Batman: City of Madness #2 – Christian Ward, Writer/Artist
Ray – 9.5/10
Ray: One of two artist-driven Black Label Batman horror comics to come out this week, Christian Ward’s surreal horror take on Batman feels like one of the most inventive Bat-comics I’ve seen in many years. Last issue introduced us to the concept of Gotham Below, a horrific Lovecraftian city lurking under Gotham and filled with twisted mirror versions of the residents of Gotham—and only held back by the Court of Owls. But after an Earthquake, the Batman of Gotham Below is loose—and he’s taken a newly orphaned child to be his Robin. At the same time, the villains of Gotham are behaving oddly. We already saw Two-Face lose his mind seeking out Batman last issue, and the Ventriloquist this issue becomes more oddly violent while also seeming more pathetic than ever. And then there’s Clayface, who becomes a twisted monster who nearly kills Nightwing.
And with the contagion spreading, Batman is forced to take the Court of Owls up on their offer and descend into their subterranean lair for a parlay. The Court, introduced by Snyder and Capullo just over a decade ago, were one of the deadliest new villains in Gotham in ages, so it’s shocking to see them brought to heel here. This widescreen adventure, filled with brilliantly twisted art by Ward, perfectly brings the Lovecraftian horrors of the story to life. But while the art is the focus, Ward is also proving himself an expert writer with particularly strong takes on Alfred and Two-Face at different points. It’s hard to believe there’s only one issue left here, because the end of the issue has so much left to explore and the main setting is only now being discovered. Black Label seems to be morphing into a bit of an artists’ showcase at the moment, and it’s creating some fascinating work.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
