Batman: Sins of the Father #2 – Christos Gage, Writer; Raffaele Ienco, Artist; Guy Major, Colorist
Ratings:
Ray – 7/10
Corrina: Thomas Wayne Has Much To Answer For
WARNING: SPOILERS BELOW
Ray: Chris Gage’s new series, Batman: Sins of the Father, spinning out of the recent Batman: Telltale Series games, is a study in contrasts. In some ways, it has a lot more on its mind than your average Batman comic does – dealing with the legacy of the Wayne family and the fact that Bruce’s image of his sainted father may be nothing more than a lie. At the same time, it seems less interested in that than it does in throwing Batman up against a series of assassins for elaborate action segments. The issue kicks off in the aftermath of the assassination attempt in the middle of the Wayne Enterprises summit on the lawsuit over Thomas Wayne’s actions, and both sides suspect the other of arranging the shooting. As Batman knows, it’s a new criminal to Gotham – Deadshot, who has taken the contract for a mystery boss.
Batman spends a lot of time this issue shaking down random goons to try to get answers. This is a more hard-edged Batman than we usually see, as he has little to no problem threatening to maim criminals if they don’t give him the information he needs. Alfred is trying to keep him on an even keel, but in the segments where this book slows down a bit, Gage does a good job of showing us just how hard this is hitting Bruce. However, then it’s right back to an elaborate battle sequence with Black Spider, a fairly low-rent assassin who’s working with Deadshot. Overall, this is mostly a holding-pattern issue, as Bruce fights his way to some answers and eventually realizes he’s going to have to go back to the scene of the crime, Arkham Asylum, to find any real answers. I’m hoping this series develops well, but I’m getting the feeling it’ll save the real meat for the game’s next installment.
Corrina: My younger son (18) is a huge fan of the Batman: Telltale Series games, so I sent him over the first issue of this series, to his approval. He then asked when issue #2 is coming out, so I’ll send this one as well. In case any fans of the game are reading these reviews and want to know if the comic is worth reading as a companion, my son clearly believes it is.
For those not familiar with the game, the question then becomes if they need another Batman comic. I’d tentatively say “yes,” depending on how this first arc ends. I’ve never been a fan of Thomas Wayne being evil but I like the emotional fallout from that revelation, particularly in regards to Bruce. In many ways, this is a more vulnerable Bruce Wayne than we’ve seen before, one who has to rethink every decision he’s ever made to honor his parents’ legacy, particularly the decision to become Batman. If that legacy is founded on sand, what does that mean for Bruce’s decision to put on the cape and cowl? Right now, only Alfred has anything resembling an answer.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
Disclaimer: GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on website. Regards