Batman #28 Review

A peak into the future.....


We get a break from Zero Year this month as instead we go from the past to the future of the Batverse. And it is a very different place.

This is strictly a Batman eternal teaser, so anyone who isn't going to be reading the weekly comic can gloss over this straight to Batman #29, which continues Zero Year.

It's hard to judge this issue, because there are so many new plot points and character developments with no build-up (but which we'll get when Batman Eternal is truly underway), but this issue felt unnecessary.

Snyder does redeem one character though, while bringing back a beloved one into the New 52. Nguyen's art feels too much like Lil Gotham and while I like the art in that title, it feels out of place in the setting for this issue.

SPOILERS FOLLOW...........

Is that Harper Row? Capullo and Nguyen could not have drawn her more differently. 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' vibe is missing somewhat.

Apparently, Gotham is in lock-down as no sooner does Harper stand near a security camera, police officers in tank cars come and arrest her.

But a secret phrase gets her access to the last bastion of Gotham, the Egyptian. Apparently the person who owns it is the kingpin of Gotham now.

She is escorted to a back room where 'security' is waiting for her. Using an EMP disruptor, she blacks out the place and next moment, all of them are unconscious and Batman is lording over them.

Bruce lightly scolds Harper for taking the EMP device, and then contacts the Batcave.

And it's not anyone we know who answers. From their conversations and the visuals, it seems Carrie Kelley may be the new Oracle. She has been mysteriously absent since the Batman and Two Face arc started but Snyder apparently has plans for her.

Harper is now a bonafide sidekick and while I'm not convinced, apparently Bruce hasn't been teaching her to fight! Then how does he allow a newbie to take on what appears to be a very dangerous mission? Thank God someone else trained her in the meanwhile (which Bruce doesn't know).

The costume screams Nightwing to me but Harper goes by the moniker of 'Bluebird' now. And she uses stun guns. Apparently, Batman is fine with that and I attribute it to post-Damian trauma. He seems protective of Harper and wants her to be safe. Snyder's Batman is more human and flawed and so, I can live with that.

The reveal of the kingpin isn't all that surprising. The club name with the large cat statues all pointed in the direction of......Selina Kyle. And Snyder writes her better than almost everyone else in the New 52 as she is now gray shaded again after being a half-assed hero.

After a brief fight with Bruce, she stops and we learn 'Contagion' level scenes are present in Gotham. This is consistent with Harper telling the club doorman (?) that her brother is sick and that the Narrows is Ground zero (viral outbreak?).

Selina opens the vault, revealing the person holding the key to the viral solution.........and it's  Stephanie Brown aka the Spoiler!

Truly a 'spoiler' issue this.

As I said, it's hard to judge this book on it's own merits. It's a bookmark in a larger event that is yet to begin. How did Selina go from whatever Nocenti is writing to this? Why are the Gotham PD at her beck and call (where's the Gordons)? When did Harper Row become the new 'Robin'? When did Carrie Kelly become the new 'Oracle'? Where are the rest of the Bat team, especially Nightwing given this is a post-Forever Evil period?

But it's good to see Stephanie back and Selina so....uplifted.

SPOILERS END..............
Nguyen's art is a little disappointing here and Snyder is at his weakest, but it's still an intriguing issue.

There are some nice character interactions here and while that can't redeem it totally, it does lift it above the 'promotional' feel that this issue carries.

So, I give it 7.0 out of 10

+Some good character interactions
+A Gotham character is revealed
+Piques my interest in reading the main event
-Art is ill-fitting
-Some inconsistency in Snyder's handling of Batman
-Too much of a mystery is bad