By Chris Fenn
The story of Batman and Robin has come a long way since the death of Damian. We’ve encountered a lot of characters; whether they’ve been trying to stop Batman from resurrecting Damian, or helping Batman stop Ra’s al Ghul, but now the Batman comes head to head with The Demon.
My admiration goes to the colorist of this issue, John Kalisz, as I was simply awestruck with how the first seven pages created such a mood and atmosphere. I think the predominant use of green and black really made the conversation between Ra’s and Batman feel so intense; this wasn’t a Saturday morning cartoon character talking down to the hero, this was two hurt fathers pouring their souls at each other, and the colours really made it that much more heartfelt and impressive.
Going hand in hand with colours, the art is what I come to expect from Patrick Gleason; brilliant. There’s a lot of ‘Batman Poses’ where you just see the eyes against a black silhouette, which is something I can never get enough of, and he also manages to make a fight feel brutal and real. The fight between Ra’s and Batman isn’t a typical ‘superhero’ fight with people in swimsuits throwing buildings at each other and looking unscathed, it’s a brawl in the snow with no rules and no finesse, just rage and anger.
Tomasi’s writing is really good in this issue; he has a task of explaining everything about this special Lazarus pit and its origin as well as having some meaningful dialogue with Batman and Ras. I think he deals with this spectacularly, having Frankenstein, a former agent of S.H.A.D.E., and Ra’s al Ghul discuss the plot points makes the issue feel natural, as it is both within their characters to know these things and to express their knowledge about it.
I found that the dialogue between Ra’s and Batman was really insightful to them as people; Batman unprepared to risk his son’s soul, whereas Ra’s is happy to risk anything in order to preserve his family and his legacy. Both strike me as things a father would do, and having been on a Game of Thrones TV series binge Ra’s stance reminds me a lot of Tywin Lannister.
Its seems as if the Game of Thrones comparisons don’t stop there; as I mentioned earlier about the fist fight in the snow feeling real I couldn’t help but compare it to the fight between Brienne and The Hound in the recent series finale. I also found that when Batman begins pressing his thumbs into Ra’s’ eyes I thought of the fight between The Mountain and Prince Oberyn and I genuinely believed that Batman was going to break his rule and end Ra’s – which I would have found extremely fitting, appropriate and powerful.
That will have to be an Elseworlds though, as now we’re up against the forces of Apokolips. I personally love the Fourth World and embrace any story line that deals with the New Gods and Darkseid. Tomasi hasn’t let me down yet, and I will follow him to Apokolips and back!
For more comic views and reviews follow Chris on Twitter at @fenneth1989
Posted on June 20th, 2014
Category: OUT OF THE LONG BOX, REVIEWS
Tags: Batman And Robin, Batman and Robin #32 Review, Damian Wayne, DC Comics, Frankenstein, John Kalisz, Patrick Gleason, Peter J Tomasi, Ras Al Ghul
Reviewed by Chris Fenn
I know last week I really praised Batman and Two-Face but I’m finding it difficult to word how much I enjoyed this issue. This issue just seemed to have everything; action, drama, suspense. I think I can say, without lying or exaggerating, this is probably one of the best comics I have ever read.
This is the closing issue of the Two-Face story arc and it begins with a courthouse inferno. The interesting thing is, despite this being a highly tense action scene; complete with fire and guns, the main focus is on the dialogue between Two-Face and Batman.
Harvey reveals he knows it is Bruce under the cowl. This is almost underwhelming compared to the heart to heart the two characters have. It seems to take the same route as the arguments posed in The Dark Knight, but it just feels more meaningful on the pages – especially knowing Harvey knows who Batman is. One thing that really seems touching is the fact that Harvey has fought to not kill Batman over the years, and he accepts that he earned his scars.
Later on we get to see Harvey interact with Jim Gordon. I love the use of the colour scheme here; the use of blue and red is brilliant. The way I read it the colours don’t represent each aspect of Two-Face’s personality, but they do really show the internal conflict he has and the struggles he goes through to make decisions; especially towards Gordon someone who would have been a close friend then became a hated enemy.
The most memorable part of this book has to be the closing panels of Harvey Dent. It struck me as quite poetic that after years of using the coin, Harvey speaks about luck and then makes the first significant decision of his own accord. We won’t know if this is a permanent death, a comic book death or some sort of red herring but in my mind this is the end of Mr. Dent.
One of my favourite parts of this book is the emphasis on the coin. For once it isn’t used as some sort of ploy to delay or confuse Harvey, but it’s used in a way that I don’t think I’ve seen before. Instead of focusing on the duality of the coin, Batman forces Harvey to think of the edge; a compromise and joining of both sides. It is perhaps through this why we see Harvey act independently – it is in the interest of both sides of his personality to see Gilda again.
I can’t stress how much I enjoyed this issue. I hope that Tomasi continues to deliver such quality that he has done since I started to read his work.
For more comic views and reviews follow Chris on Twitter at @fenneth1989
Posted on February 24th, 2014
Category: OUT OF THE LONG BOX, REVIEWS
Tags: Batman, Batman and Two-Face #28 Review, Bruce Wayne, Chris Fenn, Comic Blog, Comic Reviews, DC Comics, Jim Gordon, Patrick Gleason, Peter Tomasi
Reviewed by Chris Fenn
I was really unsure about how this series was going to go after the death of Damian – spoilers if you basically don’t read Batman comics. I understood the use of the extended Bat Family to go through the various stages of grief with Bruce, but choosing Two-Face afterwards just seemed odd.
Turns out I shouldn’t doubt Tomasi. Ever.
This book seems to have acted as a New 52 origin to Two-Face – we all know his traditional story but this time there’s no Maroni’s or Salvatore’s, instead we get McKillin sisters – except now there is only one sister.
After a series of McKillen trying to kill Dent and Dent trying to kill McKillen we end up with them both fighting with each other and Batman so they can live to kill each other another day. This has been a tale of double crosses and betrayals, and it really works because we’re talking about the Gotham crime families here!
This Two-Face saga is littered with flashbacks, mostly from Dent’s perspective – we see his relationship with the McKillens as their defence lawyer and then as the district attorney when they are behind bars. We also see early interactions between Dent, Gordon and Batman. Even though these break up the action of the present they are well written and truly explain the complex history that we are still partly in the dark over.
In a similar note, we get a lovely centre spread showing Batman’s memories with his extended Bat Family in the wake of Damian’s death – see, all that rambling I did before was for a reason! This is used to good effect as well, as it takes place during a scene where Batman is discussing duality with Two-Face.
Since I got back into Batman comics I can honestly say that Tomasi has been one of, if not, my favourite writer on any Batman book. Yes I may seem to love every Batman comic, but the Batman and… series is particularly brilliant, and this issue is no exception.
For more comic views and reviews follow Chris on Twitter at @fenneth1989
Posted on January 25th, 2014
Category: OUT OF THE LONG BOX, REVIEWS
Tags: Batman, Batman and Two-Face #27 Review, Chris Fenn, Comic Blogs, Comic Reviews, DC Comics, Harvey Dent, Patrick Gleason, Peter Tomasi, Two-Face
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