With the premiere of James Gunn’s “Superman” mere days away, we find ourselves squarely in the midst of one of the most anticipatory weeks in the recent memories of DC fans. Gunn and company will (hopefully) be getting back to Supes’ roots and traditions and will (hopefully) be exemplifying all the hallmarks of a classic Superman story and showcasing everything which makes Superman such a beloved character.
What better moment, then, to take a quick break from DC’s branded Summer of Superman to take a look at a comic series firing on all cylinders to deliver the timeless elements of the stories of their other titan: Batman.
Though the fires in Gotham’s blighted Rookery (I always end up writing about Gotham’s most down-trodden neighborhoods) have been perfunctorily dealt with, the festering evil with which these alleys and lots teem still eats at Gotham’s Vigilante Bat-Man. Gotham’s historic Red Hood Gang seem to be back with more brutal slayings than ever, and when their latest victim displays no usable medical forensics, Bats must hit the streets to scare the truth out of potential witnesses. What he finds, however, may just lead him to more questions.
A subtle but key element in this world which Dan Watters is writing is that this is still a relatively early career Batman. Though he has formed an alliance with Gordon and has clearly shed those first-few-cases jitters we’d expect from an origin story, the Gotham newspapers don’t quite yet know what to make of their dark protector, and Batman as a figure wears this reputational vulnerability on his sleeve and displays the sensitivities of a younger man when he gets a few dodgy headlines.
This is exciting narrative territory to mine. Batman does not yet have much infrastructure throughout the city: no Oracle, no Robins, no over-the-top Lucius Fox gadgets; just his eyes and ears with his boots on the ground. But he has faced off against some members of the iconic rogue’s gallery which any Batman reader would expect to see, including a certain arch-foe who, in keeping with the theme of paredioia, seems to be smiling at him in patterns only the Bat can see. It’s this street-level, lead-chasing detective work which routinely makes this title such an unalloyed joy.
At the risk of growing repetitive with my monthly praises, penciled Hayden Sherman and colorist Tríona Farrel continue to put on stellar work on this title. Sherman captures Gotham’s gothic drama in the vein of Tim Sale and Norm Breyfogle while cementing enough of his own trademark in the form of hallucinatory panel structuring. This trippy, disorienting atmosphere in which “Dark Patterns” is consistently treading is amplified by Farrel’s dayglo nightmare color schemes. They go big and bold without losing any intentionality: it’s not flashy for flash’s sake. Each page’s color decision feels tailored to the script’s beats. If the scripts for this title were not as tight as they consistently are, this book would still be a visual delight, but the fact that the two elements are presented in such deep and thoughtful harmony is what really sets this book apart.
In the interest of keeping Watters and Sherman on their toes, I will mention that of course this is of course not a flawless issue. On its own, it is an effective chase-and-interrogate Batman issue. However, taken in conjunction with last month’s A+ issue, I think this second installment in the “Pareidolia” chapter loses a bit of conceptual steam and loses sight of the hidden-patterns paranoia themes which were so brilliantly set up last month and which I believe will ultimately be this title’s narrative legacy (‘patterns’ is in the name, after all). This minor and fixable quibble aside, the streak of great “Dark Patterns” issues remains unbroken.
Recommend if…
- Your favorite part of the Arkham games is hitting the “Interrogate” button
- You’re up for one more fun Red Hood Gang story
Overall:
This is a solid middle act for this title’s most brooding chapter yet. Leaning a bit more heavily on plot acceleration than character moments, this is still a thrilling and poignant read. “Dark Patterns” will go down as a great and successful early career series of Batman stories.
Score: 8/10
English (US) · 