6/26 Comic Reviews: Comics ARE/GOOD
Detective Comics #1086 written by Ram V with art by Stefano Raffaele, backup story written by Alex Paknadel with art by Lisandro Estherren
The climactic arc of Ram V’s run on Detective Comics continues as Batman rallies the troops and the first shots are fired in the final battle with the Orghams. There is a current pulling all of the disparate pieces into the conflict, some of whom even Batman might not see coming, and their battle is going to define the future of their city and its soul. The issue opens with punches thrown as Batman makes his way to his old friend, Harvey Dent aka Two-Face. Harvey has been the breakout character of this run, with his initial attempt at redemption, his descent back into villainy, and his reconciliation with his own demon to fight a demon of someone else’s making. Batman’s own experience in the desert with one of the Orgham’s Azmer demons has given him more insight and sympathy towards Harvey and his struggles and we finally get to see the two old friends have a heart-to-heart. Their foes would have people believe that “darkness” is some sort of tumor that doesn’t belong and can be excised at no cost to the whole. But really, it’s as much a part of us as the light. As Batman says “The whole point is to struggle against it--with it, forever.” No one is perfect, but neither are we defined by our worst aspects. Because of our darkness, we can keep moving forward, keep trying to be better. To lose it would be to become passive and complacent, to lose our compassion for those who continue to struggle and suffer. That’s the world the Orgham’s want to create, but the darkness of Gotham isn’t going to be ripped out without a fight.
From there, the story moves to Duela Dent, once “The Joker’s Daughter” but now a young woman desperately trying to escape her own darkness. She appears to have finally achieved some semblance of normalcy but, sadly, an encounter with the Joker could very well send her plunging back into the world of madness. If Batman represents accepting yourself and rising above your worst aspects, the Joker represents giving in and becoming nothing but the worst parts of yourself. It’s a helpful counterargument to keep us from romanticizing the darkness to much. Terrible things lurk in the dark and they can very easily consume us if we’re not careful. It also makes it clear that the Joker is setting up to be a wild card in the coming battle, one that no one else seems to be ready for.
From there, Batman goes to consult with the Ten-Eyed Man to gain more insight into his enemy. Ram V’s ability to take some of the strangest members of Batman’s rogues gallery and make them stranger still is always a joy to read. Here, the Ten-Eyed Man fills an almost shamanistic role, explaining the metaphysical patterns shaping the city and its people. The Orghams have been playing with those patterns and imposing their own designs upon it but, as we saw in the annual, Batman has become embedded within the pattern of the city as a symbol of resistance and has the potential to unravel everything they’ve tried to build.
Of course, the Orghams aren’t going to go down without a fight. Their war has always been one of narrative and information, and they’ve still got more cards to play. If they are able to take control of the story, make themselves the victims and Gotham’s poor and disenfranchised the invaders, then the battle for Gotham’s soul will already be lost.
I said in the last review that I hoped we’d continue to have Stefano Raffaele on this book and my wish came true this week. Batman remains a shadow even while his allies are wreathed in light. It feels almost like he is a black hole gathering his allies and the story itself around him, becoming the center and unifying the resistance. It’s a powerful image that permeates the whole book and makes it clear that the Orghams are in for a fight. The black and red costume still looks amazing and every chance we get to see it in action is a treat. There are several pages in this book I’d love to get prints of so I could frame them on my wall.
The issue doesn’t end there as there’s another backup story by Alex Paknadel. This one is about Two-Face as a simple mob execution spirals into a fascinating character study on his new mentality. Two-Face is ready to kill a young crook who botched an arms deal, but Harvey is able to take advantage of their redefined relationship to attempt to turn things around. What follows is a trial in a mental courtroom with Two-Face as the judge while Harvey acts as the defense and “Scarvey” acts as the prosecutor. Lisandro Estherren does a brilliant job portraying the dichotomy that drives Harvey Dent as the courtroom is split right down the middle, one side shining and pristine while the other side is red and twisted. Harvey is no longer an unwilling passenger being pulled along by his alter-ego. He’s able to bring empathy and reason to their shared identity as Two-Face. I really hope that we continue to see this version of the character beyond this run as there’s a ton of ground that could be explored with this new relationship.
True to the title of this arc, we may be approaching the end but the story is continuing to ramp up. The run has been full of all sorts of esoteric bits and we’re now getting to see Ram V weave them into a glorious symphony that is bound to end up as one of the most definitive and iconic runs on this nearly century-old character. Time and time again, he proves himself a master storyteller and there should be no question about whether this run is worth checking out. There’s still life in Batman’s old bones and it looks like it’s only to get better from here.
NO/ONE #9 written by Kyle Higgins and Brian Buccellato with art by Geraldo Borges
The long-awaited penultimate issue of the Massive-verse’s superhero noir has finally arrived! The issue opens with a bang as we see that Proposition 87 has passed as “The Presumption of Reasonable Self-Defense Act” permitting citizens of Pittsburgh to use lethal force against anything they perceive to be a threat. Several more bangs follow after as the bitter and angry are given the freedom to act on their worst impulses. As a news broadcast shows, violent crimes are only escalating with nine shootings in the first day alone. It becomes abundantly clear that self-defense does not equate to safety as more and more innocent people are gunned down by people who have been given the excuse they’ve been looking for. Immediately after the first shooting, we see Alanna Paige on her show calling the violence a “much-needed tonal shift” in the political climate and encouraging police and prosecutors to “settle down” and not impede people’s “civil liberties” by charging them with murder. We may have gotten a glimmer of humanity from Alanna in the previous issue when she took Kenneth Chbosky to task for attacking her daughter, but she’s still the pundit for the ideology that enabled him in the first place and change might be too much to ask for. However, she might be in for a rude awakening as Chbosky comes calling with his new license to kill.
Throughout the issue, we barely see NO/ONE save for a brief scene where he attempts to stop a few rioters from escalating the situation even further. The series began with NO/ONE feeling like an untouchable, almost supernatural force, but he’s still just one person and there’s only so much a person can do when an entire city is in chaos.
Geraldo Borges continues to impress with his artwork. Most of the issues in this series have been focused on the drama and punctuated with moments of intense action, but this issue is cover to cover action as chaos erupts. Borges does an impressive job drawing each scene in such a way that we’re able to track what’s going on. Even when dozens of people are swarming around one spot, we’re never taken out of the story while trying to figure out who is who.
This issue felt like the culmination of eight issues of simmering tension and to go deeper would be to spoil much of the drama and character work. The idea that there are always consequences has been a major theme of the series and this issue is the one where those consequences come calling. All that’s left now is for Ben Kern to finally face-off with his son and maybe, just maybe, we might find out who NO/ONE actually is. I certainly would not tell you to pick up this issue if you haven’t read the rest of the series, but I would absolutely recommend picking up issue one and working your way back here. This has been a fascinating series examining a cultural climate of anger and distrust where people in walled-off houses are happy to legalize murder and call it “freedom”. It presents the idea of information as a more potent weapon than violence in toppling a person abusing their power and shows just how far those in power will go to maintain the status quo and protect their own interests. Journalism is meant to be a tool of the people to hold those in power accountable, but as we see with the aptly named “FOC News” it can be just as easily subverted to spread misinformation and stir angry people into a frenzy. There is only one issue left, and I’m deeply curious to see where things end up for these characters and the city as a whole. If everything burns, will NO/ONE be left standing?