A new era dawns on Gotham City, as Batman has to face some harsh truths and figure out what to do now that the Joker War is over in “Batman” #101 from James Tynion IV, Guillem March, Tomeu Morey and Clayton Cowles
Matt Lazorwitz: So, I have to say, with one big caveat we’ll get to, this is the best issue of “Batman” since the end of the “Cold Days” arc in “Batman” #53.The characters all have distinct voices, Batman’s not wallowing in self pity and the plot seems to actually be going somewhere. Halle-freakin’-lujah!
Will Nevin: Abso-damn-lutely. There’s not a whole lot going on per se, but we do get a sort of meta declaration that “yeah, we know this book has not really been about Batman being Batman” and a promise of a more grounded character. (I think Bats literally says he needs to be more grounded.) I like that as an overall theme and mission statement but, of course, we’ll have to see it play out over the next few chapters. As with any good and lasting change, I’m skeptical.
Do me a favor, Brother Matt, before we go any further: Who are Grifter and Halo, and what are they doing in a Batman book? Explain it to me like I’m stupid (because I am). Is this going to be critical down the line for “Batman,” or is this a tease to some other future book?
ML: So, Wildstorm isn’t my strongest suit outside of the work of Warren Ellis from before we all realized what a creep he was and Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips’ first major work together, “Sleeper,” but I think I can get this, especially since Brubaker wrote a bunch of Grifter in a miniseries called “Point Blank.”
Both Grifter and the Halo Corporation are integral aspects of the original Wildstorm book, “WildC.A.T.s.” Halo was the legitimate front for Lord Emp, the book’s answer to Professor X, the non-field leader of the team. He was an alien in human disguise who was leading the team against the alien Daemonites. When he died, his right-hand man, the cyborg Spartan, took over Halo, which is all part of Joe Casey’s run on the book, which I hear is great and I found all the trades of at a recent con and need to read at some point. As far as I know, none of that stuff or those two characters have come up in the DC Universe since Wildstorm was folded in during the New 52.
Grifter, on the other hand, has shown up in the DCU. He actually had his own book as part of the original New 52 launch. He is your generic badass mercenary guy. He has ties to the other WildC.A.T.s characters through Zealot, who was a member of the team, and she and Grifter were on again/off again, if memory serves. He was basically the Deathstroke of the Wildstorm Universe, and in New 52 continuity, his original spec ops team, Team 7, included Deathstroke, Amanda Waller and Black Canary, as well as a bunch of Wildstorm characters. He’s snarky and tough, and usually packs a bunch of guns, and is in it for the money, despite having a heart of… not gold, but maybe bronze?
I think this is a tease for a new WildC.A.T.s book, but also I think Halo Corp is going to factor in as one of those new companies Lucius Fox mentions are buying into the rebuilding of Gotham, and Batman is aware that Grifter’s real boss is either Emp or Spartan, depending on how deep they’re going into the WildC.A.T.s lore.
WN: You answered the hell out of that. A short follow-up: If Grifter is the hot-shit badass you say he is, does it make a lot of sense for him to be Lucius’ bodyguard?
ML: It might not be the best fit, but it’s not like it’s Deathstroke; Grifter is a gun for hire, not a hitman, and Lucius seems pretty broken by what happened to him. I’m willing to handwave it for story expediency sake, and since he hasn’t popped up in a few years of our time, and a while in DCU time, and since Rebirth might have rearranged his backstory a little, I can give Tynion some rope on this one.
WN: I guess maybe we should put a finer point on the new status quo here which gets announced but not really explored in depth. Batman takes a visit in #101 to Lucius Fox, who, in addition to being sick or…whatever he is now (more on that later), has the Wayne family fortune. He advises that there are too many eyes on Batman for him to operate with the unlimited budget he’s used in the past, meaning that Bats will have to run a tighter, leaner operation. Batman also decides (in very much a “The Dark Knight” move) to set up in a brownstone rather than to continue running out of the manor. Finally, Bat/Cat (Sweet God there’s no more of that dialogue, I’m so happy) is put on pause for “a year” for the two of them to basically figure out their post-”Joker War” world. Are those all of the big changes you noticed? I think there’s more coming (the mayor, GCPD, etc.), but those seemed to be the key ones. Do these all work for you? Do you think one is more likely to be followed by Tynion and/or editorial for a longer stretch of time?
ML: Yeah, those are the biggest changes I’ve noticed. This stuff works for me. I think the Gadget God Batman is fun for a story here or there, but I miss Batman getting his hands dirty and detecting. For so much of the King run, Batman was just on comms with Alfred, having Alfred do the analysis; he wasn’t detecting, and I think he’ll have the chance to now. And I remember comics where Batman was fixing the Batmobile, or having to drive an old one because he wrecked the newest, and I think that’s a solid status quo; it reminds readers that Batman is a master of all manner of things. And Lucius saying the Wayne board will give him a handsome stipend means we won’t have the “Bruce Wayne works a day job” story, which while fun for an issue or two would get real old, real fast.
The mayor of Gotham stuff is, I think, going to be part of “Detective Comics,” since issues #1027 and #1028 tie into that, with the first appearances of the mayoral candidate whose posters we see in this issue and his announcement of his candidacy happening at the end of each, respectively. I think Lucius and his family are going to be part of “Batman” from here on out and coming out of “Future State,” since I imagine John Ridley’s book there is going to feature them heavily, as he set up most of this in his “Joker War Zone” story, and he’s writing the tentpole Batbook for the event.
I think Bat/Cat going on hold is probably going to be something we stick with for a bit, since Ram V’s first issue on “Catwoman” establishes her new status quo, which doesn’t involve Bruce. I haven’t read this week’s issue yet, but I don’t see Catwoman as Fagin for a group of street rat teens hanging out with Batman.
What about you? Are you looking forward to this slimmed-down Bat book?
WN: First, I have to say again that I’m skeptical. My platonic ideal of a “Batman” monthly comic is basically “Year One” spread out over the course of a decompressed eternity, and I feel they’re never going to give that to me: It’ll always be “Mecha Batman this” or “Gotham existential crisis that.” But assuming this chapter has at least some of those qualities — a pinch of T-shirt Batman here, a sprinkling of late model muscle car Batmobile there — I can be happy. But I have my doubts, especially as Punchline and Clownkiller continue to loom over the book and Ghost-Maker (these are hella dumb names, by the way) is on deck.
ML: Now, the elephant in the room. The art on this issue was… not good. I have never been a fan of Guillem March, and this issue did that opinion no favors. The wrinkles and lines on people’s faces make no sense. Some of it is meant to signify stubble, but some looks like massive scarring all over Batman’s cheeks.Or gills.
WN: Clean, crisp, cinematic art was a highlight of “Joker War,” but this was a mess with all the problems you pointed out, as well as an oddly proportioned Bats who looked like he was wearing shoulder pads. Lucius looked awful, and while I guess he’s supposed to be disfigured to some extent, the way he’s depicted as this grotesque thing seems like putting a hat on a hat. I liked the artistic references to both blue-’n-yellow Batman as well as “Dark Knight Returns” but overall, this was a disappointing eye sore.
Batman White Knight Presents Harley Quinn #1
Two years have passed since the end of “Curse of the White Knight,” and Harley Quinn is now a mom in a Gotham City that has found some measure of calm. But peace never lasts long in Gotham, and Harley finds herself pulled back into the world of madness in “Batman: White Knight Presents Harley Quinn” #1 from Sean Murphy, Katana Collins, Matteo Scalera, Dave Stewart and AndWorld Design
WN: First, let’s give a shoutout to editor Dan for suggesting we review this here. Thanks a lot, guy.
ML: Yeah. We owe you something for that. Not saying what.
WN: I’m thinking a dookie in your mailbox.
[Grote’s note: Will, the people want, nay, need you to punish yourself with more “White Knight.” Matt, you were collateral damage, and for that I am sorry. Still, I REGRET NOTHING.]
ML: But seriously, folks. Will, you’re the one who has had to deal with “White Knight” before. Why don’t you start on this one? This takes place after the events of the second series, “Curse of the White Knight.” For those of us blessedly ignorant about Vol. 2, how did we get here? Does this transition make sense for where that book left Harley?
WN: My “curse” (za-zoom!) is that I’ve read all of the Murphyverse books, mostly because I’m stunned something could be this popular (sales-wise, certainly not with people of our ilk) and this bad. The first book is all about Joker’s attempts to go straight as Jack Napier after he gets ‘hold of some special pills that make him not crazy. (Really.) Of course, that doesn’t work and he dies (I think in the second book, but who cares?), but not before setting Azrael loose in Gotham as part of some ancient blood feud between the Waynes and the Arkhams that was boring as shit but eventually lands Bruce Wayne in jail. ANYWAY, we’re set up for a third book that’s going to be a riff on Batman Beyond, but not before this interlude that focuses on Harley Quinn, who’s a single mom to twins (the Joker’s) and probably in love with Bruce. Harley is probably the least damaged character in the whole Murphyverse in terms of not doing dumb or bad things with her, but that ain’t sayin’ much.
ML: Yikes. That’s… that’s not good. And can I say, personally, every time I read Jack Napier it puts my teeth on edge. He’s not Jack Nicholson, dammit. Have these all had the same weird sexual politics as a Frank Miller comic? That opening of this issue, with the blatant double entendres and Harley as the go-go dancer putting herself through med school read as something that was not good either.
WN: Dumb as shit, wasn’t it? That’s a feature and not a bug of the Murphyverse. The first book was super horny (I remember Murphy wanting some NC-17 rated cut with more nudity, but this was around the time of Batdick, so I’m sure DC was scared of that), but to its credit, I don’t recall thinking the second one was that sexualized. It would be one thing if Murphy had something insightful to say about anything, but if there’s a common theme in all of his books, it’s that his belief in his ability take on complex ideas like The Troubles (“Punk Rock Jesus”) or the Occupy Wall Street movement (“White Knight”) or sex workers having some agency in their lives far outstrips any actual ability to execute these concepts. He just sucks out loud. So bad.
But, like an idiot, I had hope for this book because he was only a co-lead (with his partner, which is a weird thing, who is a romance novelist, which is a weirder thing) for the story — I thought this could be better. LOLNOPE. I think the entire concept of giving this dillweed his own corner of the Batman universe is best summed up by this first issue steering toward an interesting concept (Harley as a coming-out-of-retirement criminal profiler) and then hauling ass away from it in the span of a couple of pages.
Also, another hallmark of the Murphyverse that irritates the hell out of me: terrible dialogue. “Be careful who you align with,” Batman says after that opening club scene. “Napier is a slippery slope.” The fuck?
ML: And let’s not forget “Hector Quimby.” Is it so obvious that the new criminal profiler with the HQ initials is the killer that he’s a red herring, or is it just that lazy? And are we leading into a seriously uncomfortable drag performance from this guy as Harley, or is he going straight up Joker by the end?
WN: That’s such a dumb idea they’ll do it and I’ll be depressed, so I don’t want to think about it.
ML: Crap, it just occurs, if Harley II: Psychotic Boogaloo is Neo-Joker, does it make sense to give her a male Harley? Or again, is that just sort of, “Oh, aren’t we being precious, giving the female arch-criminal a male sidekick who will be objectified?” I mean, in the hands of an able writer, there might actually be something interesting there.
WN: I. Don’t. Want. To. Think. About. It.
But seriously, this would be a place where deep thoughts go to die, so I wouldn’t expect much. The best parts of this book have probably already been done better in “Joker/Harley: Criminal Sanity” — why we’re bothering (aside from humoring a guy who’s going to get a dookiegram), I don’t know.
ML: I’m not sure how I feel about the art here, either. I like Matteo Scalera in general; he’s got a wild, line-heavy style, and he’s a nice guy who did a signing at the comic shop I worked at and did a Joker sketch for me many years ago. And I can see why they’d pick him to do this, as there are some similarities between his style and Murphy’s. But here, it feels like he’s just copying Murphy’s style whole hog for the entire issue.
WN: Ya know, I thought the lines here were a little softer than the typical SGM house style, and I appreciated that — I also liked how the colors were a smidge brighter than stale toilet water. So on the art side, it was a definite improvement.
Bat-miscellany
- Another groaner from “Harley Quinn”: “Luckily, I traded my grumpy pants for my big-girl pants today.” WHO TALKS LIKE THAT?!
- I like that Grifter picks a fight with Batman just to say he did it, which is something I kind of think happens to Batman a lot. It’s in character for Grifter as far as I can tell, and Batman totally will have none of that shit.
- I have a piece in the chamber about Lucius Fox knowing that Bruce is Batman and how that took a lot away from the Bruce Wayne identity. Putting it out there like this means I actually have to write it now.
Matt Lazorwitz read his first comic at the age of 5. It was Who's Who in the DC Universe #2, featuring characters whose names begin with B, which explains so much about his Batman obsession. He writes about comics he loves, and co-hosts the podcasts BatChat with Matt & Will and The ComicsXF Interview Podcast.
Will Nevin loves bourbon and AP style and gets paid to teach one of those things. He is on Twitter far too often.
