to his distinct expressionism his characters often evoke, this issue actually had me pause and look to see who the illustrator was because I just couldn’t tell. Sure, his trademark style of animation blended with the stillness of comics permeates the issue, but this one felt much sharper and detailed to me.
For example, let’s talk about that first page. Each text between Stephanie Brown, Damian Wayne, and Duke Thomas are disrupted by the growing threat of Vandal Savage. First, each text is isolated to a panel (this where Tomeu Morey adds such excellent detail like having the character’s color scheme outline their respective panels) of the characters texting one another. Then wait, no, those panels are shaped like phone screens. Because they’re texting. Is this reinventing the wheel? I don’t know, depends on how the wheel was made. But to me, this was instantly noteworthy because of how creative the contrast between the Bat-family, hiding behind their phones, were overlapping with the looming threat that Vandal Savage poses to them. And the buck doesn’t stop here. There are countless other moments of creativity that show how Tomeu Morey’s colors help Jorge Jiménez ‘s illustrations explode with vibrance and life. So, yeah, this is one stunning issue to me.
DC
While not a lot progresses in this story plot wise, I really enjoyed the turns and surprises inside this issue. Batman #10 felt like a warm hug, a cold pillow at night, or that first inhale of that wonderful brisk fall air in Chicago. This issue isn’t trying to break the norms of comics by any means. It’s a simple Batman story where he reminds the people of Gotham that he’s still there. But man, isn’t that what makes Batman so much bigger than life? That no matter what new problems we’re facing Batman is there for us if we look for him. Frankly, I think that strategy is why this has been one of my favorite Batman runs. It’s proud of the medium. It embraces all of the pillars and quirks that come with reading a good comic book. And as a result, this issue felt like a great reminder that sometimes retelling the same story with a different plot can work out well-as long as you do it with vigor and passion.
You must be logged in to post a comment.