BATMAN #11 keeps the action coming, but the story feels a little scattered.
Writer Matt Fraction and artist Jorge Jimenez team up for another solid outing, don’t get me wrong. There’s a ninja slicing, a relationship history lesson, a funeral, and a Batman-ninja battle.
Jimenez draws it all wonderfully. I’ve often said he clearly has a Manga influence, and that’s great. His panels do feel energetic, hitting both the small and large scenes. What the story demands, he delivers in spades. He’s a DC A-lister now and continues to prove why.
Fraction continues to tell a larger story, but I feel it needs a little contained. Sprinkled throughout this issue, we get reminders of “how many issues ago” to something they’re currently talking about. I know this isn’t new. There’ve been editor notes in comics for decades. But here, the reminder doesn’t help connect too much to the present, other than an “oh yeah…. moving on” vibe.
To me, I feel that it’s lessening the impact. Remember the Minotaur debuts/actions 7 issues ago? The Penguin (looking all Devito) talks about it…and that’s all. Remember Savage being corrupt and the kid who caught the evidence planting 9 issues ago? He wants Bullocks help still…that’s all.
There’s just a little too much of that where I feel it’s distracting. Otherwise, the ninja stuff (which she debuted 6 issues ago) is back, but it feels fresh and current without any reminder that she’s been absent for a while.
Overall, the issue is solid, delivering some more action while trying to keep other plots fresh in our minds. Scale back some, and those moments will hit even harder, and require less “oh yeah…moving on” moments. – Ryan Lower
