Batman and Lex Luthor cross figurative swords as the investigation into the death of Abyss continues in Batman #119 written by Joshua Williamson, drawn by Jorge Molina and Mikel Janin, colored by Tomeu Morey and lettered by Clayton Cowles. In the new backup feature, Gotham Academy character Maps Mizoguchi returns to investigate the disappearance of a friend in a story written, drawn and lettered by Karl Kerschl and colored by John Rauch.
In Detective Comics #1,046, âShadows of the Batâ begins and the noble experiment that is Arkham Tower looks like it is on a timetable to disaster (shock of shocks) in a story written by Mariko Tamaki, pencilled by Ivan Reis, inked by Danny Miki, colored by Brad Anderon and lettered by Ariana Maher. In the backup, a new feature, âHouse of Gotham,â also kicks off, telling the story of a young man whose life is irrevocably changed by the conflict between Batman and Joker in a story written by Matthew Rosenberg, drawn by Fernando Blanco, colored by Jordie Bellaire and lettered by Rob Leigh.
Dr. Joy has a strange visit with some neighbors, the Ten-Eyed Man loses half his sight, Azrael continues to run rampant and more in Arkham City: The Order of the World #4, written by Dan Watters, drawn by Dani, colored by Dave Stewart and lettered by Aditya Bidikar.
Matt Lazorwitz: Usually, a week of BatChat is one or two books that are deeply part of continuity, and then one thatâs sort of on the outside. I guess, with Detective going weekly for a few months, weâre gonna be wading through continuity a lot more now.
Will Nevin: If it can maintain this level of quality (which is a big ask), Iâm OK with it since this had the meat the last issue lacked. Itâs also nice to have that clear bit of breathing space between Batman and âTec as these books are doing two completely different things.
Staring Into the Abyss
Matt: So, weâre only two issues into this arc, and two issues into Joshua Williamsonâs Batman run, but I gotta say, Iâm digging this. While Batman outside of Gotham can only work for so long, this is a great use of that idea. And on top of it, so far the plot isnât a mass casualty event, like so many other plots weâve talked about and had issues with. Itâs smaller but deeply personal, which gives Batman motivation that we havenât seen in a while, something aside from âMust save Gotham.â
Will: Hereâs a free 2022 New Yearâs resolution for Bat writers: Letâs avoid killing/burning/conquering cities, and see what sort of stories you can tell without riding that trope, âk? As usual, Iâm not sold on the idea of a new character, but Iâm willing to go along with Abyss especially since he/it appears to be the only new focal point Williamson is introducing.
The thing that really stuck out to me in this issue was Luthor â just some amazing character work with him. Spend four or five panels explaining the history of this wine and how much it costs, how it represents the last vestige of a familyâs dream and its quest for revenge, only to stare Bruce Wayne in the face and pour it on the ground? Psychotic alpha shit right there.
Matt: Williamson has Lex down cold. There arenât a ton of Batman/Luthor stories, but when theyâre done right? They are great. We just talked about the Riddler in an as-yet-unreleased episode of the podcast, and talked about how he should be the most obnoxious guy in the world, because he always thinks heâs the smartest person in the room. The same can be said for Lex, except for the fact that, with very very few exceptions, Lex actually is the smartest person in the room. Not to mention the richest and the most powerful.
The story immediately answered the question I had from last issue, about whether Lex still knows Bruceâs double identity, and not only does he, but he is absolutely using it to turn the screws on Bruce. Even the snide comment about how Bruceâs money was taken in the blink of a clownâs eye? Ouch, especially since Lex and Joker have their own complicated history.
Will: All of that stuff was pitch perfect, but I gotta say, for an issue that bills itself as âBatman vs. Abyss,â we take a long ass time to get to that fight. Though, when we get there, it too is some good stuff, specifically in the art.
Matt: I gotta cut them some slack on the cover. I know I would buy a comic that billed itself as âMy Dinner with Lex,â but I donât know if thatâs what the average comic fan would be into.
The art here is great. Jorge Molina might not be as wildly experimental as Jorge Jimenez was, but his style is really solid, and close enough to Mikel Janin that itâs not jarring when they pass the baton in the issue. And the colors in that Abyss fight? I love it when shadow works well in a story, which is far from always, but it does here.
Side note: I like that Batman has switched back to his later-Morrison era, Batman Incorporated costume for this adventure. Not only does it fit the events, but it points out that he doesnât have an unlimited costume budget any more.
Will: To be fair to you, I too would buy âMy Dinner With Lex,â if only because thatâs a dark callback to âMy Night with Superman.â And Iâll second your point on the suit â although it would have been nice to have some of that spelled out on the page.
Matt: Our new backup is tonally distinct from the lead. Your only exposure to Maps was that one Batman: Black and White short from the last volume, yes?
Will: I canât take twee after a serious story. Nope. But to actually answer the question, yes, I think thatâs it.
Matt: Heh, fair. I liked it, but I have a longer history with Maps and like the character, but I can see how this could definitely come off as jarring. But I think weâll have a more tonally consistent backup in our next bookâŚ
Welcome to Arkham Tower
Matt: âBoy,â to quote Ron Burgundy, âthat escalated quickly.â Looks like Arkham Tower is already on a timeline to horror, and itâs not a long one.
Will: I love that we have â in a single issue â the grand opening and what sure as hell looks like the closing within a span of two or so weeks that weâre going back to explore in the next issue.
Matt: This is a storytelling device that I see all too often, and it can be a pretty lazy one. Youâre not sure how to make the stakes high? Start in media res and then tell most of your story in flashback. But it works here because we all know how high the stakes are to begin with; opening a new Arkham in the heart of Gotham with some sketchy guy in charge is going to be a high-stakes powder keg that is going to explode. Here, by setting the timeline, you can build the next few issues with âDay 2â then âDay 4â and so on, knowing that âDay 24â is coming and it just adds to the suspense when you know how long the metaphoric fuse is.
Will: And all of it builds logically. In the conversation between Deb Donovan and Batwoman, they both give reasons why we as readers shouldnât trust Dr. Wear, so itâs not a surprise when the whole thing goes ass up. That and, as you say, they put a new Arkham in the middle of the city â what else was going to happen?
Matt: This story looks like itâs going to be pulling threads from throughout Tamakiâs run. And thatâs another thing I really enjoy. This is dealing with characters who have slowly been introduced over time, like Nakano, Deb, Chase Meridian and Nero XIX, plus last issueâs new addition, Ana Vulsion, while adding in the only previously mentioned Dr. Wear. Plus, using so many established characters. This is turning into a real ensemble book, which is fine. You donât have Batman there to suck up all the air, so you can play with all these other people, and the weekly pace means you wonât lose track of all the players, as a large ensemble that comes out monthly can lead to.
The art is an interesting choice. Ivan Reis is a very solid artist, but heâs the prototype upon which modern DC house style is built. After the smooth lines of Dan Mora, that more house style look isnât what I would have expected. But Reis is still a big name, so having him kick off this arc makes sense from a publishing standpoint; weâre throwing a big name onto this to let readers know itâs important.
Will: I am never going to be against DC house style, which is a nice warm blanket when it comes to Bat books. And it was nice to see Nero XIX make a return to basically unnerve Mayor Nakano and presumably be a key figure in the Arkham uprising.
Matt: And now the backup. This one is tonally much more in line with the main story, yes?
Will: Indeed it is! And this is the kind of shit I eat up â I love taking the Batman origin story and giving it a tweak. What if the parents arenât rich? What if the kid is unstable? What if the Gotham social service infrastructure doesnât give a damn? It shows that so many things, so many people had to come together to produce a functional Batman. But here? With this kid? Oh, some bad stuff is coming.
Matt: This story feels like it exists on the same continuum as Rosenbergâs co-written flashbacks in The Joker. Fernando Blanco has a style in the same family as Francesco Francavilla, which helps, but itâs more that this is a story where Joker (and Batman) are the background movers, and weâre seeing how their private war affects the regular people of Gotham.
Did the digital copy have the same error on the cover that the print one did? The story is called âHouse of Gotham,â which is what it was solicited as, but the cover to the print version has it called âHouse of Wayne.â
Will: Looking over whatâs on Comixology now, it seems like that same mistake is there. I wonder if thatâs a tell? Some kind of spoiler?
Being Neighborly
Matt: Every time I think Arkham City canât get any weirder, or any creepier, it finds a way. And I say, more power to its creators for that!
Will: Brother Matt, Iâm not sure what youâre talking about. This was a very normal book.
Matt: I suppose. Who doesnât have a visit with their neighbors, one of whom is a radioactive man and the other may be a vampire?
This book ⌠this has given more personality to some C-List Bat villains than any title I can think of in a long time. Dr. Phosphorus has been out of the loop since he popped up in Starman in the early â00s, and with the exception of a brief stint as an antagonist in an arc of Robin and an arc of Batwoman and the occasional cameo, Nocturna? She has barely been used since the â80s. And they have never been more off kilter than they are here.
This is a horror comic, even removing whatever supernatural elements might or might not be there. The fate of the neighbors, as they have slowly been poisoned by Phosphorusâ radioactivity? Yikes and yuck.
Will: Love me some good olâ radioactive body horror. And if the body horror isnât enough, Dr. Joy is starting to question her sanity â with the gentle prompting of the totally normal Dr. Phosphorus, of course.
Matt: Psychiatrists at Arkham donât exactly have the best track record for keeping their sanity, do they? This book knows how to twist all the little threads in the minds of its characters to keep both them and the reader a little bit unbalanced. Detective Stone has just learned about Joyâs interactions with the Ten-Eyed Man, and thatâs probably not going to end well for either of them. Again, thereâs a lot going on in this book. And thatâs before the reveal of two more characters at the end of this issue, the ones who seem to have been pulling everyoneâs strings.
Will: A reveal thatâs sure to make the people ⌠squeal.
Bat-miscellany
- To tie in with âShadows of the Batâ and the Arkham Tower, this weekâs podcast takes us on a trip into Arkham Asylum. Stories dark, creepy and at times problematic.
- Dark Knights of Steel continues to be a fun Tom Taylorverse, even if it does seem like we need a flow chart to understand the various kingdoms and how long theyâve been at war.
- Is it too much to ask that backups flow logically in tone from a main story?
- âIâm Ron Burgundy?â
- Dan Mora, who had been the artist on Detective Comics, is heading over to do Batman/Superman: Worldâs Finest. The last regular artist on the previous version of that title, simply called Batman/Superman? Ivan Reis, who took over Detective this issue. COINCIDENCE?!
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.
