Review: ‘Batman’ #107 Deals In Fear
by Tony Thornley
The Scarecrow is one of the most unsettling and frightening villains in the DC Universe. His particular brand of evil always gives the Dark Knight a run for his money. In Batman #107, Bruce Wayne has to confront that evil in the wake of the tragedy of A-Day as well…
It’s an interesting new twist to Batman’s dangerous world. Are the events of A-Day truly what they seemed? It’s been brought to us by James Tynion IV, Jorge Jimenez, Tomeu Morey, and Clayton Cowles.
The Scarecrow has returned, but he was assumed dead in the gas attack on Arkham. It leaves Batman with several mysteries on his hands. Is this really Jonathan Crane? Did any others escape the events of A-Day? And worst of all, what does the Scarecrow have planned for this new Gotham?
Now that Tynion can blaze his own path, I am enjoying this book so much more. This issue is a clear mystery story, with some action and Harley Quinn hijinks mixed in. His work with the characters particularly stands out, giving readers a reason to care about what’s happening. Cowles brings his words to life too, using fonts, caption shapes, and balloon placement to evoke a feeling of actual audio surrounding the reader.
The setup with A-Day is an interesting one, It takes the majority of Batman’s rogues off the board in a way that forces the story to do something different. This issue shows that they’re not completely gone, but instead could be lurking around the corner at any time. It’s a very smart narrative tool that Tynion has crafted for himself, sort of the opposite of painting himself into the corner.
Jimenez and Morey continue their amazing artistic run here. The issue looks incredible. For example, Jimenez creates a cinematic feel to the opening, then choreographs a tense investigation and confrontation with police. The colors continue to give Gotham the feel of a modern metropolis gone bad, with lots of garish neon highlighting Jimenez’s action sequences.
After this issue I’m both excited and dreading to see what’s next!
Batman #107 is available now from DC Comics.
Overview
In just two issues this creative team has reestablished this title as DC’s flagship. It’s tense, engaging and totally worth picking up.
