Chaos takes over…………
It’s Christmas Time for Gotham,
and if you know the city – this is the time the real crazies come out to play.
It’s a tough nut that Manapul and Buccellato try to crack.
Anarky has been used sparsely (I think one Zero Year tie in is ‘his’ only New
52 appearance) as most writers don’t know what to do with ‘him’.
I think the Beware the Batman show (ended too soon…) was a
victim of Anarky overuse. While Joker does represent chaos, he is theatrical
chaos. Anarky is more anti-government than pure chaos – and it’s hard to use
that angle too many times.
What Manapul and co try to do is balance the legend versus
the Rogue. While I’m not sure it works, it is a valiant effort.
The awesome artwork is a nice plus though.
SPOILERS FOLLOW………………….
Jeb Lester - one of the corrupt workers at WayneTech is
Anarky’s first victim. A gasoline tank, some matches and shattered glass later,
poor Lester welcomes Christmas in Gotham by
warming the night sky.
Meanwhile Mad Hatter attempts to find his latest victim with
the help of his two stooges (though not named, I’m sure it’s Twedledee and
Twedledum) but Batman is there to put a stop to his plans.
During their battle, a water hole brings up the remains of
some children – and Bruce can’t be sure whether it is Jervis or someone else
who committed those heinous crimes.
Alfred tries to cheer Bruce up with some decorations while
Bullock continues to obsess over the Anarky symbol he found at the back of one
of the trafficking trucks in Icarus.
There’s a lot of dialogue to get through, but it’s worth it –
showing sides of Bullock not explored for a long time. The lack of home life is
straining Bullock and Nancy Yip knows it.
A call to WayneTech provides Bullock some distractions – but
the victim brings up unpleasant memories. Lester’s office makes for worse news,
as a newly-arrived Batman tells Bullock and co that a bomb has been armed to
WayneTech.
Even as Bruce tries to stop it, the building lights up in a
giant A.
The writers balance a healthy dose of frantic action with
some great character moments – but the Mad Hatter segment, while contributing
to the gloom spreading across Gotham, feels
extraneous.
The artwork is excellent though, and I feel a tinge of disappointment
whenever a dialogue bubble invades the panel (not that the dialogue is all that
bad).
SPOILERS END…………………
Using Anarky is a tough task, but in this initial outing,
the writers get ‘him’ just right. But the extraneous segments prove detrimental
though they reinforce the theme of the issue.
The artwork is excellent though, and I find the signs encouraging.
So, I give it 8.0 out of 10.
+Solid character work
+Optimum use of Anarky
+Great artwork
-Extraneous segments
-Some cases of dialogue overload
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