Batman #102 Review
Writer – James Tynion IV
Pencils – Carlo Pagulayan
Inks – Danny Miki
Colors – David Baron
Art (Pages 13 – 16) – Carlos D’Anda
Well, Joker War is in the bag now and after a final issue that was anything but explosive, James Tynion is finally moving forward into new territory with a Batman who has been stripped of pretty much everything that he had before and is working with the basics, essentially being a Batman with no resources other than what he was able to scrounge up after The Joker seized all his money and his abundance of Bat-Toys. I am actually really excited to see where Tynion is able to take the story now that he has a little more room to explore the character and hopefully now that the rest of the DC Universe isn’t tied into the series, it can flourish and head back to the way it was pre Joker War.
Batman #102 starts by getting readers up to speed with the way Batman is currently operating without all the high end gear and money he had before. The issue starts off with Batman out in the field cleaning up the streets and we see that Barbara Gordon is still operating as Oracle from the watchtower, feeding Batman intel to the cowl. The story progresses from there as Tynion uses this issue to explore some of Bruce’s past as he I troduces a new character named Ghost Maker, who has just arrived in Gotham City because he feels Batman has failed to do what is necessary to keep Gotham safe. Tynion bounces readers back and forth between the last of these two characters and how they know each other and the present where the two have just reunited. While the issue is used primarily to give a bit of back story, the writing falls a little flat at times and I found myself losing interest overall at times in the story. There are some elements that were exciting and look like they will develop more as the story progresses but after the lack of excitement we say in Batman #100, I’m not going to get my hopes up just yet.
For the art of this issue, we get a fresh set of designs from not only Carlo Pagulayan, but for some reason there is three pages of art from Carlos D’Anda as well which really kind of threw me off a little with majority of the art being from Pagulayan and then a random transition in art for three pages a little more than half way in the book. While this transition is a bit awkward and noticeable, the art itself is a refreshing break from the regular artists of late and gives a fresh feel to the world. Both artists have beautiful character designs overall, although there were a few issues I noticed where it looks as if the penciled didn’t finish certain details or they were covered up by the colorists. These were very minor details however and don’t really take away from the overall aesthetic. The colors of the issue are also a fresh feel with David Baron using more blue tones as well as giving Batman a Blue cape and cowl vs the Black we have been used to seeing which is always one of my favorite colors for the character.
Overall, the writing for this issue is used to give readers a bit of backstory on how Batman and Ghost Maker know each other but feels a bit repetitive at times and ultimately falls flat in certain aspects. There also is really nothing climactic in this issue which I feel leads to the reason I feel it feel a bit flat compared to previous issues. The art is a fresh new take that looks great despite a weird transition in artists half way through and the colors really create a vivid and beautiful overall aesthetic that pleases the reader from a visual standpoint.
Batman #102 is available today so make sure you gas up your Batmobiles and head over to your nearest comic shop to pick it up.
Also be sure to let us know what you thought of this issue by leaving your comment below in the comment section!
-Wes Greer
Pencils – Carlo Pagulayan
Inks – Danny Miki
Colors – David Baron
Art (Pages 13 – 16) – Carlos D’Anda
Well, Joker War is in the bag now and after a final issue that was anything but explosive, James Tynion is finally moving forward into new territory with a Batman who has been stripped of pretty much everything that he had before and is working with the basics, essentially being a Batman with no resources other than what he was able to scrounge up after The Joker seized all his money and his abundance of Bat-Toys. I am actually really excited to see where Tynion is able to take the story now that he has a little more room to explore the character and hopefully now that the rest of the DC Universe isn’t tied into the series, it can flourish and head back to the way it was pre Joker War.
Batman #102 starts by getting readers up to speed with the way Batman is currently operating without all the high end gear and money he had before. The issue starts off with Batman out in the field cleaning up the streets and we see that Barbara Gordon is still operating as Oracle from the watchtower, feeding Batman intel to the cowl. The story progresses from there as Tynion uses this issue to explore some of Bruce’s past as he I troduces a new character named Ghost Maker, who has just arrived in Gotham City because he feels Batman has failed to do what is necessary to keep Gotham safe. Tynion bounces readers back and forth between the last of these two characters and how they know each other and the present where the two have just reunited. While the issue is used primarily to give a bit of back story, the writing falls a little flat at times and I found myself losing interest overall at times in the story. There are some elements that were exciting and look like they will develop more as the story progresses but after the lack of excitement we say in Batman #100, I’m not going to get my hopes up just yet.
For the art of this issue, we get a fresh set of designs from not only Carlo Pagulayan, but for some reason there is three pages of art from Carlos D’Anda as well which really kind of threw me off a little with majority of the art being from Pagulayan and then a random transition in art for three pages a little more than half way in the book. While this transition is a bit awkward and noticeable, the art itself is a refreshing break from the regular artists of late and gives a fresh feel to the world. Both artists have beautiful character designs overall, although there were a few issues I noticed where it looks as if the penciled didn’t finish certain details or they were covered up by the colorists. These were very minor details however and don’t really take away from the overall aesthetic. The colors of the issue are also a fresh feel with David Baron using more blue tones as well as giving Batman a Blue cape and cowl vs the Black we have been used to seeing which is always one of my favorite colors for the character.
Overall, the writing for this issue is used to give readers a bit of backstory on how Batman and Ghost Maker know each other but feels a bit repetitive at times and ultimately falls flat in certain aspects. There also is really nothing climactic in this issue which I feel leads to the reason I feel it feel a bit flat compared to previous issues. The art is a fresh new take that looks great despite a weird transition in artists half way through and the colors really create a vivid and beautiful overall aesthetic that pleases the reader from a visual standpoint.
Batman #102 is available today so make sure you gas up your Batmobiles and head over to your nearest comic shop to pick it up.
Also be sure to let us know what you thought of this issue by leaving your comment below in the comment section!
-Wes Greer
A Look Inside
