After reading issue #1 of BATMAN ’89: ECHOS, I was pleasantly surprised as I found it more enjoyable and interesting than any issue of its predecessor, BATMAN ’89.
Then came issue #2.
And now comes issue #3.
Frankly, BATMAN ’89:ECHOS‘s plodding, slow-as-molasses plot makes it hard to stay interested and, well, read. Better than #2, but not as good as the premiere issue.
Yes, we finally found out why Bruce Wayne has been missing in Gotham and why he allowed himself to be arrested and sent to Arkham Asylum, but did it really need to take 3 issues for that to be revealed? I get that writer Sam Hamm is telling a story that will take place over several issues, but the snail’s pace of this thing doesn’t help keep one interested…at least when it comes to yours truly.
Meanwhile, the subplots (I guess everything in this story consists of subplots right now) involving the story’s villains — Dr. Quinzel and Dr. Crane — continue and are beginning to gel…even though their “master plans” have yet to be revealed and we’ve yet to see them in their supervillain forms of Harley Quinn and The Scarecrow. Honestly, nothing that’s happened so far involving either of these characters has been interesting. We’ll see if that changes going forward and hopefully, it does.
Duke Wilson, BATMAN ’89‘s version of Robin, returns and gets some significant storyline here. Even though I’m not a big fan of Batman stories that include Robin and sidekicks, I kinda like Duke Wilson and this version of the character. He “visits” Bruce (who is under disguise while “imprisoned” in AA) at Arkham and we learn that he’s in on Bruce’s covert operation. We’ll see what his role is — which I’m sure increases — once “Bruce” is “released” and Batman returns (see what I did there?) to Gotham.
I’ll be reading BATMAN ’89: ECHOS ’til it ends, but I probably would’ve bailed out on it by now if I wasn’t reviewing it for BOF. There’s still time/several more issues for things to pick up steam and become more interesting. I’d like to read it because I’m enjoying it rather than because I have to. – Bill “Jett” Ramey
