Batman: Gotham After Midnight #3 – Review

By Steve Niles (writer), Kelley Jones (art and cover), Michelle Madsen (colors), Pat Brosseau (letters)

Steve Niles and Kelley Jones are truly a gifted creative team. Not only are they putting out a very engaging story, but they also compliment each other very well. I was skeptical of a Batman horror comic, but each month they shut me up, and I couldn’t be happier.

For me the writing takes a slight step back this week. I enoyed the book as a whole, but there are a few lines and character choices referring to Clayface that bug me. It’s not a particular attachment to the character, but more of a belief. One of the things that I like so much about Batman’s villains is how different they are. He has a handful of dumb villains and I’ve never thought of Clayface as one. I’ve also never seen Clayface as an environmentalist. With all of his “return to the Earth” lines he sounds like a brown, ugly Poison Ivy. It just didn’t work for me. That said, my favorite lines come from The Joker. He has no more than three, but Niles makes them count. I don’t know if he plans to use The Joker after this issue, but I’m dying to see his take on the character.

Jones continues to impress me each issue. His pencils of Clayface make me smile, which is an odd thing to say. I think it’s because each panel shows movement, he’s constantly dripping and remolding. It reminds me of Pizza The Hutt from Spaceballs (that’s where the smile comes from). My favorite panel show’s Gordon smoking his pipe. He’s just informed Clarkson that Batman is long gone, and the smoke is literally the shape of Batman in the wind. Great stuff.

If you’ve ever wanted to see a Batman horror movie, this is as close as you’ll get outside of a vampire or alien cross over. We should all be so lucky to have a creative team so in synch. We’re nine issues away from the conclusion, and while it’s too early to tell how things will end I’m excited to find out. All I need is a few Joker issues and I’ll be set. (Grade: A-)

– Ben Berger