Batman: Arkham Knight #7 Review

Written by: Peter J. Tomasi
Art by: Ig Guara
Cover Price: $0.99
Release Date: April 3, 2015

Little Benefit

I have really enjoyed this book so far.  Sure, I've wanted to see more of the actual Arkham Knight, but I have enjoyed the ride that Peter J. Tomasi has taken the reader on.  He has made the book bigger than just a video game tie-in, but fans of the games benefit more with all the references being bandied about.  I fall into that fan category so this book has quickly become one I anticipate each week.  So, when I opened the issue this week and saw the Arkham Knight in full action mode, I couldn't wait to read the rest of the issue.  Now that I have, was it as good as the others?  Let's find out...



After a brief beginning that should prove interesting in the future, we get to see the Arkham Knight and it was awesome.  A couple of Joker goons had kidnapped the owner of the Gotham Knights and his family in order to fix some games when AK showed up.  One thing became certain immediately, he is no Batman.  He is viscous and brutal and although the Joker is dead, is a bit obsessed with him and his followers.  He makes them "eat his words" and then just walks away into the night.  This scene had me even more intrigued about the who and what of this armored vigilante.  I wish the rest of the issue was as good.

Wayne Manor is a busy place...Bruce is hurrying to get ready to head to a presentation, Alfred is getting the car and Tim Drake is on burrito duty.  I love anytime we get to see part of the Bat Family and while I would have preferred Dick or Jason, Tim is a pretty good choice.

After a quick nap, Bruce is at the Benefit and he gets everyone fired up and even gets a little "dark night" pun in under the radar.  Then things get fired back...as in bullets.  The issue ends with a gang of thugs taking the benefit over and holding a gun in Bruce's face.  He didn't seem too afraid, however.  I already feel bad for those thugs.

I really enjoyed the first half of this issue and while I understand that things need to be setup some times, the second half was just boring.  This is the first time that I've had with this book in seven chapters and I hope that it all leads to some kick-ass fun next week.

My favorite part of the book, so far, has been Viktor Bogdanovic's art.  Alas, he is not on this issue. However, Ig Guera jumps in and does an incredible job.  I don't know if both of them are going for a certain "look" or Guera is trying to match Viktor's style here, but it's almost seamless between them. That is a huge compliment to both, and I'd be remiss not to mention the constants...Julio Ferreirra on inks, Andrew Dalhouse on colors and Travis Lanham on letters.  This art team is one of the best on any DC book.

Bits and Pieces:

With a new arc starting it's not surprising that this issue is a bit more setup than we've been used to, but after an exciting start, the issue gets a bit boring.  I hope that what we got pays off in the weeks to come, but for now, I somewhat enjoyed the story and loved the art.  I am still fully invested in this series and recommend it to anyone looking for a quality Batman tale.  Just start at the very beginning.

7.0/10