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| DC's pull-out cover for Batman #19 |
Scott Snyder obviously likes to go big with his Batman stories, but after the MASSIVE 'Death Of The Family' crossover, and before we go into the forthcoming 'Zero Year' arc, we get this 2 issue 'palate cleanser', featuring one of my favourite Bat-villains, Basil Karlo, aka Clayface! Lazily-written spoilers incoming...
BEGINNING OF SPOILERS!!! Bruce Wayne robs a bank, shoots Commissioner Gordon, and makes a speedy getaway. Skip to Batman watching a recording of himself and Robin taking down The Reaper! Alfred mentions that one of Bruce's acquaintances, Brian Wade, committed suicide. Bruce finds this strange and goes to investigate, but Wade turns up and attacks him, then escapes. Bruce manages to get some of Wade's DNA from a batarang. The DNA matches Wade's but there is a tiny trace from someone else: Basil Karlo! Turns out Clayface has mutated. He is now a cipher, which means he can fully replicate the DNA of anyone he touches; an ability he is using to blackmail rich folks for cash, but it seems Brian Wade opted to kill himself rather than pay up (or something). Clayface mimics Lucius Fox, and attacks Bruce in his office. He then ditches Bruce and Lucius in a garbage crusher, and goes off to commit the aforementioned bank robbery disguised as Bruce. Lucius finds the BATMAN BEYOND suit in the garbage crusher (which is awesome), the two escape, and Bruce heads off to stop Clayface. During the fight, Clayface touches Batman's face, then a big glass cage comes down and traps him. But wait, he already knows Batman is Bruce Wayne! No, he doesn't. Batman is wearing a super thin fibre-mask which he says has Wayne's DNA on it (tricky). Clayface goes on a rant about how rich types are self-centred and Wayne didn't even care about his own son. That strikes a nerve, and Batman gets a bit shouty, then walks away. Bruce and Alfred watch the Reaper recording together and share a moment remembering Damian. END OF SPOILERS!!!
'Nowhere Man' is a nice break from Snyder's usual long-form style of comicbook storytelling, but he still manages to pack a lot in. Plenty of action, great dialogue, a great villain properly re-introduced, another old character restored to continuity, and the part where we see the Batman Beyond suit is a really cool touch, but the star for me here is Greg Capullo. Anyone who knows anything about modern comics doesn't need me to big this guy up, but I went back through both issues for the umpteenth time just looking at the art. It's like suddenly something just clicked in my brain and I'm appreciating it in a different way. Batman is one of the best comics around just now, and Capullo's work plays just as big a part in that as Snyder's brilliant writing.
Having read 'Nowhere Man', I'm actually a little sad that 'Zero Year' is starting next month, because as much as I am looking forward to it, I'd love to see more of these two or three-issue stories in this title. We just don't see many smaller arcs in major character's titles these days, and when they do come along they are a breath of fresh air.
Something that also deserves a mention here is The 2-part backup entitled 'Ghost Lights' by James Tynion IV with art by Alex Maleev. It's a short Batman/Superman team-up with artwork that could not be better suited to the supernatural tone of the story. I loved it. I loved it ALL!!!
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