Review – Batman #6: Exposed

Batman #6 – Matt Fraction, Writer; Jorge Jimenez, Artist; Tomeu Morey, Colorist

Ray – 9.5/10

Ray: Batman’s life is chaos, and for once it’s not because of supervillains. There is no big overarching villain threat this issue, but things are no less compelling because of it. At the end of last issue, we saw Damian accidentally give away Bruce’s secret ID – or maybe just his own? – to Doctor Anika Zeller, who is quickly becoming Batman’s love interest. The two talk it out before ending their date, but Zeller is kind of coy about how she views it. This, unfortunately, sends Bruce spiraling and he reacts with a level of anger towards Damian that feels like his worst instincts coming out and will probably set their relationship back. Complicating this, he might wind up with no Robins – Tim has recovered from his injuries early in the run, but has decided not to get back out there patrolling. Rather, he wants to take a break from Robin and concentrate on his relationship, something Bruce understands – but Damian very much doesn’t.

At the same time, Gotham is spiraling quickly out of Batman’s control as well. Commissioner Savage’s corruption has entered comical levels, and Harvey Bullock – now a private detective – is trying to keep a witness to Savage planting evidence safe. With Batman as public enemy #1, he’s resorting to quick smash-and-save operations that might be taking him back to urban legend status. This issue is mostly composed of very short segments that hint that Batman’s mental state isn’t the best – after all, he’s arguing with a hallucination of Alfred about his parenting choices. Zeller almost seems like the one bit of stability in his life at the moment – at least she does until the last two pages, where this issue takes a pretty disturbing turn. The main Batman title has had a spectacular track record of quality across its long runs for close to twenty years now, and it doesn’t look like it’s stopping any time soon.