THIS WEEK: A new Pennyworth joins the Bat-family in Batman #12.
Note: the review below may contain spoilers. If you want a quick, spoiler-free buy/pass recommendation on the comics in question, check out the bottom of the article for our final verdict.
Batman #12
Writer: Matt Fraction
Artist: Jorge Jiménez
Colorist: Tomeu Morey
Letterer: Clayton Cowles with Jorge Jiménez
Cover Artist: Jorge Jiménez
It’s no secret that DC is crushing it lately, both sales-wise and in the quality of their output. A majority of the chatter of late has been around the smash-hit Absolute line, and there’s certainly a lot to talk about in those books. Not only are they fresh, bold takes on established DC lore, they also have a visual style that’s unique to each title, and unlike anything else in Big 2 superhero comics. But if the Absolute line is the New Hotness, the existing DC lineup is anything but Old and Busted.
Case in point: we are currently twelve months into a run on Batman by two of the most acclaimed creators in comics, writer Matt Fraction and artist Jorge Jiménez, and it’s kind of going unheralded. If Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta are breaking new ground in Absolute Batman by mining and reinterpreting the dark knight’s foundation, Fraction and Jiménez are looking to the character’s future with equal storytelling sharpness and visual audacity.
This week’s Batman #12 is the best issue yet of an already-stellar run. Last month’s issue ended with the unexpected arrival of Verity Pennyworth, Alfred’s great-niece and successor to his role as Batman’s butler. This month finds Bruce and Damian pondering how Verity will fit into their lives, while new players in the race to kill Bruce Wayne arrive in Gotham.
Fraction’s scripting on this series has been incredible, with most issues featuring a series of short scenes punctuated by big action set pieces. This week’s issue is similarly structured, as Fraction and Jiménez devote a one-page vignette to introducing each of the five new assassin characters, giving readers a taste of their personalities, their MOs, and their unique looks. It’s some of the most economical character intros I’ve ever seen, and it immediately sets a tone for each killer and hooks the reader into wanting to see more.
The majority of the rest of the issue is a killer action sequence in which Batman faces two of these assassins in an elevator. As a showcase for Jiménez’s kinetic artwork it’s a visual feast. It’s a large elevator, but still a confined space high above the ground, and Jiménez uses that confinement beautifully. Now that they’re here, these characters cannot get away from each other, and it adds a wonderful sense of tension to an already-frantic sequence.
Enough also can’t be said about how important Tomeu Morey’s colors are to the success of this fight scene, as his color work makes each of the figures involved distinctive and easy to follow. Morey has always added texture and depth to Jiménez’s loose, free-flowing linework remarkably well, and that’s on full display here. The splash page that caps this fight scene is perfection, though it’s the close-up panel on a Batman who’s finally had enough of these idiots that might be the standout image of the sequence. A two-page denouement between Bruce, Damian, and Verity ties all the events of the issue together wonderfully, before a final three-page sequence sets the stage for future stories.
Batman is a masterclass in elite comicbooking. Fraction, Jiménez, and co. are absolutely on fire with this book, and a year into their run it still feels like they’re just getting started, which is such an exciting prospect given how good this series already is. The fact that it seems to be flying under the radar is kind of astonishing. It’s a testament to the overall strength of the DC line that they can have a main Batman title that’s this good and that’s not all anyone talks about. DC fans are eating extremely well right now, and that’s not something we should take for granted.
Final Verdict: BUY.
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