Written by Tony Daniel
Illustrated by Steve ScottTwo-Face is back! As an unknown villain targets Two-Face and other Gotham City crimelords for extermination, Batman discovers that Kitrina Falcone, a.k.a. “CATGIRL,” is next on the hit list! Can he save the junior mobster in time? And will helping Kitrina force Catwoman to get involved?
Every time a new Tony Daniel-written Batman arc rolls around, I give the writer/artist another shot. I don’t know why, considering I’m always disappointed, but there you go. With such a bleak opening, I’m sure that you’re expecting negative things to follow after the cut, and you’re probably right in assuming that. Then again, perhaps this is all an elaborate ruse to surprise you with a “Just playing, this is awesome!” Ladies and gentlemen, place your bets…
Yeah, I guess the answer to that one was obvious.
Honestly, I don’t hate Tony Daniel’s Batman run. I really don’t. But that’s the thing: there’s nothing to hate. Whenever I read a new issue of Tony Daniel’s run, I’m always left with a feeling of “So what?” Sure, characters might be introduced, familiar faces might return, and reformed baddies might go back to their villainous ways due to being clipped by a bomb, but I’ve never seen so much “happen” without the writer giving me any reason to care.
Take, for example, this issue. The final page reveals the return of a character that hasn’t been seen in years (speaking in terms of DC’s timeline), and a character that has a place of massive importance in the history of one of this story’s main antagonists, Two-Face. Even though Two-Face is one of my favorite classic Batman villains, though, I was just unimpressed. There’s a difference between an actual twist, and just throwing something that the reader would never expect in their face, and this is definitely an instance of the latter. Nothing is mentioned to bridge into this character’s return, there’s no prolonged mystery as to who this mystery associate is. Instead, we’re just suddenly reintroduced to this character within the last two pages, and expected to know what Daniel’s going for, because obviously we should know what’s so important about this character’s return. That’s just lazy writing.
Up until those last two pages… well, nothing really happens. Now, obviously Daniel didn’t just hand in a script where the two last pages had a big twist, while the rest were blank. Considering that I’ve read the issue three times now, though, and that I can only remember two – maybe three – plot points, he might as well have. As seems to be the case in most of Daniel’s run so far, the majority of the things that happen within the pages of this comic seem to be simple filler, and those that mean to set up future plot points don’t seem to fit in the current narrative at all. Sure, it’s a diverting enough read – who ever gets tired of Batman beating up thugs and demanding them to tell him where so-and-so is? – but I swear you could cut out half of the pages in this comic and still leave the plot intact.
Once again, Daniel is taking a break from his artistic duties in order to focus on writing. What a shame, considering that’s what he’s best at (even if he can be very hit-or-miss for me). Artist Steve Scott, however, does a good job at maintaining a style that is similar to Daniel’s, keeping a visual continuity that is more important to serialized visual storytelling than most people care to think. Like Daniel, Scott’s surfaces seem impeccably smooth, which forms an interesting contrast with his rough and gritty edges. Also like Daniel, his work has a tendency to become a bit too static – which is weird considering the good amount of stylization – but I think his art may actually be a bit more kinetic in that regard, though Daniel might be a touch more technically proficient. Daniel’s game has really been slipping since he started pulling double duty, so at least this book is back to looking pretty good. Hopefully Daniel’s run as writer can end soon, and these two can be assigned to better books… as artists.
Continued belowI know I’ve been badmouthing it this entire review, but this really isn’t a bad issue. At the same time, it’s far from good. I could understand reading this if you’re a devoted Batman fan, and want to find something to kill the time with while waiting for something better, but currently you have Snyder’s Detective Comics, Batman Incorporated, Gates of Gotham, Batman & Robin, and a few other choices. Surely one of those is more to your taste than this easily forgettable run?
Also: “It a recording?” I know that being an editor for DC and Marvel means more than just correcting grammar, but come on, guys.
Final Verdict: 4.8 – Browse, I guess.
