Batman #103 Review
Writer – James Tynion IV
Art – Carlo Pagulayan, Danny Mimi, Guillemot March
Colors – David Baron
Publisher – DC Comics
Another new DC release day brings with it a new issue of Batman. While I haven’t really been excited about anything that has happened since Joker War, it looks like things are finally starting to shake up a bit now that the story is starting to get away from the clean up side of the event and move on into the future of the series. During Joker War, Tynion planted a few little seeds around to kind of give us a tease of what the future of the series was going to look like but it’s really taken quite a bit of time for those seeds to grow into anything worth while but Batman #103 sees them start to take bloom a bit.
For the writing of Batman #103, Tynion begins this issue by taking readers back into Bruce’s past to establish a bit more of his background with Ghost-Maker and to show readers a bit of his training before he would become the Batman. The story then jumps back to the present where issue #102 left off with Batman and Ghost-Maker in the midst of a battle as Batman is trying to protect Clownhunter. Tynion uses this event to ramp up a bit of excitement as the two continue to battle and delivers guide a bit of dialogue between the two to help readers understand a bit more about Ghost-Maker and his intent for Gotham. Tynion also does a remarkable job of giving readers a better u see standing of why Batman and Ghost-Maker don’t see eye to eye and how even though Ghost-Maker claims to be a crime-fighter that he really doesn’t understand the bigger picture overall like Batman does and that his presence in Gotham could really do more harm overall than good. Tynion also uses this issue to give readers a more personal look into Harley Quinn as there is some profound dialogue with her trying to really find her new place in Gotham after the events of Joker War and becoming a more essential player in the series to come. It appears that since Harley no longer has her own series and with Tom Taylor’s Suicide Squad run about to come to an end that DC is looking to implant her as a staple in the Batman series, at least for the time being and Tynion does an excellent job writing her into the series and developing her into her own so readers can accept her there.
The art of this issue is another tag team effort as we get work from three different artists on this issue but unlike the last issue that saw some really awkward transitions in the art, this one had a much more fluid look to it and the art team executed a beautiful overall piece. It was still clear to me when reading this issue where the different artists took over as Guillemot March and Carlo Pagulayan have very different art styles but they were able to at least mirror their character designs enough that it felt of the same world without causing any kind of awkward visual or give the appearance of two different stories blended in as one. David Baron also returns as the colorist for this issue and the work he does in this issue is one of the key factors I feel of making it all feel more fluid. He does a beautiful job of blending the different artists works and I really enjoy the palettes he uses when he colors Batman books. I’m also a huge fan of the classic blue and grey Batman look and that seems to be a consistent color choice for Baron when he colors this series. There were a couple instances in this issue where I did notice some awkward looking pencils, mainly in panels where Batman was smaller or further in the distance but nothing terribly noticeable unless you were looking for it which as a reviewer I go over every panels detailing but as a reader I probably never would have given a second thought to.
Overall, the writing of this issue really starts to pick up and engage the readers interest into Ghost-Maker and Batman’s past and sets the pacing for what we can expect in the future for this series while establishing the new roles of each character and the art created a a decent visual that helps blend the two elements of the issue together to give readers an enjoyable experience overall in this issue.
Batman #103 is available today at your local comic shop as well as available via digital download from your preferred digital retailer. Make sure you guys let us know what you thought of the issue by leaving your comments down below!
-Wes Greer
Art – Carlo Pagulayan, Danny Mimi, Guillemot March
Colors – David Baron
Publisher – DC Comics
Another new DC release day brings with it a new issue of Batman. While I haven’t really been excited about anything that has happened since Joker War, it looks like things are finally starting to shake up a bit now that the story is starting to get away from the clean up side of the event and move on into the future of the series. During Joker War, Tynion planted a few little seeds around to kind of give us a tease of what the future of the series was going to look like but it’s really taken quite a bit of time for those seeds to grow into anything worth while but Batman #103 sees them start to take bloom a bit.
For the writing of Batman #103, Tynion begins this issue by taking readers back into Bruce’s past to establish a bit more of his background with Ghost-Maker and to show readers a bit of his training before he would become the Batman. The story then jumps back to the present where issue #102 left off with Batman and Ghost-Maker in the midst of a battle as Batman is trying to protect Clownhunter. Tynion uses this event to ramp up a bit of excitement as the two continue to battle and delivers guide a bit of dialogue between the two to help readers understand a bit more about Ghost-Maker and his intent for Gotham. Tynion also does a remarkable job of giving readers a better u see standing of why Batman and Ghost-Maker don’t see eye to eye and how even though Ghost-Maker claims to be a crime-fighter that he really doesn’t understand the bigger picture overall like Batman does and that his presence in Gotham could really do more harm overall than good. Tynion also uses this issue to give readers a more personal look into Harley Quinn as there is some profound dialogue with her trying to really find her new place in Gotham after the events of Joker War and becoming a more essential player in the series to come. It appears that since Harley no longer has her own series and with Tom Taylor’s Suicide Squad run about to come to an end that DC is looking to implant her as a staple in the Batman series, at least for the time being and Tynion does an excellent job writing her into the series and developing her into her own so readers can accept her there.
The art of this issue is another tag team effort as we get work from three different artists on this issue but unlike the last issue that saw some really awkward transitions in the art, this one had a much more fluid look to it and the art team executed a beautiful overall piece. It was still clear to me when reading this issue where the different artists took over as Guillemot March and Carlo Pagulayan have very different art styles but they were able to at least mirror their character designs enough that it felt of the same world without causing any kind of awkward visual or give the appearance of two different stories blended in as one. David Baron also returns as the colorist for this issue and the work he does in this issue is one of the key factors I feel of making it all feel more fluid. He does a beautiful job of blending the different artists works and I really enjoy the palettes he uses when he colors Batman books. I’m also a huge fan of the classic blue and grey Batman look and that seems to be a consistent color choice for Baron when he colors this series. There were a couple instances in this issue where I did notice some awkward looking pencils, mainly in panels where Batman was smaller or further in the distance but nothing terribly noticeable unless you were looking for it which as a reviewer I go over every panels detailing but as a reader I probably never would have given a second thought to.
Overall, the writing of this issue really starts to pick up and engage the readers interest into Ghost-Maker and Batman’s past and sets the pacing for what we can expect in the future for this series while establishing the new roles of each character and the art created a a decent visual that helps blend the two elements of the issue together to give readers an enjoyable experience overall in this issue.
Batman #103 is available today at your local comic shop as well as available via digital download from your preferred digital retailer. Make sure you guys let us know what you thought of the issue by leaving your comments down below!
-Wes Greer
A Look Inside
