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BATMAN #599
"Bruce Wayne: Murderer? Part Seven: From the Inside-Out"
Highly Recommended (10/10)
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DC Comics
Writer: Ed Brubaker
Pencils: Scott McDaniel
Inks: Andy Owens
Colors: Roberta Tewes & Wildstorm FX
Letters: John Costanza
Editor: Bob Schreck
Price: $2.25 US/$3.75 CAN |
I am a well-known hater of crossovers, and even though the creative teams on Batman have a better record than most (No Man's Land and Officer Down were both quite good), I wasn't looking forward to Bruce Wayne: Murderer? It seems amazing, then, that I find myself looking forward to each main chapter with more anticipation. Though the fringe titles are of little interest, the main Bat-books have delivered solid reads so far, and this month's Batman is almost as good as the issue of Detective Comics that kicked things off. Brubaker
examines aspects of Bruce Wayne's incarceration that are a natural extension of
the story, but the kind of thing that has never been covered before, and
McDaniel's artwork is great for the cramped, violent atmosphere of the prison.
The heart of this story is not
the question of what happened to Vesper, although that is an interesting
mystery. Instead, the heart of the story is how Batman deals with a challenge
that he is not at all prepared for, where his strengths are liabilities. Once
inside a prison, Bruce Wayne can't just pretend to be Bruce Wayne and not
Batman. It's not a matter of social embarrassment but physical harm, and
Brubaker does a great job conveying the conflict as Bruce tries to keep his
facade up while doing what Batman would so obviously like to do when surrounded
by criminals. The tension and danger is almost unbearable.
McDaniel and Owens do a really
nice job of contrasting the chaos of the prison with the calm demeanor of Bruce.
Even when he's angry, it comes through as a focused and useful anger, whereas
the anger of the Aryans or the bluster of the prison guards seems manufactured,
all for show and reputation. There are also a number of panels where Batman is
staring out from his cell bars, or we're seeing him standing just inside the
bars, like a tiger pacing its cage. The sense of claustrophobia, of being
trapped while he has things to do, comes through in the artwork as much as in
the narration.
In many ways, the creative
team have placed Batman in a no-win situation. His reputation, one of his
partners, his entire life is in terrible danger, and despite all his
capabilities, he can't fight it. In fact, when he does fight it, it gets worse.
Brubaker manages to convey this while still making Bruce feel in control, as he
should be. There's danger and conflict and tension, but there's never a feeling
of hopelessness. Instead, there's a rising tension and a question of what
happens next.
No Man's Land shook up the
city of Gotham and Batman and his supporting cast, and Officer Down changed the
police dynamics of Gotham forever. Unlike so many crossovers, the Batman
crossovers seem to actually have the far-reaching effects they promise, and
Bruce Wayne: Murderer? looks to be no exception.
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