Events in Gotham continue to spiral out of control. Vandal Savage continues his anti-Bat crusade. Both legitimate and criminal power brokers make preparations. The truth behind the mysterious Lady Ojo is revealed. And a new ally(?) arrives at Wayne Manor. Batman #11 is written by Matt Fraction, drawn by Jorge Jimenez, colored by Tomeu Morey and lettered by Clayton Cowles.
Will Nevin: Whelp, we’ve got nothing else for this bit, midas whale talk about Supergirl. I had a good time, and I’m disappointed it didn’t do better at the box office, if only because that will discourage similar movies (female-led, characters outside of the absolute DC core) from being made in the future.
Matt Lazorwitz: We talked about this last night on the pod that will drop in a couple weeks, but I am of the same mind about the movie. Good performances, good look. Not a perfect movie, but enjoyable.
I don’t think the superhero movie is dead, as many pundits are saying, but I think we might be reaching a point where superhero movies not featuring the most established properties (Batman, Superman, Spider-Man, TMNT) are going to go by the wayside. I think there will still be a place for weird, tangential comic book-related movies (I think with the year low-budget horror has been having, Clayface might just do gangbusters, especially if the expectations are more horror movie than superhero blockbuster receipts), but the low-tier recognizable characters that are expected to be big hits, the idea that gave us Guardians of the Galaxy, might be on their way out.
Change on the horizon
Matt: It feels like two issues in a row where I want to start talking about a big last-page moment with this book. Do you want to start there? Or do we want to build the antici…pation?
Will: Oof. That’s some joke to open with, Matt. Should have saved it for the end! Can’t open with our best bits, you know. I like the thought, though. We can finish with our new friend.
Matt: OK, so let’s start at the beginning, a very good place to start (that’s a Rocky Horror and a Sound of Music reference right off the bat. I’m feeling theatrical, it seems).
I don’t know how a book this busy doesn’t feel busy, but it somehow succeeds. We have added another faction to the already crowded field! At least I don’t recall the Shadow Board showing up before. I like what Fraction is laying down there, though. It’s the legitimate version of what Minotaur is doing with the underworld. And we didn’t get a close enough look at everyone there to see if any of them had extra fingers, so I wonder if they’re a bit more connected than just being in the same comic.
Will: I think I saw one of them in uniform? I love the idea of some group of shadowy elites so shadowy they don’t even know who else is at the meeting. Great op sec there. However, what you can’t do is hire one of the world’s best assassins and then try to walk that back. Not a smart move there, y’all.
Matt: Absolutely not. Especially one who can do that martial arts movie move where they cut you so fast you just slide in two. I really dig Lady Ojo. The mysterious, mostly silent killer, the look of her. I wonder who else could handle that design outside Jimenez, but it’s cool to add another kickass lady assassin. There are how many dudes who do that, and really only Lady Shiva and Cheshire otherwise.
Will: Bats is ready for her, though — that move where he used the cape to deflect and swallow up her sword? That was good shit. Jimenez handled all of the action here exceptionally well — in addition to the scene with our murdered little gofer and that shadow of Batman grappling out of there. A+ visual storytelling. And working in the flashback panels with the labeling? This might have been my favorite issue of the Fraction run so far. The story is not particularly overwhelming, but we’re updating most of the stories as well as all of these nice little visual flourishes. Just doing so many little things well, you know?
Matt: It takes a lot to make a “moving the pieces into place” issue this dynamic and interesting, but Fraction and Jimenez absolutely pull it off, while also mixing in some very good character moments. The two-page spread of Bruce explaining to Dr. Zeller why Damian is Robin, not lying but only telling the truth from a certain point of view? That could have been really dull in the hands of a lesser writer, but Jimenez kills it. I can think of few times where Bruce has talked so candidly about how he feels about Talia and what she did with Damian, and it was excellent. And it makes my complaints about the end of “H2SH” all the more glaring, but let’s not go there, shall we?
Will: We’re just hastening the day that everyone (Batman writers included) can pretend that never happened, so that’s fine with me. I thought the spread was excellent as well. But while it’s a fool’s errand to try to include everything, I wish we would have gotten a bit more of a nod to the excellent stuff in Batman and Robin, a book that was very much “not so great dad trying to be better” and thus the point of the conversation.
Matt: I agree entirely, but speaking of dads, we have another one having a hard time here, don’t we? I have rarely seen either Gordon or Bullock taken to task like they were by Officer Davis’ widow. “You used to be real cops.” Damn, lady, that is hitting hard. And Gordon just riding away with his partner, saying, “Vandal Savage has my daughter,” shows how much this is affecting Jim. And I have to imagine he’s getting close to breaking. The question is, which way does he break? Knowing Jim Gordon, it will be the right way, but watching him slowly get broken down by working in this corrupt system is pretty heartbreaking.
Will: I *cannot* wait until he gets the spotlight in Gotham Central. That should be fantastic and give us all the time with Gordon we’ll need until the status quo inevitably resets. Although if you can keep Alfred dead, I reckon you can keep Gordon out of the commissioner’s office indefinitely. Someone will have to replace Savage, though, and seems like everyone such as Montoya and Bullock have had their go at it. If you’re Gotham Mayor Corrupt, Incompetent or Both, Matt, who would you pick?
Matt: If you’re not picking Gordon, who might be a politically sound choice from the point of view of, “He cleaned up Gotham once, and dangit he can do it again,” I don’t know if we have any other active candidates. Other commissioners have either been established characters bumped up (Essen, Bullock, Montoya) or characters created for the job (Akins, Pauling). We haven’t seen anyone else introduced who might fill the role, and GCPD-related characters are few and far between right now. I think it’s Gordon or bust.
Will: Gotham Central would be a great time to introduce some new folks. (That might be a heavy lift in two issues, though.) But speaking of introductions …
Matt: We’ve reached the very end, and so here we go.
No one is ever going to replace Alfred. That’s obvious. But the idea that Alfred, no spring chicken and possibly the second best master of contingencies in the DC Universe behind Bruce himself, would not have left something or someone behind to take care of his boys after he was no longer with them makes no sense. So I am glad to see that Fraction introducing a new Pennyworth is being couched in those terms. I wish someone had thought of it sooner, but I’m sure he’ll explain why it took so long next issue.
Will: Only Alfred can replace Alfred, and the scenes of Bruce talking to himself have been sweet and even funny. But having a new (who we can only assume as of now) ally is for the best. What do you make of the fancy orders bearing the sign of The Society of the Midnight Key?
Matt: That’s a big mystery, isn’t it? It’s a new concept, and I’m fascinated to see what it means. And if Bruce has any idea what it means before he looks at it. An order of super butlers would be a pretty cool idea.
Will: I’d love it if it was some incredibly theatrical thing that Alfred came up with himself. What a hoot.
Matt: One final gift for his son.
Damn it, I’m getting a little choked up over here.
Bat-miscellany
- This week, the BatChat podcast is back to the runs that we’re reading in order: “No Man’s Land” and “Knightquest: The Crusade.”
Buy Batman #11 here. (Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, ComicsXF may earn from qualifying purchases.)
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.
