Gotham City: Year One #5 – Tom King, Writer; Phil Hester, Penciller; Eric Gapstur, Inker; Jordie Bellaire, Colorist
Ray – 9.5/10
Ray: There are two kinds of denouements in mystery fiction. There is the classy display of clues, as the parties are gathered for the sharing of evidence and the unveiling of the killer—and then there’s this. Where the detective is determined to bare the truth by any means necessary, no matter who he has to hurt. At the end of last issue, Queenie was cornered by Slam Bradley, and the mysterious courier and murder suspect revealed that she was just a pawn for the real mastermind—Richard Wayne, the father of the murdered girl. A flashback shows just how deep Richard and Queenie’s arrangement went—from back-alley trysts, to a secret pact to fake the kidnapping of Helen Wayne and use the ransom money to get away, to murdering a key figure who could have exposed them. But one thing isn’t clear—what caused this plot to go from a faked kidnapping to a very real murder?
That’s the twisty part of the issue, as Slam believes Queenie enough to not turn her in to the rampaging mob building in South Gotham. This part of the story feels like a parallel to the brutal race riots that would erupt in the south whenever a white child was deemed to be endangered. Slam takes her to his secret weapon—his tarot-reading mother, who claims to be able to reveal what’s in everyone’s heart with the read of a few cards. This is an offbeat twist to the series, and nicely emphasizes that Slam has more in common with the downtrodden of South Gotham than the power brokers he often works for. With the clues falling into place, Slam targets one of Richard Wayne’s bodyguards to figure out why Richard would murder his own daughter—only for the man to drop a shocking twist about who he really works for. This perfectly sets us up for one of King’s trademark brutal finishes.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
