Streets of Gotham #11

Essentials:
Published April 21, 2010
Written by Paul Dini
Pencils by Dustin Nguyen
Ink by Derek Fridolfs
Colors by John Kalisz
Letters by Steve Wands
Story Title: "Final Cut"

Verdict: 5 bats out of 5



Finally wrapping up a case that has followed them for eleven issues, Robin and Abuse take down Victor Zsasz and his despicable operation.


Damian Wayne's time as Robin has been...tempestuous, to say the least. His initial role was to reverse the usual Batman/Robin dynamic: a grim, violent Robin to Dick Grayson's friendlier Batman. Sometimes, he fills that role well, serving as a contrast for Grayson's failings and strengths as the new Dark Knight. Sometimes, Damian's petulant personality just comes across as annoying. His character works best, as this issue (and Streets of Gotham as a whole) demonstrates, when he has a chance to work on his own, taking initiative rather than just reluctantly following Batman's orders. It allows him to spend his energy actually fighting crime, instead of fighting with his partner.

This particular story-arc has also emphasized Damian's humanity, a part of his personality that he tries hard to suppress. This is Damian at his best, fighting not because he's supposed to but because he truly wants to avenge the children that Victor Zsasz has killed. Streets of Gotham has also introduced a moral foil for Damian in the form of a young orphan named Colin, one of the most fascinating characters to come out of the series.

Colin, who can turn into a muscle-bound vigilante named Abuse, had the potential to be just another overzealous Batman-wannabe, a character type that is all too common in comics of the last few decades. Instead, despite his brutish appearance, Colin has a conscience that rivals Batman's and far exceeds Damian's. Colin has enough faith in his code against killing that he even convinces Damian--who was raised by assassins--not to kill Zsasz. In theory, he's not a particularly creative character--his characterization has shades of older Robins mixed with Captain Marvel--but in execution, Colin is a brilliant addition to the defenders of Gotham City.

Most members of Batman's extensive Rogues Gallery rely on gimmicks and themes, from classics like the Joker and the Penguin to villains of questionable quality like Batman and Robin's Flamingo. Victor Zsasz is a rare case among Batman villains in that he has no real theme, and no real goal, other than death. The closest thing he has to a motif is the incredibly creepy tally he keeps of his victims, slicing hatch marks into his own skin, which seems more at home in a horror movie than a mainstream comic book. He's a remnant of the Nineties' obsession with dark and violent storylines, and while he was too disturbing for more than a cameo in Batman Begins, he is perfect for Streets of Gotham. From the beginning, Streets has been about a slightly darker Gotham City, from its story content to its art style.

On the left is the cover to the first issue of Streets of Gotham. On the right is the cover to the first issue to Batman and Robin. These two comics came out not only in the same year, but in the same month. If one of these books is going to feature Victor Zsasz, it's certainly going to be Streets of Gotham. A villain like the Riddler--who seems to appear in every other Batman title at the moment--would be out of place. Streets of Gotham has a very defined mood and style, and it stays consistent.



Artwork
During his year as Robin, Damian has appeared in quite a few titles and has been drawn by quite a few artists. Dustin Nguyen is one of the few who can draw the newest Robin well. His depiction of Colin shows off the boy's impressive musculature while keeping him from being truly grotesque, and the action scenes keep within the rules of actual anatomy.

Review: Batman 698

Essentials:
Published April 14, 2010
Written by Tony S. Daniel
Art by Guillem March
Colors by Tomeu Morey
Letters by Jared K. Fletcher
Story Title: "Riddle Me This, Part 1"


Verdict: 3.5 bats out of 5


After almost a year following a single storyline, this month's installment begins a new and shorter episode in Dick Grayson's tenure as the Batman. As the cover implies, this issue also continues DC's recent focus on the supposedly reformed Riddler, who has not yet returned to a life of crime, but has been showing some darker tendencies in his recent appearances. Here he assists in the investigation of a serial killer, much to Batman's chagrin. "Riddle Me This" will conclude in Batman #699 next month, just in time for the momentous anniversary of Batman #700 in June.


With all the attention the Riddler has received in multiple DC titles over the last few months, one wonders why DC doesn't give him his own series, so that he can stop stealing the spotlight from the title characters. Since the loss of his memory last year, the Riddler--as a private detective--seems to have integrated himself into every case of interest that goes through the Gotham City Police Department. While the Riddler is a fascinating character, and deserves more attention than he's received in the past, his frequent guest roles overshadow the actual protagonists.

Many of the best moments in this issue come not from the actual mystery, but from the interaction between the "reformed" Riddler and a skeptical Batman. Even when he's talking his way into a police investigation, Riddler--who insists on using his civilian name, Edward Nigma--loses none of his smugness, and Batman's every expression shows just how much he detests having to rely on a former criminal.

The ostensible villain of this piece is a new one: Sebastian Blackspell, a magic-themed villain whose appearance would not be out of place in a silent film melodrama. There is, however, something suspicious about this new criminal: with a prominent hat, glasses, and a substantial mustache, very little can be seen of Blackspell's actual face, and he never once speaks. This suggests that there may be something more to Blackspell's identity than meets the eye, although there is of course the possibility that the writer was too focused on the banter between Batman and the Riddler to write dialogue for this almost-incidental villain.

The first scene of Batman on his own is a surreal dream sequence, starring a young Dick Grayson as he swings on a circus trapeze. He begins the dream accompanied by his long-dead parents, but before he wakes up, he has encountered almost every major figure in his life, including a skeletal Bruce Wayne. The imagery is fairly unoriginal, but well-executed. The rest of the Batman-centric scenes feel more like filler, taking up the space between dramatic appearances of the Riddler. Every breakthrough in the case comes not from Batman, the World's Greatest Detective, but from the timely arrival of the Riddler. Even if the Riddler is somehow behind these murders, which seems distinctly possible, it wouldn't have hurt for Batman to find at least one clue on his own.

Artwork
Guillem March is less anatomically inaccurate than usual, perhaps because most of the prominent characters are male. (Some of his work on Gotham City Sirens' female protagonists is almost painful to look at.)