True Loneliness In Batman’s Grave #2
by Josh Davison
Mild Spoilers Ahead
Batman is attacked from under the floorboards while searching the murder victim’s apartment. The attacker has incredible strength and stamina, and he manages to go blow for blow with the Dark Knight. This forces Batman to tap into his utility belt, and he’s able to turn the duel in his favor. In the end, the Batman wins. He takes the attacker to GCPD, and Gotham officers surprisingly draw on him. Batman still leaves unscathed, returning home to a now hungover Alfred.
The Batman’s Grave #2 reveals the murderer and his motive in a brutal and extended fight sequence between he and the Batman.
It’s a well-choreographed and coherent fight which gives space to Bryan Hitch, allowing him to strut his stuff.
We learn the twisted motive for the killing from the murderer’s own mouth, but we don’t get a true look at his background until the second half of the book.
Alfred, once again, has some of the most poignant lines of the book, but Bruce comes back with a response that gives depth to Batman’s “no killing” rule. In short, Batman will always be on the side of life.
Despite that, Alfred still scores some points on how selfish Bruce’s capitalistic ways truly are.
As already stated, Bryan Hitch gives the book some spectacular visuals, which is to be expected from Hitch. His distinct and highly-detailed style fits Batman like a glove, and the fight scene with the killer is truly fantastic. Of course, Hitch can do the quiet and low-energy moments well too. He can wring emotion and expression out of Bruce Wayne with ease. As always, Alex Sinclair ensures that the book has an atmospheric color palette.
The Batman’s Grave #2 is an action-heavy and exciting journey into the mind of a new killer. We get to see an extended and fantastically-rendered fight between this killer and the Batman, and we get to see Alfred try once again to talk sense into Bruce. All in all, it’s a great read and is easily worth a recommendation. Check it out.
The Batman’s Grave #2 comes to us from writer Warren Ellis, artist Bryan Hitch, color artist Alex Sinclair, letterer Richard Starkings, cover artist Bryan Hitch with Alex Sinclair, and variant cover artist Jeehyung Lee.
Final Score: 8.5/10
