Mother Panic #3 Review

The secret history of Mother Panic continues to be revealed this week with issue #3. Is it good?

Mother Panic #3 (DC Comics)

So what’s it about? The summary reads:

Mother Panic is hot on the trail of the murderous artist Gala! Only one person stands in her way…Batwoman?! Is there a place for Violet among the heroes of Gotham City, or will her quest for vengeance take her down a darker path? This issue also features an original “Gotham Radio” back-up feature by Jim Krueger (JUSTICE) and Phil Hester (GREEN ARROW).

Why does this book matter?

Young Animal has been a resounding success with most if not all of the books bringing a level of entertainment unique from each other. Mother Panic is more superheroism, but alternative to say the least, with a swearing, no-nonsense protagonist that’s easy to enjoy.

Fine, you have my attention. What’s good about it?

It’s the bat-man.

Batman makes an appearance and Batwoman is tasked with opening a dialogue with Mother Panic. You can imagine it doesn’t go well. Mother Panic doesn’t give a crap about superheroes or their little cliques and there’s some fun sparring between the two. Outside of this battle, Mother Panic bites down on a lead which ends up leading to quite a strange moment involving orphans (Gotham and its orphans. Sheesh). Writer Jody Houser has Mother Panic exchange a bit of dialogue with the new villain (with cool white dialogue boxes and red box shadows) which ends up being a neat first encounter for the two.

Outside of these events, Houser reveals more of Panic’s backstory which helps show why she’s so hard edged. These scenes intercut with the now and do well to give her attitude some tragic honesty.

Tommy Lee Edwards draws yet another eye-catching issue. The costume of Mother Panic continues to look cool, as do Batman and Batwoman (love the movie Batmobile above), and her giant fists get to do some work this month too. The splash of orange and purple for backgrounds are well timed and mix in well with the detailed backgrounds. You get a thrilling sense due to the art.

The backup continues the shock jock story and certainly conveys his terrible personality. It’s obvious this dude is going to be trouble.

It can’t be perfect can it?

Some of the scenes are confusing and unclear. Why the orphans are connected to tubes, or who characters are in the flashbacks leave you with more questions than answers.

The backup is quite repetitive and serves to hammer home the same point over and over. It ends up becoming a bit boring because of it.

Wow!

Is It Good?

Mother Panic is a thriller with art that will punch you in the teeth. Superheroics with attitude.