Batman: Detective Comics #1044 – Mariko Tamaki, Stephanie Phillips, Writers; Dan Mora, David Lapham, Artists; Jordie Bellaire, Trish Mulvihill, Colorists
Ray – 9/10
Ray: Things go from bad to worse in Gotham in this issue, as the Scarecrow isn’t the only threat facing Batman. The mysterious Vile has been defeated, but he’s left a terrible legacy down in the sewers—and it’s about to hatch. Mayor Nanako has been chased out of his office by a mad villain seeking to assassinate him, and now he and Batman are separated by rock walls in the sewers as they battle to escape before it’s too late. Tamaki has done a good job of separating these two narratives since the start of the run, giving both characters their own voice without demonizing either of them. Now, separated by inches and forced to rely on each other to survive, this feels like the run coming full circle.
Nanako’s enmity towards Batman has always been sort of reasonable—he saw his partner die and was maimed as a result of the war Batman has been fighting for years. Even now he’s deeply suspicious—but when supernatural rage-bugs are hatching right in front of you, there really isn’t time for debate. I had some complaints about the character of Vile and the gross-out elements of this plot, but Tamaki and Mora nicely homage the classic Alien series here and end with a tense cliffhanger that indicates things in Gotham might have just gotten much worse. It was also great to see Batwoman again, as Kate Kane takes the helm and takes the fight to the insane Nero XIX at the Mayor’s office.
The backup is an interesting one, by Stephanie Phillips and David Lapham. Going back to the roots of Arkham’s madness, it starts with a haunting segment involving one old man and an ax. In the present day, Mayor Nanako has decided on a fresh start for Arkham—building it in a tower in the heart of Gotham, without any of the baggage of the old asylum. Bruce thinks it’s a bad idea, but Nanako clearly has no time for him right now. His fears are borne out when things start going horribly wrong at the construction of the tower, and Batman breaks in on a dark and disturbing scene high above Gotham. Promising start.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
