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BATMAN #593
"Sanctuary Part One of Two"
Recommended (8/10)
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DC Comics
Writer: Ed Brubaker
Pencils: Scott McDaniel
Inks: Karl Story
Colors:
Roberta Tewes & Wildstorm FX
Letters: John Costanza
Editor: Bob Schreck
Price: $2.25 US/$3.75 CAN |
I enjoyed this story.
Really. But I kept thinking about how much better it would have been without the
fugitive E.T. wandering around from the "Our Worlds At War" crossover. Brubaker
blends together the Lew Moxon/Zeiss/Wayne story that he's been building with the
sudden arrival of an alien being, and the dissonance couldn't be more jarring.
Each story is entertaining in its own right, but they don't quite fit together
seamlessly. That said, Brubaker and McDaniel have established a nice rapport,
and I'm really enjoying the continuing tale of Moxon and Zeiss, which spins out
of the first story Brubaker wrote and is touching Batman on a personal level as
well as on the level of a crimefighter.
While I'm not sure it's a useful element
instead of a distraction, I have to admit that the frightened alien subplot was
something interesting to me. The encounter with the FBI goons was nicely staged,
and the cliffhanger ending has all kinds of potential implications. Brubaker has
done a nice job of making the epic story of "Our Worlds At War" a little
smaller, to fit better into Batman's world.
However, I could do without the alien story
entirely if it meant getting more pages of Batman's quest to figure out his
father's connection to Moxon. I've really enjoyed watching Batman spar with
Zeiss, trying to track him down and fight him in his first appearance as the
villain responsible for Samuels's death, figure him out in his second appearance
as Moxon's bodyguard and now track him down in his third appearance as a
fugitive whose best weapon has been negated. Brubaker's depiction of Batman's
techniques, a mixture of solid detective work and physical intimidation, is
entertaining to read, and the personal aspect of the case makes Batman's
involvement more interesting.
In the beginning, I was a little worried
that McDaniel's action-oriented art wouldn't mesh well with Brubaker's
storytelling. As it turns out, the two are really clicking, and while I may have
the occasional complaint (I still don't like the way McDaniel draws Sasha), the
looks on the face of the Penguin or Zeiss when they're found out speak volumes,
and McDaniel is also showing a lot of emotion from Batman. On top of that, he
has his usual effective style for action, with Batman's swinging and pouncing
this issue being very fluid and exciting.
Given the forced crossover nature of "Our
Worlds At War," this could easily have been a cautionary example rather than a
story. As it turns out, the creators are up to the task of mixing such disparate
subject matter, and while it's not as strong as previous issues, it is a good
read.
Email Randy Lander comments about this review. |
