Reviewed by: Tim Sheridan
Title: A Consequence of Truth
Writer: Anderson Gabrych
Penciller: Pete Woods
Inker: Bit
Letterer: Rob Leigh
Colorist: Jason Wright
Editor: Matt Idelson
Publisher: DC Comics
What I like about this story so far is the sense of purpose it has. As I mentioned in my review of the last issue, because this arc is only 4 issues they don’t have a lot of time to cover the ground they want to, so they have to get into it rather quickly. And they do. A lot has happened. And so with that comes a sense of purpose, which is something that last year’s “War Games” didn’t have at all.
The only real weakness in the issue is the reveal of who Aaron Black, “The Reformer”, is. To those who have read the Bat-books for years, it should come as no surprise. There are only so many characters that it could be, when it comes to dealing with Stephanie Brown (the Spoiler). But to those who have not read these books for as long as others, they could be confused as to who this is. He’s not exactly a well-known character. I’m not disappointed by this though, I just wish they didn’t play it up as such a mystery. (And besides, he’s in his costume on the cover, for heaven’s sake.)
I’m also a little confused as to the continuity of this story. No, I’m not usually one to nit-pick over this sort of thing, but this is a fairly big gaffe. Now, I don’t know if this story was written right after “War Games” and was supposed to be printed then too, but Joker shows up and even talks of his love for killing Robins. And just a few months ago, we saw him being beaten by a former Robin, within an inch of his life. I’m just wondering about the order of these things, because you’d think that one thing would impact the other.
But that doesn’t really detract from a completely enjoyable issue, which is exactly what we have here. I love the fact that they are playing with Batman’s perception through the media. That was a point made back in last fall’s crossover (albeit a little heavy-handedly) and it’s nice to see it followed up here. The Arturo Rodriquez show is a great story angle, and I hope they keep it around past this arc.
The mystery around the identity of the real “bad guy” is rather compelling as well. In this issue alone, we have Black Mask, Joker, and Cluemaster. But there is still someone who is controlling everything. I don’t know if we’ve seen them yet, but I’m looking forward to seeing who Batman will have to punch to win in this tale.
The best part about this issue is one of the first scenes. Batman stops at a memorial for his fallen Robin. This move totally goes against his “urban legend” status, as there are several people around, but to me that doesn’t matter. It was wonderfully refreshing to see Batman show some genuine emotion here, despite what the possible consequences. It proves that behind his cold demeanor, there is someone that really cares. Sorry if I sound a little sappy here, but this side of Batman’s character is something we don’t see much at all anymore (if at all), so for me it worked.
Title: The Beast Beneath Part 3
Writer: Anderson Gabrych
Penciller: Tommy Castillo
Inker: Jack Purcell
Colorist: Jason Wright
Letterer: Nick J. Napolitano
Editor: Bob Shreck
This is a nice enough story, because I’m partial to Killer Croc, who has always been an interesting character to watch. But I’m left a little empty after this. I think it’s because there is no real payoff. Croc started this story (3 issues ago) as the mutated version of himself. And he ends it that way too. He was reverted back to his old self for about 2 pages, and then mutated again. But now he’s angry.
No, that’s it. He just decides that he wants revenge on Batman, Black Mask, whomever.
I’m wondering if this will go anywhere, or if it’s just going to be an untapped sub-plot. Given the proper writer, Killer Croc could be a very powerful villain for Batman. He was back in the early 90’s, and then that quickly down-turned. Recently, as in the Azzarello-penned Batman story, he was a parody of himself, which is really a shame. Gabrych seems to have a love for the character; we’ll see where he goes from here with it.
