by Tiff Douglas
We all collect and read comics differently, some of us have huge pull lists at our local comic store, with titles that you have been reading for years whilst following the continuity religiously. And some of us rifle through the latest preview magazine looking for something that catches our eye, reading news on the internet about exciting events that come up and new stories to explore. Those explorers often jump onto a title when something new happens, to read the current story, that’s exactly what I have done with Batman and Robin #24 and #25.
I haven’t read any new Batman in a while and by a while I mean a couple of years. Not because I’m not interested but because sometimes the major leagues can really give you continuity fatigue. I become hungry for stories rich in originality so I head for the Indies, but in the back of my mind I always know I’ll go back to Dc and Marvel and catch up with my old friends. Along comes Batman and Robin #24 with a promise of a fresh origin story for Two Face.
We all collect and read comics differently, some of us have huge pull lists at our local comic store, with titles that you have been reading for years whilst following the continuity religiously. And some of us rifle through the latest preview magazine looking for something that catches our eye, reading news on the internet about exciting events that come up and new stories to explore. Those explorers often jump onto a title when something new happens, to read the current story, that’s exactly what I have done with Batman and Robin #24 and #25.
I haven’t read any new Batman in a while and by a while I mean a couple of years. Not because I’m not interested but because sometimes the major leagues can really give you continuity fatigue. I become hungry for stories rich in originality so I head for the Indies, but in the back of my mind I always know I’ll go back to Dc and Marvel and catch up with my old friends. Along comes Batman and Robin #24 with a promise of a fresh origin story for Two Face.
As part of the current revamp of the DC universe, Batman and Robin #24 offers a fresh look at a classic staple of Gotham City. Our beloved schizophrenic attorney Harvey Dent, AKA Two Face. There are a lot of elements left over such as his half mutilated face, his obsession with the two sided coin and his not so subtle expression of his split mind (case in point; divided rooms, mismatched clothing etc.) What they are attempting to do here that is different is the origin story of how he became who he is, who was responsible and how it happened.
I was surprised at how Peter. J. Tomasi wrote this, making the incident very similar to the original. A ruthless Gotham City gangland queen Erin Mckillen, with a fierce vendetta against Harvey Dent, exacts her revenge by murdering his wife and casually pouring acid on his face. It really doesn’t sound that grand, the gang war going is intriguing as is the relationship between Bruce Wayne and McKillen being old friends but I felt that the issue pulled him away from the true nature of a batman villain, without that unbridled hatred toward the bat, the motivation to toy with him doesn’t seem so convincing. Two men at odds with the separate sides of themselves are only tied together by the circumstances of their choices. Still being disfigured by a crime lord due to corruption and revenge only this time it was a girl, I didn’t see the point. The art by Patrick Gleeson and Mick Gray had its moments of glory with beautifully rendered panels, but when the action started the detail drifted away and purpose was blurred. Most people will be intrigued enough to ignore this.
As I said before I literally jumped into this new universe with this issue, not knowing which direction to swim, I was drowning in lost detail. It was promising a fresh look at a favourite, it certainly held my interests but it was perhaps not fresh enough.
I was surprised at how Peter. J. Tomasi wrote this, making the incident very similar to the original. A ruthless Gotham City gangland queen Erin Mckillen, with a fierce vendetta against Harvey Dent, exacts her revenge by murdering his wife and casually pouring acid on his face. It really doesn’t sound that grand, the gang war going is intriguing as is the relationship between Bruce Wayne and McKillen being old friends but I felt that the issue pulled him away from the true nature of a batman villain, without that unbridled hatred toward the bat, the motivation to toy with him doesn’t seem so convincing. Two men at odds with the separate sides of themselves are only tied together by the circumstances of their choices. Still being disfigured by a crime lord due to corruption and revenge only this time it was a girl, I didn’t see the point. The art by Patrick Gleeson and Mick Gray had its moments of glory with beautifully rendered panels, but when the action started the detail drifted away and purpose was blurred. Most people will be intrigued enough to ignore this.
As I said before I literally jumped into this new universe with this issue, not knowing which direction to swim, I was drowning in lost detail. It was promising a fresh look at a favourite, it certainly held my interests but it was perhaps not fresh enough.
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