This issue of Gotham Knights has an interesting feel, serving as an epilogue of sorts to Bruce Wayne: Murderer and Devin Grayson's two and a half year run on the title. It's a "day in the life" story, the kind of thing we've seen before, but it reflects the character change of Batman as well as checking in on various characters who Grayson has used throughout her run. Bruce Wayne comes off as almost comically, over-the-top saintly, but the general sense of goodwill that he puts forward is a nice counterbalance to the darkness that has defined the titles for so long.
In Grayson's hands, Batman has always seemed to me to be a little more crazy than when other writers (even Frank Miller) wrote him. He comes across less as driven and more as damaged goods. However, in this issue that obsessiveness and mental damage is turned not to self-destruction or obsessive crime-fighting, but to helping others, and it's interesting to see Bruce Wayne/Batman as a force for good again, rather than someone always on the edge of being bad.
This story moves, and I'm impressed at how much detail and how many tiny stories Grayson has managed to weave into this book. The effect that Batman and Bruce Wayne have on Gotham is demonstrated in this issue, and as a side effect, Grayson's own effect on the character has been shown as well. There are a variety of secondary players checked in on this issue, as we see them not in danger or need, but instead living a happier life as a result of the help Batman or Bruce Wayne gave them. And while I found Bruce Wayne's ability to convince the most greedy of men to turn their hearts to nobler pursuits a little unbelievable, I liked the overall effect that Grayson was going for.
Roger Robinson has been the regular penciller of this book for most of its run, after Dale Eaglesham left, and although I haven't always warmed to his work, I thought he did a solid job on this issue. His work is somewhat rougher and indistinct than I usually like, but I find his storytelling to be excellent, and in fact his somewhat inky and murky style reminded me this issue of Phil Hester's work on Green Arrow, which is never a bad thing.
The issue closes out, as every issue of Gotham Knights has, with a black and white story. This time out, Mark Askwith (a name I'm not familiar with) writes a fun story about some kids having an adventure with Batman, tailored exactly to Michael William Kaluta's strengths. The story itself is lightweight, but the imagery is fantastic, and the scene of a robotic dinosaur fighting off helicopters with Batman swinging into the story is worth the price of admission all by itself.
