The “Dark Prisons” storyline continues in this month’s issue of BATMAN, an arc that I haven’t been too fond of. While it continues to deliver below expectations, there are some notable moments in this chapter that I found to be good.
As for the plot, “Zur” continues to patrol Gotham with an iron fist, in a suit that battles “Superheavy” as one of the ugliest in Batman’s history. His ideals aren’t sitting well with Damian, and come to a head as plans are revealed (and teased for this summer’s DC event). Meanwhile, the real Bruce travels outside of Gotham to a cabin deep in the woods, where he reunites with a familiar face.
Writer Chip Zdarsky continues to lean hard on “Zur” which is by far my least favorite part of his entire run. There’s a scene between him and Damian in the Batcave where he’s explaining his plans and it’s a great example of why I can’t get into this robot Batman: It’s convoluted, forced, ridiculous, and just sorta dumb. I’d mentioned before that this story continues to build like a snowball through a field of goose crap, and there’s no end in sight. Just, blah.
On the Bruce front, there are some positives. Basically, everything with him is good. There’s internal dialogue that’s fitting of the character, as well as his moments in the cabin with a certain ally. Exchanges between the characters build them up and add some emotion (via flashbacks) as Bruce is building up to be Batman again. I couldn’t shake the fact that this feels repetitive from Zdarsky when he wrote “The Bat-Man of Gotham” which culminated in issue #135.
The art continues to be the consistent brightest spot, as Jorge Jimenez flexes as a visual force in the comic book space. He has some great pencils, action, settings, and small character moments. I’ve never had an issue with his art and don’t see it happening. The guy is an A-lister in my book; I just wish he had a better story.
Overall, it’s a better chapter than the past few months but it doesn’t mean it’s all too enjoyable. The good parts feel somewhat repetitive, while the parts that don’t work seem complicated for the sake of complication.
BATMAN has a long way to go to get a recommendation from me. – Ryan Lower
