Batman ‘89: Echoes #2 – Sam Hamm, Writer; Joe Quinones, Artist; Leonardo Ito, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: I don’t know what went on with the schedule here—this issue is around three months late, and the series has just started—but it probably has something to do with the brilliant art by Joe Quinones. It’s worth the wait, but it’s definitely stunted the momentum of the series—which ended its first issue on a brilliant cliffhanger. Batman has gone missing, Barbara Gordon is now Commissioner, and the infamous arsonist Firefly has finally been captured—but when unmasked, he looks shockingly like an aged Bruce Wayne. Now under arrest in Arkham Asylum, he’s found himself in the care of Dr. Jonathan Crane, a twisted psychiatrist with a unique interest in fear. Is this part of a larger scheme by Bruce? It certainly seems like it, as Drake Winston and Alfred Pennyworth are busy with a complex scheme laid out to them to track three mysterious patients at the institute.
Then, of course, there’s the other wild card in the villains this time—Dr. Harleen Quinzel, a former flame of the Joker’s who has parlayed her brief dalliance with the mad clown into a career as a TV psychiatrist. She was overshadowed by the news about Firefly, and is determined to leverage her influence with Crane to get back on top—via some unethical experiments with the Arkham inmates. Both Crane and Quinn have their own plans for the patients, but neither seems to want to work with the other right now, which is an interesting dynamic. Crane puts “Firefly” through a twisted series of fear visions, but the end of the issue indicates that Quinzel has her own darker plan—and may even be slipping into her own alter ego faster than we expected. I’m hoping the future issues get here faster than this one, because this is a great continuation of the first mini.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
