Arkham City: The Order of the World #2 – Dan Watters, Writer; Dani, Artist; Dave Stewart, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: The tension continues to build in the second issue of Dan Watters and Dani’s slow-burn Gotham horror. Dr. Jacosta Joy continues her battle to save the lost inmates of Arkham Asylum, but this is complicated by her bizarre relationship with the Ten-Eyed Man. This is obviously a story we’ve seen before quite a few times, but I’m glad to see that we’re not seeing this portrayed as some sort of romantic enmeshment. This is a doctor-patient relationship, but one that’s crossed many ethical boundaries. Joy is hiding a dangerous killer from the authorities, letting him get dangerously close to her, and even endangering herself as she lets him slip over boundaries. She tries to unravel the mysteries of his origin, trying to make sense of his backstory, and largely fails. It’s a good example of how dangerous many of these Arkham inmates are—they can convince even the most logical people.
At the same time, other Arkham inmates are facing much less sympathetic figures. The police officer Joy was working with last issue is on the trail of some missing inmates including the mysterious Double-X, whose psychic powers make him a makeshift drug to those seeking a high. It’s interesting that of the lost inmates, some are very clearly becoming threats and some are also becoming victims. The bigger threat, though, might be Azrael. Always one step away from being an inmate himself, the soldier of St. Dumas has dedicated himself to hunting down the inmates with a fervor that isn’t that different from the lunatics. It’s a much more twisted version of the character from Urban Legends, oddly by the same writer. The tension builds consistently through the issue, with various chaos agents continuing to make Gotham a more dangerous place. Between the writing and the terrifying art, it’s another winning issue for this unique series.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
