There’s a lot of potential problems that could affect a comic book series, but for my money, the biggest is any type of delay. Comics thrive on interest as much as anything, and a delay can lead to interest in a book tapering off…or worse, a book getting canceled. (I’m still not over Image United.) On the other hand, waiting can whet an audience’s appetite, and allow the creative team to truly bring their A-Game to the table. Batman: Off-World #5 falls into the latter camp thanks to Jason Aaron and Doug Mahnke.
Batman: Off-World last left off when Batman, hot on the trail of chasing the Blakksun siblings, came face to face with the Thanagarian bounty hunter known as….”The Thanagarian”. Aaron and Mahnke decide to throw the audience for a loop, opening with Batman lying wounded in Gotham City. But soon, Gotham’s grimy buildings and blood-caked streets fade away to an ocean of stars, and the Thanagarian whaling on the Dark Knight. Say what you want but that’s a great way to grab the audience’s attention.
From there, the issue explodes into one hell of an action sequence. Aaron’s script once again shows Batman’s thoughts, and how he improvises against fighting foes who are stronger and/or more well equipped than he is. The moments where he compares fighting in the street to fighting in space is the type of ridiculous I love in my comics, and Aaron sells it. It doesn’t hurt that he’s working with an artist of Mahnke’s caliber.
DC Comics
Mahnke leaves nothing on the table when it comes to Batman: Off-World #5. Batman and the Thanagarian trade blows that send them flying through space, with Troy Peteri’s letters accentuating every blow and Jaime Mendoza’s inks adding plenty of texture. David Baron ties everything together with his colors; the clash of Batman’s night blue suit against the Thanagarian’s red and white armor provides a great visual contrast, and makes it easy to track who’s fighting.
This issue also starts to draw things to a close, as the Blakksuns start to take extreme measures to draw Batman in. Reading this, I couldn’t help but think of the closing speech in Batman Begins where Jim Gordon talks about escalation; it seems that whether you’re in Gotham or in outer space, some things never change. Characters are also visibly changed from being in Batman’s orbit; the “Punch Bots”, for example, have now learned to “punch back”, serving as a precursor for his relationship with the various Robins.
Batman: Off-World #5 is proof that it’s worth waiting for a comic, as the intergalactic saga it’s been weaving slowly starts coming to a close. Let’s just hope the next issue doesn’t take too long to come out.
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