Batman #5 review

I’ve never found car chases work in comic books, but Batman #5 shows it can be done. To be entirely accurate, this is a car being chased by motorbikes, a car being driven by Bruce Wayne. The artist ‘behind the wheel’ is Jorge Jiménez, and goodness me, is he good at capturing the motion of an automobile via superbly composed pages.

The issue begins calmly, as Bruce picks up Waynetech employee Dr Annika Zeller for a business meeting that looks very much like a date. Low level flirting is quickly interrupted.

Luckily, Bruce has been on an advanced driving course or two.

A daring dive into Gotham’s Little Tokyo provides some respite, but it’s a case of out of the frying pan and into the flaming wok when a weird figure appears.

You might expect that Bruce is the target, that one of his several foes who know his true ID have sicced this sicco on the Uncaped Crusader. Bruce, though, realises Dr Zeller’s research into altering brain chemistry has likely gained Underworld attention. Bruce and Dr Zeller are in an alley with nowhere to run; if he’s going to shield the scientist, he needs to get Dr Zeller out of the way, and quick.

There’s no time to worry about being seen to be suspiciously skilled, Bruce has to face the fury of an avenger straight out of anime without mask and weapons.

Either high level illusions are in play or the would-be assassin can turn into a murder of crows. The corvid creepshow’s attempts to batter Bruce are interrupted when the biker gang reappears. The woman scatters the riders by doing a Daphne Du Maurier, then vanishes, giving Dr Zeller a chance to come out of hiding. Gotham Police being less than trustworthy at the moment, Bruce and Dr Zeller escape into the neon-lit street – and straight into one heck of a cliffhanger.

I enjoyed this story hugely. The choreography – car-reography? – of Jiménez is terrific, I could follow every move made by Bruce’s auto, presumably an undercover Batmobile. The sense of speed and danger dominates the first half of the book, before the weird woman – who we finally learn is called the Ōhō, makes her entrance. I love her design, the cartoonishness really pops against the grittiness of Gotham.

Bruce and Dr Zeller – ‘Annika’ seems too formal, the glasses say ‘doctor’ all the way – look terrific too, especially Bruce in action man pose. And wait until you see Robin’s new costume – that’s Damian Wayne Robin, he’s finally dumped the drab grey number of the last few years.

The bright colours come courtesy of Tomeu Morey, who shows his storytelling skills throughout the issue with his choices, such as the monochrome bikers careening over Bruce’s ride, or the blood-ride sky when the Ōjō appears.

Clayton Cowles always delivers on the lettering, and his work here is as emphatically neat as ever; Jiménez also gets a letters credit, presumably for the frenetic sound effects over and under the artwork.

And let’s not forget Matt Fraction, whose story is sharply plotted, with plenty of great lines that move the story forward even as Bruce bids to keep him and Dr Zeller alive. He’s giving at least the basic direction to Jiménez for the car chase, the pair make a great team. I’ve never been big on martial arts Batman stories, but the Ōjō has something, a sense of mystery alongside the amazing visual.

The cover by Jiménez is fun, with movie poster vibes. Interestingly, the cover calls the new baddie Lady Death Man – the name was changed at the last minute and no one updated the digital files.

The new Batman series is coming along nicely, with a good variety of pretty much done-in-ones adding up to a bigger story. If you’ve not tried it yet, jump on with this issue – but hold on tight!