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BATMAN #597
"Crooked Miles"
Recommended (7/10)
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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 |
This issue
seems to bring to a temporary close the long-running Moxon/Zeiss storyline, and
I have to say I'm somewhat relieved, as it has been running for a long time.
Brubaker flirts with too much coincidence in giving Batman a lead, but he makes
up for it with a depiction of some solid detective work and an interesting
examination of Bruce Wayne getting stuck in an uncomfortable situation with
Mallory Moxon. The issue also brings a change of inkers, and the art does suffer
a little as Owens gets used to McDaniel's style, but there are still some
excellent action sequences and some pretty solid examples of storytelling in
general.
Batman definitely seems to be the more action-oriented
of the titles these days, and even with the psychological undercurrent of Batman
vs. Zeiss and the Moxons, the focus in this issue is on catching the bad guys
rather than examining the whys and wherefores. This makes Batman seem pretty
goal-oriented and obsessed in this title, less human than he seems in the other
titles, and gives Brubaker the chance to do some great scenes such as Batman's
intimidation of the hotel clerk or his examination of the hotel room.
However, this doesn't mean
that there is no characterization in the book. Brubaker seems to be in tune with
Rucka's characterization of Sasha, painting her as the one confidant Bruce Wayne
has who is willing to question him at every turn. With both Sasha and Mallory
pointing out that his world isn't as black and white as he'd like it to be,
we're seeing once again that Batman's ultra-dedicated facade can be a weakness
as well as a strength.
The driving force of this
story, ever since Brubaker first came onboard, has been Zeiss, and I have to
admit I'm glad to see him dragged away in chains. I haven't found him
interesting enough to sustain such a long story arc, and I won't be anxiously
awaiting a return appearance. His personality seemed fairly one-note, and I
didn't think that McDaniel gave him an appearance that was all that interesting
either.
That's not too surprising, however, as McDaniel's work is hit and miss for me on this title, nowhere near as engaging as it was when he was on Nightwing. The
action sequences are pretty strong, but his work on regular people leaves
something to be desired. Montoya, Sasha and the other women in the book often
look quite different than the way they have been portrayed by any number of
artists, almost generic, and McDaniel definitely could use work on more
expressions other than angry or frightened. He does some nice work here,
especially on the montage of Batman seeking information or the opening action
sequence, but even after all this time as a professional artist, his range seems
a little limited.
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