Last month, I said my review of BATMAN needed to have an asterisk next to it, as it was a tie-in to the DC Event “Absolute Power”, and I wasn’t reading those issues. That said, I still enjoyed certain aspects of the issue, giving it a “middle-of-the-road” rating.
This month’s issue continues that tie-in, and I found less enjoyment. A lot less.
Writer Chip Zdarsky continues the heist adventure of Batman and Catwoman, picking up right where we left off last month. Except this time, there’s more characters, action, sci-fi, and confusion (at least for me). When it comes to these tie-ins, I always feel like it’s more of an “assignment” for the writer and less of “I have an idea”. So, I want to make sure I don’t give much negativity to Zdarsky, as I feel this wasn’t exactly his choice (unless it was).
Overall, I just didn’t care for much (if any) of it. I wasn’t interested in character interactions, which left the action feeling dull and carrying no weight. I just didn’t care. Batman does Batman things (always a plus), and in the end, seems terrified of the emergence of a DC villain (Pete will be happy).
On the art duties, Mike Hawthorne again gets a variety to illustrate. While I didn’t care much for what was going on, he consistently gave us plenty of action that looked good on each page. I think a highlight when Hawthorne is on a book is the coloring, here from Romulo Fajardo Jr. Regardless of the story, the art looked pretty good.
As a standalone issue, this was not my thing. But it’s not supposed to be a standalone and is blunt that it’s a small chapter in a much larger story. So again, just like last month, if you’re a devoted BATMAN reader, and not reading “Absolute Power”, then this isn’t for you.
For comic fans reading the event (like Pete, who is very positive about it), this may be worth your time. – Ryan Lower
