Six months.
That's how long it's been since the last issue of this three-part limited series was released. Half a year is a long time to ask an audience to wait for the conclusion of a story that suffered from a lack of clarity and cohesiveness to begin with. It's a shame, really. This conclusion hints at some fascinating ideas, toys with identity and plays with a complex but entertaining intertwining of plotlines, characters and dialogue. On top of that, it boasts some amazing artwork. But in the end, making heads or tails of the story, especially with such a huge gap between chapters, is next to impossible.
Ten years ago, the government assassin known as Deathblow learned a harsh lesson about the people he worked for and with -- that they play their own agents against one another, that the good guys and the bad guys are often one and the same. In the here and now, the Batman tracks the same prey that Deathblow had a decade before, and he learns some of the same harsh lessons. But the nastiest lesson belongs to the metahuman assassin known as Firebug.
Bermejo's gritty artwork certainly suits the tone of the story and the darker nature of the various characters. But that artwork pales in comparison to his stunning cover. The realism in Batman's and Deathblow's faces is awesome, and compensates for the lack of design elements in the front cover. The interior colors aid the split focus of the script; Goleash's use of lighter tones for the flashback scenes keep the two parallel aspects nice and distinct from one another.
The notion of the Batman using the C.I.A.'s and I.O.'s dirty little secrets and paranoia about Deathblow against them is clever, and I love the parallels in the storytelling. I was surprised to find Azzarello including a humanzing moment or two for Firebug. The exchange between the Batman and Alfred also helps to ground the Dark Knight, hinting at something we don't normally see in the character: fear, or at least concern over his actions.
Ultimately, though, that potential in the plot and in the storytelling approach is lost. It would seem that the story is not served well but splitting it up into separate issues. In other words, what we have here is a graphic novel that loses focus due to the episodic treatment. Given the success DC has had with a number of other original graphic novels -- Catwoman: Selina's Big Score and the recent Human Target hardcover -- it's a shame they didn't decide to do the same here. What we have instead is a completely impenetrable and thoroughly confusing story.
