All the threads are coming together. Gotham is in danger from Scarecrow, the Magistrate and Queen Ivy, and it’s up to Batman and his allies to save the city in Batman #116, featuring a lead story written by James Tynion IV, drawn by Jorge Jimenez, colored by Tomeu Morey and lettered by Clayton Cowles. And in the backup, the Batgirls are on the run in a story written by Becky Cloonan and Michael W. Conrad, drawn by Jorge Corona, colored by Sarah Stern and lettered by Becca Carey.
Dr. Double X is experiencing a whole new kind of captivity. Dr. Jocasta Joy and the Ten-Eyed Man go deeper into the mysteries ofArkham and its relationship with Gotham. And Azrael is dancing closer to the edge in Arkham City: The Order of the World #2, written by Dan Watters, drawn by Dani, colored by Dave Stewart and lettered by Aditya Bidikar.
In a universe where the entire family of El crashed on a fantasy Earth after the destruction of Krypton, Jor-El and Lara are now a king and queen, Kal-El a prince, and his defender is the bastard Batknight, Bruce. As a simmering war with a neighboring land comes to a boil, Bruce learns more of his parentage and things look ready to change in Dark Knights of Steel #1, written by Tom Taylor, drawn and colored by Yasmine Putri and lettered by Wes Abbot.
Matt Lazorwitz: This week feels like the most diverse in tone and genre that we’ve had in a while. Batman is pure superheroes, and Dark Knights of Steel is fantasy-set superheroes. Maybe this is jumping the gun on a discussion later, but since this is more about how the books relate to each other than a particular book’s content, is Arkham City that much of a superhero comic? Or is it more a horror story set in a superhero world, the same way Joker is a crime thriller set in a superhero world?
Will Nevin: It’s a superhero comic in the same way that Gotham Central was a capes ‘n’ tights book — it’s all about the real people trying to navigate an unreal world. And whether it’s cops or shrinks, that’s an interesting story. But, of course, the tone is a bit spoopier here.
The Clock on Fear State Nears Midnight
Matt: We’re in the downhill stretch on this one now. And I guess all the different plotlines are coming together. But did this issue feel like there were a couple anti-climaxes to it? We’re going to have to get spoilery here, folks, so buckle up.
Will: No spoilers! I haven’t read it yet.
… That was a bit, sorry.
Matt: OK, good. Because if only one of us had read it, this would be a pretty one-sided conversation.
Will: My name’s Will, and I’m just here for the bits. Good night, folks! Anyway … back to your point and/or spoilers.
Matt: We were just discussing Scarecrow stories for a soon-to-be-released audio BatChat, and with this issue, this story seems to reach the official point of “just another Scarecrow story.” He could have ridden a wave of terror and done something that made this a SCARECROW story, but instead? He goes down like a punk in the next to last round, and it’s Peacekeeper-01 who winds up as the big bad. Granted it’s a Peacekeeper-01 who Scarecrow drove to that point, but he’s still an underwhelming threat.
Will: He gets shot. What a loser. At the end of this, we’ll have to dig out our Future State books to revisit how ol’ Sean goes down, but from what I remember, it’s not much more impressive than what happens here. But yeah, you’re absolutely right — for all its promise (remember Scarecrow passively trying to generate fear with the literal scarecrows around town?), this is really petering out.
Matt: And I’m worried that it’s going to require other books to read. The sudden appearance of the second Ivy, unexplained here, probably means to know what happened you’ll have to go back and read Harley Quinn or Catwoman, where that Ivy has been. I’m reading it all, but it always bugs me when you have to read other books to get a plotline.
Will: And we haven’t even gotten a good sense of where to go for those other story bits. You’d think instead of the Dark Knights of Steel house ad that was everywhere (including within Dark Knights of Steel), we could get a Fear State reading list. But whatever, DC.
Matt: If this wasn’t an event, if this was just an arc of Batman? I think I’d be more forgiving. But it’s been billed as a game changer, and it just feels like it’s another step on the same path we’ve been on since … halfway through Scott Snyder’s run with “Endgame.”
Will: If I remember my solicits correctly, we’re coming up on a Gotham that will be sans Batman, which is not my preferred status quo, but whatever once more, DC. If Tynion can write that in a way that’s emotionally resonant, I’m here for it. But it’s a hell of a thing to basically break the foundation of a book and then head off to your next adventure.
Matt: But still, there are some good things! We should try to be a little positive. I still like Miracle Molly, and Scarecrow having a game plan to deal with the Unsanity Collective if they come looking for their stuff is a good beat. And I am relieved that Jorge Jimenez is back for the entire issue. The dueling splashes of Batman and Peacekeeper-01 facing off before the double page spread of them starting their epic final fight? Loved that art.
And the Batgirls backup is the best backup we’ve gotten in any “Fear State” book. It matters to the overall plot of “Fear State” while not being dragged down by other books, and it gives readers a good feeling for who these characters are before their book launches out of the event.
A City of Infidels
Matt: This is some seriously creepy comics. And I love that. Arkham City #2 follows right on the heels of the first issue, and it remains a very weird, very engaging book.
Will: But still incredibly grounded — we talked up there in the intro about whether this is a superhero book, and I stand by my assertion that it is. Part of the reason this works is that we’re seeing a different side of Gotham, one through the eyes of a doctor acting rationally, if maybe a little unconventionally. Her realization that, “Hey, it isn’t my job to keep Gotham safe; it’s to tend to my patients” worked in the context of the story, and it’s the sort of frank realism we don’t see in cape books. That all said, this is still bonkers.
Matt: It helps that the most A-List villain featured in this thing is Mad Hatter. You can do things with Ten-Eyed Man or Dr. Double X that you can’t do with the Joker or Two-Face. There’s a focus on Double X this issue, and it’s so weird. His energy double giving people visions that give them a high? That’s insane! And him being imprisoned by a dealer who is using him? I mean, we’ve seen superpowered drugs before, but between the grittiness of the art and the clearly disturbed nature of Double X? That is some horror movie stuff right there.
Will: Not to continue yammering on the same point, but the doc goes through a reasonable explanation of Ten-Eyed Man, hitting the high points of his powers before concluding, “Yeah, there’s shit he can do that I don’t understand, and it’s fuckin’ weird.” Refreshingly realistic.
Matt: And playing into some Morrison stuff about a cult of Ten-Eyed Men that no one ever else picked up. Maybe. Or maybe not. It doesn’t matter. This is using continuity in that great way where you can dig into it and love it, or not know it and who cares because it’s still good comics.
Will: And to go back to your point, it’s the art that really brings this thing together. I may not understand half of what’s going on here, but the visuals sell the book better than a similarly nutzo story like Metal.
Matt: Dani is the perfect artist for this book. She has a style that is still eminently readable, people still look like people, but there’s an edge of strangeness to it. The way she draws the Ten-Eyed Man’s contorting body? Shivers. It has a similarity to Frank Miller in Sin City, with the heavy lines, but without the need to feel bad about reading it because of how problematic it is!
Will: What, you’re saying Miller is an asshole misogynist or something?
Matt: Maybe not even a little bit, but a whole lot of a bit.
How far gone do we think Azrael is here? I mean, Jean-Paul has at many times had a … tentative grasp on sanity, so the chance that he’s having a break and is seeing things is possible. But there’s also the chance that the ghost of Amadeus Arkham is working through him. Or something else entirely different, some other supernatural stuff. I’m leaning toward there being something supernatural at work here, but there’s a part of me that just wants ol’ Azrael to have gone ’round the deep end after all the crazy shit he’s been through in recent years.
Will: Just like Jake and Elwood, Brother Matt, Azrael is on a mission from god. But it would be more than a little passe for that to be the end of the story, right? There’s something manipulating him, someone other than the man upstairs pushing this quest. Who in Gotham would want these inmates put down as quickly as possible? Nakano would have a vested stake there. Maybe some party opposing the construction of a new asylum? After all, don’t need a new Arkham if you ain’t got any patients to put in it. *thinking_man_dot_gif*
Matt: Possible. But also possible that we are dealing with something darker, deeper, and creepier. Which would suit the book, and as we have said, Batman and horror are two great tastes that taste great together. And Dan Watters loves to write some horror. So I would not be surprised if the city itself is reaching out to the least stable of the Bat family. Guess we’ll have to find out.
Bruce Wayne: The Bastard in Black Armor
Matt: Tom Taylor sure does love an alternate universe, doesn’t he? Between Injustice, DCeased, Batman: The Detective and his Marvel book, Dark Ages, I think he’s written more stories set out of continuity than in it.
Will: Can we really call Batman: The Detective an out-of-continuity book? It’s damned preoccupied with what Batman may or may not be doing in Europe (which, hey, is another upcoming BatChat audio spectacular episode), but it certainly feels more Batman-y than any of those other titles. And is Dark Ages out and I just missed it?
Matt: Yeah, it hit a little bit ago, and Boss Man Zack reviewed issue #1 and was … not very forgiving.
Will: See, that’s where that half of the House of XF goes wrong, Brother Matt: If you’re not emotionally invested in Marvel, it can’t hurt you.
Matt: But onto this book: I liked it. It’s gorgeous to look at, at least, and Taylor is telling a story that I have probably read before, but we’ll see. It’s why I generally prefer “Elseworlds” to What If? The completely outside what you expect setting of a good Elseworlds means you get something charming even if the plot is the same, while a What If? Is just the same with a twist.
Will: Let’s set out the basic framework for the people, Brother Matt. This is all of your favorite DC heroes (just the heroes so far, if I was tracking correctly) in a swords-and-sorcery-and-castles setting with one big, huge change: Instead of only Kal-El surviving the destruction of Krypton, his mom and dad make the trip, too. Imagine building a bigger damned rocket. Truly some wild shit.
Matt: Yes, that one change sets things off on some wild paths. Especially the big reveal at the end. Bruce Wayne as Jon Snow. The mopiness fits, definitely.
Will: Spoiler alert: Jor-El likes to fuck. Also, the Game of Thrones reference is lost on me, but I know there are Loyal Content Consumers who will appreciate it.
Matt: Back when we talked about Speeding Bullets on the pod, you mentioned that the idea of the Waynes adopting Kal-El when they already had a biological son Bruce was an intriguing idea. I think we might be seeing shades of that here, but inverted. With Bruce and Kal as half brothers, we could see some serious dynastic weirdness.
I’m also wondering why Taylor chose Black Lightning to be the king of the rival neighboring kingdom. Part of it is, I’d wager, that making it a true villain would mean you have someone to root against, versus the moral ambiguity of two heroes facing each other. I also think Taylor likes seeing heroes fight.
Will: Someone’s got to be the baddie here.
Matt: I’m getting a self-fulfilling prophecy vibe: The House of El attacks humanity because King Jefferson is attacking the House of El because he’s been told they will attack humanity. And using Constantine as the vehicle for the prophecy stirs rumblings of Alan Moore’s legendary, pitched but never published, Twilight of the Superheroes, which had Constantine as the narrator of all that was to come, so that’s a fun call-out for us deep-cut DC nerds, even if it’s not intention.
Will: Can’t have swords and sorcery without a comedy of manners (manors?), Brother Matt. And not for nothin’, I thought Harley Quinn was perfect here.
Matt: Taylor has a great handle on Harley. He lays a lot of groundwork in this issue, while also telling a story. This isn’t one of those first issues that’s all exposition. There is a medieval Batman adventure in here, with some Robins to boot. And the undercover Robin had better be Tim Drake. That’s all I’m saying.
Will: The last time we wrote about Arkham City, we voted to keep it on the island. I’d say the same here — this is fun and weird and different in all of the best Tom Taylor ways.
Matt: Seconded.
Bat-miscellany
- I am woefully behind on my books, so pardon me if the whole other Ivy teaming up with Harley thing was in last week’s Harley Quinn. I’ll get there eventually. — Matt
- Note to DC editorial: Maybe if Matt has trouble keeping up with books for your event, you have a problem. That fella reads like nobody’s business. — Will
- I can’t read. — Will (dictated, not read)
- In this week’s BatChat audio spectacular, how about some Joker stories? I mean, how about ‘em? (I guess that’s more of a rhetorical question for us, really.) Next week: three stories in which Batman *loses.* Is that even allowed?
- Want to hear our take on Superman: Speeding Bullets, the story that imagines Kal-El crash landing in Gotham and his adoption by the childless Wayne family only to see them murdered and, as a result, becoming a vicious, whiny Batman? Check out Episode 3. (Spoiler alert: Speeding Bullets ain’t great.)
Matt Lazorwitz read his first comic at the age of 5. It was Who's Who in the DC Universe #2, featuring characters whose names begin with B, which explains so much about his Batman obsession. He writes about comics he loves, and co-hosts the podcasts BatChat with Matt & Will and The ComicsXF Interview Podcast.
Will Nevin loves bourbon and AP style and gets paid to teach one of those things. He is on Twitter far too often.
