By: Scott Snyder (writer), Jock & Francesco Francavilla (artists), David Baron & Francavilla (colors), Jared K. Fletcher (letters), Katie Kubert (assistant editor), Janelle Asselin (associate editor) & Mike Marts (editor)
The Story: The Jim Gordon, Jr. story comes to an explosive close.
What’s Good: SPOILER WARNING.
What a great issue! The way Snyder brought Joker into this story arc a few issues ago worried me a bit because this story was so fresh and I worried that the introduction of a tired old villain like Joker would make the story derivative. I should have known better because Snyder has never in his career had a lazy moment because Joker is almost reduced to a plot device. That isn’t to say that he didn’t need to be in the story – because he does play a vital role – but this very much ended up being a Jim Gordon, Jr. story. And, by telling the story this way, Snyder has added an emotionally powerful adversary to Batman’s rogues’ gallery. [I’m assuming that good continuity like this story will be allowed to spill over into the DCnU & DC would be fools not to take this story.]
This issue was just smashed full of good moments. A lot of them originated in issue #880 when JJ went on a Killing Joke styled attack on the rest of the Gordon’s. I especially loved how the tension regarding Barbara’s peril was heightened by this being the last issue of Detective Comics. We all know that she’ll be the “new” Batgirl and will be out of the wheelchair next month, but it was entirely plausible that she could die in this issue, right? Or, maybe she could have gotten her legs severed and replaced with prosthesis for Batgirl #1? Not knowing the status of this continuity really made this a better issue because no one felt safe.
Kudos also for allowing Barbara to go out as a bad-ass, my only tangible complaint has to do with her (see below), but Snyder atones for about 95% of that complaint by having Barbara be ballsy enough to pull a knife out of her leg and stab JJ in the face! It was a real “Hell Yeah!” moment that Barbara deserved if this is the last time we see her in a wheelchair.
But, the strength of this issue (and storyline) was really in Jim, Jr. What a creepy bastard! And he wouldn’t have been nearly as creepy with lesser art. All of the tight shots that Jock and Francavilla use, along with the red glints off his glasses make him a really unsettling character. He just looks disturbed and I love how both artists draw him (mostly) with whites showing around his eyes. That’s one of those little things that make a dude look creepy (since no normal person ever looks like that unless they are alarmed). It’s also amazing how smoothly Jock and Francavilla blend together on this issue. Normally, I wouldn’t think that would work because their styles are too different, but David Baron deserves huge props for his coloring of Jock’s pages with Francavilla’s color palate and thereby making the transitions smoother. By making the colors almost as important as the linework, it is less jarring to go from Jock’s kinetic style to the smoother and more atmospheric look of Francavilla.
What’s Not So Good: Two little things. One, it was a little disappointing to see Barbara Gordon be in distress and need help from Dick Grayson. I know they have a long history together, and I can’t imagine who else Snyder could have put in peril and maintain that punch, but this story will give a little more ammo to all the PR issues that DC has had on women’s related issues (Wonder Woman’s pants, # of women creators in the new 52, etc.). Even though Barbara did get to be a bad ass at the end, I still didn’t love seeing her as a hostage.
The only other small item was that Jim, Jr. got a little wordy during the monologue. It was all good stuff, but in a longer issue that is not only wrapping a story arc, but wrapping a 800+ issue run of a comic series, I was pretty eager to get to the end and thought the long word balloons slowed the action a little more than necessary.
Conclusion: Wow. Endings are so hard to pull off. For every cool concept we see in comics, probably only about 10% end up with a really solid ending. This run by Snyder, Jock and Francavilla is a modern classic and better than any Bat story I’m familiar with in the last 20 years (inclusive of Long Halloween). If DC isn’t selling hardcovers of this story for years, there is something wrong with their marketing department. This really sends Detective Comics off with a bang! Everyone should be sure to catch these creators on whatever they’re doing next: Snyder on the new Batman & Swamp Thing (and American Vampire, of course), Francavilla on Black Panther and Jock on whatever he does next.
Grade: A
-Dean Stell
Follow Dean on Twitter.
Grade
Conclusion