By Judd Winick (Writer), Mark Bagley (Pencils), Rob Hunter & Jack Purcell (Inks)
The Story: Batman battles Clayface, while his two rogues continue on with their obsessions. Penguin enlists the help of a mysterious figure to further his crimes, and Two-Face turns to teleportation to discover one of Batman’s secrets.
What’s Good: Absolutely nothing.
What’s Not So Good: Starting from the cover, with Batman falling and duking it out with a Clayface that looks like a naked retarded version of Atrocitus, I knew that this issue wasn’t going help Judd Winick’s arc. Clayface was never really a compelling character in the books, since he was usually used as the hired muscle that only challenged Batman’s gadgets. So why would an issue-long fight scene with him and Batman be a good idea? This fight scene was nothing nonsense filler for an already uninteresting story.
Perhaps, we’re starting to see why Tony Daniel will be replacing Judd Winick. There simply hasn’t been anything memorable in this story. The only thing that will be remembered for sure, is the ridiculous splash page at the end. Which perfectly fits the already ridiculous characters (like the roided-out military musclehead) and ridiculous concepts (like Two-Face and teleportation) Winick have developed.
This first adventure for Dick as Batman should be him being and acting nothing like Bruce Wayne; and Winick has done that. However, the execution is poor, since a lot of time is spent on constantly reminding us how vulnerable and flawed Grayson is, during unexciting situations. The writing gets redundant, with the nagging narration on carelessness and arrogance. And the moments Winick has his Batman in, are not as entertaining nor impafctgul as Morrison’s and Quitely’s Batman.
As for the art… MEH. I think Mark Bagley’s cartoony style doesn’t exactly capture the Dark Knight. He does a good job with the action, especially when Batman’s feet are never on the ground, but that’s about it. Bagley’s style has yet to capture the intangibles and the deep and haunting moments, as he dominates all the scenes with the jump-kicks and jump away from explosion escapes.
Conclusion: Thankfully, there are ways to get your comic books for free. I’m sorry, Judd Winick, but your tale of Dick Grayson’s first adventure as Batman has become forgettable. Ever since Gran Morrison’s Batman and Robin was released, there has only been one Bat-book worth reading.
Grade: D-
-Raymond Hilario
Grade
Conclusion