Batman #124 – Chip Zdarsky, G. Willow Wilson, Writers; Howard Porter, Jorge Fornes, Dani, Artists; Tomeu Morey, Trish Mulvihill, Colorists
Ray – 8.5/10
Ray: Josh Williamson’s run on Batman has been shorter than the ones that preceded it, but it packed a lot of story and action into that year. Now, with Shadow War in the rearview mirror, Williamson returns for one last issue before turning the keys over to Chip Zdarsky. With Damian gone to ground with Talia and Ghost-Maker off on his own mission, Bruce heads back to Badhnisia to tie up one loose end—the mysterious return of the villain Abyss, who is now stalking the vilest criminals of the city. No surprise, it’s not actually the original villain behind the mask—it’s Bruce’s ally Detective Cayha, who has taken on her nemesis’ identity to have a better shot at finally finding the truth about her missing parents.
This sets up an interesting parallel between Bruce and Cayha, as we call back to the time Bruce sought out Joe Chill for revenge. This story has been told a number of times, some better than others, and I find it can go off the rails pretty quickly. I thought this was done much better than the movie version, but we still basically know how the conversation is going to go. The visuals by Howard Porter are excellent, and Abyss is such a great character design that I’m hoping the hints at the end of the issue come to pass. Overall, this is more of a quiet epilogue to the explosive events of the recent crossover, but it does a solid job of closing the book on this chapter of Batman’s story.
Then there’s the backup, a short prequel to G. Willow Wilson’s Poison Ivy series—which actually begins this week. While Ivy’s mind has been united again, she’s lost her pure connection to the green and is desperate to get it back—despite Gardner warning her not to meddle too deeply with cosmic forces and go home to Harley. Instead, Ivy sets out on what looks like a compelling psychedelic adventure. Shout-out to Dani as well, whose polished art has a painted feel and feels very different from her usual spooky fare.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
