Written by Brian Michael Bendis
Illustrated by Nick Derington
Published by DC Comics
This is the one issue I have been clamoring for. I love Nick Derington’s art. His work on the recent Doom Patrol has been exemplary. When I heard he was teaming up with Brian Michael Bendis for a Batman tale, I honestly couldn’t believe it. It’s like Christmas has come early.
After reading this, I can safely say that it most certainly has indeed.
The issue starts out with Alfred and Batman talking about the Riddler. There’s some great dialogue here courtesy of Bendis.
At the same time, Batman is off to stop the Riddler and his latest plan. There’s a few pages of storytelling and then a splash page that is one of the best shots of Batman that I have ever seen.
And it only gets better from there!
Batman runs into a bunch of stuntmen that are dressed as the Riddler. Batman then has a big fight with all of them. It’s beautifully drawn by Derington. It’s everything I hoped for and maybe a little bit more.
Batman eventually finds the real Riddler. He takes him down of course. The Riddler seems scared and then there are some bright lights and Batman passes out. When he wakes up, the Faberge Egg is gone as is the Riddler. We have a great page with all of the stuntmen Riddler’s rounded up in the police station. That page in particular is hilarious. And then we find a clue.
See, the Riddler isn’t acting like himself. He seems to have been put up to it. And the clue leads Batman to somebody I wasn’t expecting at all: Jonah Hex. How does Hex tie in to it all? Just what is going on?
I have no idea. But man is it excellent. This is another huge score for DC Comics. Bendis and Derington are a dream team and this is one of the most exciting new books out there. Recommended.
RATING: A
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