After fifteen parts of "Bruce Wayne: Fugitive" I had begun to think that Sasha Bordeaux had been forgotten, so it's appropriate that this story finds Sasha thinking the same thing, only not about the writers but about Bruce Wayne. The story gets to the heart of what it means to be a bodyguard, as Sasha has been asked to do the unthinkable for Bruce, and it's a fascinating exploration of the character. While it's not a turning point for the main question of "Fugitive," which is at this point simply a matter of who the murderer was and how Wayne is going to catch him or her, it is an important story for Sasha and one of the strongest stories in Detective for quite some time. As a bonus, the back-up feature is the finale of "Josie Mac," which is as good as all the other chapters have been and makes me want to see more of the character.
It's silly of me, I guess, but I had never really thought about Sasha's actions as being similar to what a bodyguard actually might have to do at some point. A bodyguard taking a bullet for a client is something most of us are familiar with, but the idea of giving up your life to stay in prison rather than dying at the hands of an assailant doesn't seem the same at the outset. However, Rucka makes some interesting points that what Sasha is doing, though harder because she has more than a split-second to think about her decision and can't go on just reflexes or instinct, is very similar to the decision to dive in front of the bullet.
The story also has plenty to say about the relationship between Sasha and Batman, and by extension the relationship that Batman has with most of his allies. I greatly enjoyed the brief scene between Alfred and Sasha, and I hope that when all of this is over, she'll be rejoining the cast so that we can see more of this kind of interaction. It's interesting to me that although the identity of Amherst's employer should be the big mystery, I was more interested in Sasha's decision or the characterization that went on with her and Alfred than such a plot-oriented bit. That Rucka managed to drive my interest away from such an interesting plot point speaks very well of his strength of dialogue and character.
I didn't realize at first that the artwork wasn't by Steve Lieber, and that's one of the highest compliments I can pay to Sergio Cariello and John Nyberg. Cariello does a great job showing off the daily routine of Sasha's life, and her growing frustration with it, as well as displaying the inner turmoil that she's going through. There are some subtle storytelling clues here in Sasha's face or in her actions, and it's pretty easy to read what's going on in the artwork.
As for "Josie Mac," Winick and Chiang close out the series with a surprise antagonist and a surprisingly dark finale. I love the development that has happened between Josie and her partner Oscar, which pays off nicely in the penultimate scene, and though I wasn't entirely sure that Batman belonged so prominently in the final chapter, I liked the soul-searching that Josie was doing about her future. Judd Winick is pretty busy, and after the skill he displayed on this story I'm sure Cliff Chiang will be as well, but I'd sure like to see them do a "Josie Mac" limited or ongoing series in the future.
