Hunting for the kidnapped Harvey Bullock, Batman finds the secret organization called Elixir has another victim: The Penguin. Batman and Penguin must work together to find Bullock and escape Elixir. Detective Comics #1,098 is written by Tom Taylor, drawn by Lee Garbett, colored by Lee Loughridge and lettered by Wes Abbott.
Will Nevin: Let’s talk about the solicits that just dropped. I am excited as hell to be getting more of The Bat-Man.
Matt Lazorwitz: Oh, completely. And regardless of whatever and whenever we get to the end of “H2SH” Part 1, it looks like Fraction is up and ready to go first week of September, so that’s something to look forward to.
Will: We need to yeet that on out of here as quickly as possible.
Matt: The sooner it’s done the better.
The Great and Terrible Stuff from the Last Arc
Will: We got away after the first couple of issues of Tom Taylor’s first arc — primarily to cover slow-motion car crashes and/or books we actually like — but I read it all today, and I was struck by a couple of things, namely that Taylor has been at this a long time now, and he writes a great Batman character and a story with some real flow to it. But where it got soft — and I mean super, super soft — is when it tried to introduce big, clunky ideas like Ma Chill as a villain, or Bruce catching up with Pa Chill as an adult or this Elixir thing that appears to be the focus of the second arc.
Taylor was good when he was grounded (i.e. Batman protecting kids). Not so good when he was doing anything else.
Matt: That is Tom Taylor to a T. He often gets in his own way. The idea of the carceral system, the way it uses for-profit prisons and the impact on kids is a strong idea for a Batman story, someone who has taken in not just “good” kids but broken kids, too. But adding in the fantastical element of Elixir distracts from that, especially because the Elixir guys twirl their moustaches and not much else.
Will: At least in the new arc we’re not wasting any time pretending some nearly immortal guys *don’t* have a connection to Ra’s al Ghul.
Matt: And you know how I feel about any story that tries to add much to Joe Chill. I don’t think we need anything about him more than he was trying to rob some folks and got in over his head. We get it established that it was just a coincidence he mugged and killed the Waynes. Then why did it need to be there at all? As a red herring in a story that was already packed to the brim with plot?
Will: The inclusion of any and all Chills brought the overall story down, for sure. Overly contrived and complicated. And the whole creation of Asema really cheapens what should have been a more human moment: the realization that your abusive partner killed the two people most responsible for whatever light you have in the world.
Birds of a Feather
Matt: Onto the issue we’re specifically talking about. This is a better issue for me. While the plot, “Batman vs. a shadowy secret society,” has been done dozens of times, it’s a very direct story. There aren’t all these weird layers and complications. It’s all about Batman having to deal with teaming up with Penguin and going to save Bullock. When Tom Taylor just has to do character stuff mixed with straightforward action, you get a fun comic.
Will: And it’s silly without forgetting the stakes or becoming too slapsticky. When you’re flying around with Penguin on a grappling line, there are some legitimate logistical concerns. Tough-guy Bullock gets some moments to shine here, too. But the Elixir goons, as you mentioned above, are a snoooooooooooooze.
Matt: They are complete non-entities. They are barely named, which might sort of be the point since they’re so secretive, but it gives us nothing to latch onto.
The Elixir stuff feels like it’s just setting up future arcs, since there’s no way Batman is eliminating this conspiracy in a three-part story with a (very good) fill-in artist. Taylor is setting these guys up to be something threatening, and I’m not feeling it. We never got much about the members of The Network over in James Tynion IV’s Joker series, but the couple we met, whether they were the mad scientist or the cannibal clan, had personality. They were memorable. And the Court of Owls had Lincoln March and the Talon as a face to represent them. If Elixir is to be something we care about, they need a Borg Queen, not a drone, to represent them.
Will: Taylor really is setting up for a long run, isn’t he? I guess I’m OK with that. The progressive stuff works when it’s in subtext and themes, not so much in monologues. And his books are generally fine.
Matt: And as with some other writers whose stories can at times be frustrating, he works with great artists. Mikel Janin remains a favorite of mine, and Lee Garbett is really good. He draws really expressive faces and great body language. The look he gives to Penguin is great; he just comes off as constantly smug. And there’s a moment where Batman is getting ready to leave Penguin behind, and the look on Batman’s face as he sits behind the wheel of the truck and realizes he has to take him with him, broken up over three panels, made me laugh out loud. The dialogue was amusing, but Garbett sold the joke and made it funnier than the words themselves.
Will: Janin and Garbett have a nice cohesive look and approach. Similarly, I thought the half cowl, full smile was a nice visual as Batman’s response to Damian Wayne being able to take over the prison in the last arc.
Matt: And I mentioned Penguin, so let’s go there. We’re a few weeks off the drop of the episode, but we just recorded a Penguin-centric episode of the podcast, so I have a lot of Penguin thoughts right now.
I think Taylor has a good grasp on Penguin. He’s conceited, and not to be trifled with, but he’s not some complete raving madman or stone-cold sociopath either. He isn’t quite comic relief here, but he is a foil to Batman, and delivers some great, snarky comebacks. I would be down for these two together in a longer story arc.
Will: In a lot of ways, this feels like a “Riddler as private detective” sort of shift. Penguin is *never* going to be a solid citizen, but he does want to protect his empire, and that seems to have the tangential effect of protecting Gotham as well. Maybe Pengy will finally rid us of this stupid fuckin’ Vandal Savage-as-police commissioner bit.
Matt: I remain SHOCKED that this has gone on as long as it has. Especially since it is barely being used. The total page space of Vandal Savage, a character whose threat level is worldwide and who has existed in real-world time almost as long as Batman, as a major player in Gotham City has probably been less than two issues’ worth over the course of nearly two years. When are we getting to the fireworks factory, Will? When?
Will: I can’t imagine Commissioner Savage in a shiny brand new Batman #1. Maybe this is the beginning of the end? Savage is connected with Elixir (might *be* Elixir?), and it’s all going to come crashing down in the next couple of months?
Matt: We’ll see. The DC nerd in me is interested to see these guys mucking about with all the immortals of the DC Universe: Savage, Ra’s, maybe some Immortal Man or Resurrection Man. But I am a very specific demographic who knows who all those people are.
Will: A very specific demographic of at least one and no more than [some reasonable number larger than one that demonstrates this is in-depth knowledge of canon].
Matt: And this wraps up next issue before the big issue #1,100. Even if we don’t get to do the next one, we’ll be back here for #1,100, right? If for nothing but the Rucka and Watters backups.
Will: Which reminds me: Why the hell are they renumbering Batman when it’s only 60 or so issues away from #1,000? Answer: Because they’ll just drop #1,000 anyway after additionally getting the bump of a No. 1.
I shoulda been in marketing, Matt.
Bat-miscellany
- This week’s BatChat podcast focuses on three stories by the creative team of Doug Moench and Paul Gulacy.
Buy Detective Comics #1,098 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.
