Alone at Night: Everything old is new again... the purpose of the extensive (and surprisingly popular) "War Games" crossover in the Batman titles becomes clear in this issue. Those governing the four-color adventures of the Dark Knight have decreed that they're taking the character back the status quo enjoyed in the early days of this incarnation the hero. The Batman now fights crime alone, without the colorful members of the Batman Family to help or even the police. "War Games" seems like a strangely long path to get to this point, especially since walking backwards takes the audience to the same place. To be fair, the storytelling here is clear and accessible, and the art is appropriately dark.
In the wake of the gang war that turned Gotham City's underworld upside down, the Batman continues his fight against crime, despite the fact he's still reeling from the loss of friends and allies. The G.C.P.D. now believe the Dark Knight is a killer, and he finds himself being pursued by the law, just as those he hunts do. A new drug operation emerges in the city, and the Batman discovers that all the old rules no longer apply, thanks in part to the involvement of a couple of his old enemies.
Pete Woods's pencil art tells the story clearly, and he and the inkers do a good job of conveying the edge and brooding nature of the main character. He is always immersed in darkness and or dull greys, making him really seem like a creature of the night, as he intends. The problem with the art is that there's a softness to Woods's style that's not in keeping with the harsh, urban qualities of the story.
Those who didn't follow "War Games" will be able to follow along with this new status-quo "changing" issue. The bad news is that the script really doesn't convey the emotional turmoil that those events have had on the Batman. He seems too together here. I was looking for the sort of anguish that filled the character in the late 1980s, when Jason Todd was killed. Instead, this issue treats the changes/reversions as far too routine. Aside from the exposition explaining the new super-hero landscape of Gotham City, everything about this story screams "run of the mill."
Into the Dark: Admission time: I've not read Stray Bullets. Not a single issue. I never really noticed when an accessible jumping-on point hit stands, and whenever I considered a collected edition, cash was tight. Lame excuses, I know. Someday, I'll check it out. For now, I'm left with creator David Lapham's foray into mainstream super-hero comics storytelling. It's as edgy and dark as I expected, but his scripting technique here doesn't work quite as well as I expected.
In telling the story about the Batman's search for a kidnapped child, Lapham not only demonstrates the Batman's methods clearly but how his efforts are ultimately futile. For every crime he's determined to prevent, there are dozens of others that go unaddressed. Balancing that unfortunate message, though, is the hopeful note that the lives the Batman does save are worth it. Still, the overall mood of this piece is a heavy, depressing one, and I rather appreciated it. The narration uses repetition in order to drive home the quiet pain of a young victim, but the method doesn't have the desired effect. The repetition is grating, detracting from the point it's trying to make rather than reinforcing it.
Lapham's art here reminds me of a cross between the styles of Daniel (Ghost World) Clowes and Ethan (Green Lantern: Rebirth) Van Sciver. It's effective in bringing the ugly and dark side of the setting to life, but Jason Wright's colors bring a lot of edge to the visuals as well. 5/10
