Batman #20 - A Review

Are there any who doubt that the Batman monthly title is the best of all the many, many, MANY books starring The Dark Knight Detective at the moment?  If so, then Batman #20 should be the book to convince them otherwise.  Well worth the $3.99 price tag, this book gives us not one, but two separate stories by two A+ creative teams.


Our first story pits Batman against a newly empowered Clayface.  Evolved past his simple shape-shifting and mass-manipulation powers, Clayface now possesses the ability to replicate anyone he touches right down to their DNA.  While this new twist proves disturbing enough, Bruce Wayne has bigger problems that being framed for multiple criminal offenses by his dirty doppelganger.  Clayface's evolution also removed most of his old weaknesses, meaning all the usual Bat-Gadgets are totally ineffective!  It will take all of Batman's cunning to cope with the enhanced muddy menace.

Greg Capullo and Danny Miki top themselves, crafting one of the most gloriously gross Clayface designs I've seen in any issue ever.  The rest of the artwork is great, of course, but their Clayface character takes the cake.  Writing-wise, Scott Snyder deserves credit for upgrading Clayface into a more serious threat while making the change plausible.  Despite being all about a changed villain, this story retains the feel of a classic Batman story throughout.  More impressively, Snyder manages a few honest surprises toward the end of the issue.


The issue's second story is also a treat, placing both Superman and Batman in a situation far beyond their usual comfort zones.  Nominally about Batman and Superman dealing with a botched demon-summoning, this story by James Tyrnion IV is really about the friendship Superman and Batman share and what they mean to each other.  The artwork by famed Daredevil artist Alex Maleev also proves to be of the highest quality.

There is only one reason not to get this book and that is if you are unable to get a copy of Batman #19 to go with it.  Good as the stories contained within this volume are, they are both Part Two of a two-part story.  You don't really have to have read the previous issue to enjoy this book but you will get more out of it. 

Batman #19 - A Review

Long-time Bat-fans will likely figure out the mystery of Batman #19 long before it is revealed.  When you have multiple cases of mistaken identity in a Bat-book, there is one likely suspect that comes to mind straight away.  Thankfully, Scott Snyder does put an interesting wrinkle into a well-established villain's bag of tricks that will keep the interest of even the most jaded of readers.  Moreover, the action sequences, penciled by Greg Capullo with inks by Danny Miki, will thrill everyone regardless of whether or not they can deduce just how Bruce Wayne seems to be robbing banks and shooting it out with the police.


The back-up story by James Tynion IV will offer chills and surprises to all.  Eerily illustrated by long-time Daredevil artist Alex Maleev in his usual shadowy style, this story depicts a Superman/Batman team-up in the days following Damian Wayne's death.  It spoils little to say that the case proves to have a supernatural element to it and it is an interesting juxtaposition to see the more realistic Dark Knight Detective and the magic-vulnerable Man of Steel suddenly pressed into a situation neither of them is fully capable of handling.


If you're only going to read one Batman book a month, this is the one to get.  The writing in both stories is always impressive.  The artwork is gloriously grotesque in a Gothic fashion that perfectly suits the world involved.  Simply put, this is a damn fine book.

Batman #18 - A Review

There have been rumors buzzing about the Internet in the wake of Batman #18 - rumors that Scott Snyder and James Tynion IV would create a new female Robin to replace Damian Wayne.  Having read this issue, I can see why some people might have this idea as the plot once again focuses upon the character of Harper Row - the emancipated minor and electronics prodigy introduced back in Batman #12.

For my part, I don't believe it and hope it isn't the case for three reasons.  The cynic in me dreads the eventual fate of any teenage girl introduced into the Bat Family (Whither Cassandra Cain and Stephanie Brown?).  The historian in me fears that Damian Wayne's death might be cheapened if he is so quickly and easily replaced at a time when Death in Comics is already so cheap and the ease of replacing one Robin with another is already a punchline.  Finally, the fanboy in me thinks Harper Row is far too unique and interesting a character to saddle with the title of Robin.


Thankfully, Snyder and Tynion's script - while showing us how awesome Harper is as she seeks to help Batman - seems to hang a lampshade on the idea of Harper being adopted into the Bat Family in the wake of recent events.  And while Bruce's state of mind and many of the events here do mirror the circumstances in the early 90s which led to Tim Drake becoming Robin, Harper wants something different for herself than to become just another mask.  So, as before, she finds a way to help Batman that has little to do with throwing punches and instead gives him what he needs to continue his work. 


Greg Capullo takes a break from the artwork this month, replaced by two equally able artists.  Part One of this story is illustrated by the legendary Andy Kubert, with inks by Sandra Hope.  The second chapter is penciled and inked by long-time Daredevil artist Alex Maleev.  Both are good art teams but I must confess to having a preference to Maleev's style as it seems a better fit for the world of Gotham City.  Regardless of preference, this is still a beautiful, well-written comic and a fine one to read on the odd-chance you have yet to start reading Batman on a regular basis.