The madness that is Gotham City has recently seen the criminal Vandal Savage installed as police commissioner and the criminal Poison Ivy as mayor. It was never going to end well.
And so it is that their uneasy alliance has crumbled, and Poison Ivy is… well, I’d say overreacting.
So yes, Ivy, having recently annoyed Swamp Thing supporting characters the Parliament of Trees, is going to unleash a primeval forest overnight that will strangle and/or poison everyone in Gotham. Across the city, members of the Batman Family begins to notice the change.
From Robin Damian Wayne and new butler Verity Pennyworth…
… to Batwoman Kate Kane…
… to, er, is that Anarky?
Yes. Yes it is, I know this not because of the ‘A’ symbol on his helmet and motorbike box, but because we get a helpful overview of the city showing our cast of characters.
The Ventriloquist is a surprising inclusion, and I like that, he’s a cracking character and a definite wild card. He gets a scene in here, and it’s cryptic. How he may prove key to proceedings is anyone’s guess.
Someone who does prove very useful this issue isn’t on the map, so I shan’t spoil it, suffice to say he’s an unexpected ally.
As for Batman, he’s soon on the streets, rallying the troops.
And shortly after, under the streets, defending a mother and daughter from one of the new creatures Ivy has spawned.
OK, here we have a fast-moving, apocalyptic event. That Batman doesn’t immediately call in the Justice League – preferably the Dark variety that includes Swamp Thing and sundry sorcerers – is ridiculous. Writers Matt Fraction and F Willow Wilson really should have a panel or two in here explaining that the 100-strong hero team is somehow very, very busy. But they don’t, perhaps so as not to distract Bat-only readers when this event is collected. Or maybe it’ll come up later.
In terms of what we do get, this is a terrific start to the big Bad Seeds story that, while taking place over 12 hours, will knit the Batman titles together for the next three months. Wilson and Fraction dole the plot points out with care, introduce characters and setting, and pile on lots of fun craziness. I’m in.
My big hope for this crossover is that it gets Tim Drake back in his Robin costume; taking a break to spend time with boyfriend Bernard is all very well, but neither of them look happy, and I’m sure Bernard would be just fine with Tim doing what he’s really, really good at. Seriously, these unintelligible cooking conversations must end.
Batgirl Cassandra Caine also has a confusing vignette.
I guess the rappers are pals from her own series – I’ve not bothered with it since issue 1, too many Mommy issues – but what’s the ‘incognito’ business?
And why is Nightwing Dick Grayson so grumpy?
It’s not like Blüdhaven is some haven of peace and quiet.
Other questions. What’s Anarky delivering, and does he really have dreadlocks stuck to his motorcycle helmet? With millions of people in danger, why does Batman have Damian break off from his investigations to look for his lady pal from Arkham, Dr Zeller? Is he actually afraid her charge, the currently bloated Joker, will get free? And why do we not see Barbara Gordon, currently in jail on trumped-up charges?
The quality of the script is matched by the craft of the art by layout man Giuseppe Camuncoli and finisher Cliff Rathburn – it’s clear, crisp, perfectly paced. When there’s something I don’t get it’s a dialogue issue. Bad guys Ivy and Savage look formidable, but where Savage is one-note angry, Ivy shows a bigger range of emotions – she cares about what happens to the women in her life. And that may be her downfall.
I don’t know what the deal is with ‘Janet from HR’ but I suspect she’s going to throw a spanner in the works; certainly the art shows she’s not onside as clearly as her dialogue.
The greening of Gotham is eerily effective, culminating in a fantastic final page of the bumper 40pp opener. And the action sequence in the sewers is a winner, with Batman dumping his cape a nice detail.
The colours of Tomeu Morey are very effective, gloomy and bright as needed, emphasising story points. And Clayton Cowles’ letters are attractive, the only problem being he doesn’t make it clear that’s Batman talking on that splash page, the spiky borders had me thinking ‘news broadcast’. Looking again, the colours are bat-coded, but a little bat symbol would have helped.
Camuncoli, Rathburn and Morey’s cover is very effective, setting the tone for the issue. Talk about a sinister sunset.
I doubt I’ll read every chapter of this crossover, but I do think I’ll be buying more Bat books than usual, and if they’re as good as this first instalment I won’t be sorry.
Too Dangerous For a Girl 2 