The battle for Gotham and the soul begins!
Batman infected with the Joker Virus, faces off against The Batman Who Laughs to save the heart of Gotham City! Minutes away from succumbing to the infection, Batman makes a last stand against his warped counterpart. Meanwhile, Jim Gordon and James face off against the Grim Knight waiting for Batman’s commands to initiate what could be their best chance at winning the war. Will James and Jim survive their battle against the Grim Knight long enough to see tomorrow? WIll Batman defeat the Batman Who Laughs? Or will he become him?
Snyder has been consistent in writing the entirety of this series, giving each character a unique voice and continual building on the character of The Batman Who Laughs. It’s impressive to see the Batman Who Laughs has become such a mainstay due to one of the creators that made him has been consistently writing him with genuine integrity. The Batman Who Laughs could have been treated like Venom and have a whole ton of books of his own, but thankfully, he’s used scarcely, which makes the characters appearances in different stories a welcomed presence. This issue is a highlight because Snyder finally gets to go crazy in this issue!
I think some of the best scenes are the scenes with Jim Gordon and his son James. We can see that as much as Jim wants to trust his son, he can’t help but think about all the times that James betrayed his trust whenever he fell into his serial killer tendencies. To see that James is really trying to redeem himself as a person, and trying to win the trust of his own father is well written and readers can’t help but feel sympathy for James despite his past crimes. Aside from Jim and James, the build-up to Batman and his evil counterpart is well paced and delivers in regards to the nightmarish insanity that is delivered visually by Jock.
There are some moments within this issue where Snyder makes a call back to some of his older stories that not only stem from his Black Mirror book, but also elements from his new 52 run. Some of those moments will have readers grinning at Snyder’s attention to detail to his own continuity and giving a nod to other aspects of Batman’s mythos). The story is tightly written, and readers get to see all of the puzzle pieces finally fall into place that provides a successful landing after a ton of build up.
Jock’s art is amazing with each issue and with this issue, it’s not different. In this issue, we get to see Jock visually showcase the narrative by making he is become more visually deranged in a beautiful way that is both striking, eerie, and kinetic. Despite the trademark silhouettes of Jocks style, his ability to craft panels full of contrast and make the art have so much power is a testament to his abilities as an illustrator. Combined with David Baron’s colors, Jock’s use of different textures helps to give the book an aesthetic that is enjoyable to sift back and forth just to see what he did on each panel just so you could ponder about the different kinds of digital screen tones, brushes that he may have used when creating this issue. Sal Cipriano’s lettering is to be appreciated because it has a stylistic aesthetic that really enhances the overall story, especially in between the moments where Bruce is narrating and we see certain letters that are highlighted in between words that provide hidden messages that make it all the more entertaining. I don’t have to say anything else other than this, add this book to your pull list for new comic book day! It’s consistent and amazing! Nuff said!
Newsdesk