By: Scott Snyder (writer), Francesco Francavilla (art/colors), Jared Fletcher (letters), Janelle Siegel (associate editor) & Mike Marts (editor)
The Story: Two stories that tie together… One dealing with Jim Gordon having a sit down with his insane son, and the other showing Batman & Red Robin busting up an animal smuggling operation.
What’s Good: Different artists are good at different things. I’m sure there are some who can do just about anything in any style, but most artists have a thing that they do really well. And one of the tricks for a writer is to craft a story that plays to the artist’s strengths. Scott Snyder is really nailing that in this issue. Francesco Francavilla may be able to draw all sorts of different ways, but he is best known for a certain dark moody style, so Snyder is feeding him a horror-infused story and the result is pretty amazing. One of the things that I love about Francavilla’s work is that he inks and colors it himself. That allows him to be a master of where the light source is in the panel, which plays right into his style that leans heavily on lighting. I really love the guy’s coloring where he is less concerned about the precise color of gray that Batman’s suit should be, and more interested in the fact that it is a dark and ominous scene and should have a red wash over everything. I also love his lettering of sound effects!
Snyder is really establishing himself quickly as a master of horror-themed Batman stories. [Spoiler alert] The Jim Gordon story starts with a claim by Jim, Jr. that he has killed a waitress and stuffed her head into the men’s room toilet. Even though he says he is kidding, as his conversation with his dad continues, you start to see water coming out under the bathroom door and the whole time you’re thinking, “Oh shit! He really killed a waitress!” What is soooo effective about this is as a reader, it helps you identify with Jim, Sr. The guy is off balance because his crazy son has showed up out of the blue and told him that he’s a clinical psychopath. How could you think straight if your son had said that? Then as a reader, we’re only partially focused on what Jim, Jr. is saying because we really want to know what is in the bathroom. Very well done.
What Is Less Good: I didn’t love the Batman/Red Robin portion of the story. It isn’t “bad.” Also note that I’ve retitled this part of the review to “what is less good” from the normal “what’s not so good.”
This story is effective, it moves the story along, Francavilla’s art is great and it reveals that Dick is still suffering from the hallucinogens he was poisoned with in the last story arc, but I’m yet to be convinced I care about the smuggling of exotic animals. Knowing Snyder, I’m positive there is more to it than what we’re seeing here, but this story was a little truncated by the necessity of fitting in the Gordon story. Remember that the Gordon story was a back-up feature, and when DC killed the back-up features to get the $2.99 price point, we knew we were going to get a few awkward issues as they tried to finish those back-up stories. I think this just might be that issue. Fortunately, the creative brilliance overcomes most of the awkwardness due to production necessities.
Also, it sounds really weird when people call Tim Drake “Red Robin” in the field. “C’mon Red Robin, let’s get them!” I hear Adam West when I read that sentence. Just call him “Tim.”
Conclusion: Grim and moody. For my money this is the best Batman title out there right now. I love that Snyder is bringing a psychological-horror vibe to Gotham city and the art is fantastic.
Grade: A-
– Dean Stell
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