Art by: Ig Guara, Julio Ferreira and Andrew Dalhouse
Cover Price: $0.99
Release Date: June 12, 2015
Lay it Down
Last week, Peter Tomasi continued his Bane of Existence arc with more Bane (or course), some Poison Ivy and the Arkham Knight. The Arkham Knight? If you are wondering why that's a question, then you haven't been reading this book. After all these issues, we have only gotten glimpses of the title character...until last issue. Tomasi lifted the veil a bit and showed off the Knight's camouflage shorts, his ruthlessness and his intellect. He knows whats going on in Gotham and seems to have an intimate knowledge of Batman and his associates both good and bad. A week later and I am still trying to guess who it is and can't wait to see more. Well, I'm going to have to wait at least another week because he (or she) is MIA this issue. Did the issue make up for the absence? Let's find out...Last issue ended with Bane, Batman and Poison Ivy all exploded up. That may not be a proper sentence, but it was a proper ass kicking via the Arkham Knight. The trio is alive after falling through an appropriate shaped hole, but if three was ever a crowd, it's now. Bane immediately starts taking out years of frustration on Batman and may have finished him here if Ivy hadn't woken up and helped out. The helping hand was only temporary (and actually pretty selfish) and Batman soon finds himself all dressed up and nowhere to go...except up. At least he's not dead, right?
As far as openers go, this was okay. After seeing last month's Bane origin, the reader knows why Bane is so pissed and Batman, but that didn't stop me from getting a bit bored with them fighting. It's only been a handful of issues, but it already has a "been there, done that" feel. There looks to be hope for a change next issue, but I'm getting ahead of myself.
I don't know about you, but with everything going down in Gotham, I've been wondering where the GCPD has been. Tomasi shows us that and a whole lot more. Jim Gordon springs into action this issue and while a jerk off desk jockey questions his motives, I liked seeing him rejoining the story, but he's bringing a dirty fly on the wall with him. The GCPD has a rat and Harley Quinn is playing him like a violin.
I am a huge fan of Harley and I loved this scene. It would have been better if she was laying on the floor, twirling her hair while talking to "Blue Boy" on the phone, but Tomasi keeps with the times and I do love her coffee mug.
The issue ends with Batman using his rock climbing skills to get himself out of the Arkham City underground, but it's definitely a case of out of the frying pan and into the fire. Batman can't catch a break in this book.
I'd be lying if I said that a bunch of big things happen in this issue. Bane and Batman fight, but as I said above, we've already seen that. Poison Ivy may well be the highlight of the issue, but is gone too soon and I expect her to be gone for a while. However, the snitch inside the GCPD is big enough on it's own and I can't wait to see how it effects the story going forward.
The art team continues to kick major ass in this book. Ig Guara's pencils are great, but it's Andrew Dalhouse's colors that again rule the day. Kudos to Ig, Andrew and Julio Ferreira for their fine work.
What You Talkin' Bout: Is it just me or did it look like Lex Luthor showed up for the end of this issue?
It really looks like him.
Bits and Pieces:
While not a lot happens in this issue, there is a huge reveal amongst the ranks of the GCPD, more Bane almost breaking the Bat and an ending that continues Bruce's bad luck. After last issue, I was hoping to get more Arkham Knight action, but we do get some interesting developments and some awesome art. I'd buy that for a dollar...or ninety nine cents.
8.0/10
No comments:
Post a Comment