Batman: Dark Patterns #10 – Dan Watters, Writer; Hayden Sherman, Artist; Triona Farrell, Colorist
Ray – 9.5/10
Ray: For nine issues, the tension has been building as Batman kicked off his career with a trio of twisted cases. The Wound Man. A newly evolved Scarface. A twisted remnant of the Red Hood Gang. They all piece together somehow – but Batman is too busy fighting for his life to puzzle it out. He has some allies – Alfred, Gordon, and the mysterious Dr. Sereika – but they can barely keep him alive. Complicating this, the mysterious journalist Nicky Harris has his own agenda, and claims to know the doctor’s horrific secret. It’s all been building – and now it explodes as a streak of mysterious fires start targeting Gotham, each one set by a mysterious figure cloaked in what looks like a cross between a baby doll and a Russian nesting doll. It’s a suitably creepy visual for Hayden Sherman to dig into with their art, but the crisis is bad enough for Batman to drag himself out of his sickbed.
Gotham is inherently a horrific place, and this miniseries leans into that exceptionally. Gotham has apparently burned down multiple times before, and now it may be on the verge of the next big burning. The reveal about what Dr. Sereika apparently did down in Florida before he came to Gotham is enough to send Batman on a hunt for him, but when Gordon tries to get to him first, he finds the villain already at work. There’s also a brief appearance by Firefly, who is far creepier here than he usually is – covered in scars and truly obsessed with fire to an almost religious level. As the issue ends, we get our first glimpse of the true master villain behind all of this – and I definitely did not see it coming. This series has been a puzzle box and the pieces are finally coming together, but I’m still as intrigued as ever. This is going to be a fascinating read when all is said and done.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes
