Batman: One Dark Knight #3 – Jock, Writer/Artist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: Jock’s Black Label adventure has been surprisingly simple in its nature, and that’s worked well for it. A massive blackout hits Gotham, and Batman is the only thing between a particularly notorious meta-criminal and every gang member in the city. The story hinges heavily on two original characters. The first, the super-criminal EMP, accidentally caused a horrific blackout five years ago that killed multiple people due to his meta ability. Now deeply repentant, he’s being transferred to a new prison—but he’s also being hunted by just about every gang in the city, as well as the new head of the corrections department, Vasquez. She was introduced as a heroic figure, but has turned out to be the main villain of the book. After losing her family in the previous blast, she’s long-gamed a revenge plan involving EMP’s son who may have some of his father’s powers—even if she has to risk a recreation of the original tragedy that took her family.
This final issue picks up speed early on and never lets up, as Batman finds himself in the sewer going up against an incredibly brutal Killer Croc. From there, it’s a gut run to the end with a wounded EMP in tow and daylight not far behind. It all comes down to a showdown on a destroyed bridge that’s as much based in emotion and trauma as it is in action. Vasquez is a fascinating villain, in that she’s easy to sympathize with but so destructive in her mission that it’s clear she needs to be stopped. There are no easy answers here, just a hero determined to prevent one tragedy from creating another. Jock is a good writer, but the star of course is his incredibly detailed art. It can be minimalist at times on the surface, but scenes like the opening segment from Batman’s perspective as his eyes adjust to the darkness are master classes. DC seems to be experimenting with more writer-artists lately, and if they have as good a grasp of the medium as Jock does, that could be a big win.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
