Batman #708 – Review

By: David Hine (writer), Guillem March (artist)

The Story: Some weird paranormal stuff is going down. Dick Grayson is having some unsettling moral side effects from a wound he got from Azrael. When the Crusader comes to the unsavory parts of Gotham, Batman has his hands full, even with the help of Red Robin and Catwoman.

What’s Good: I haven’t enjoyed March’s art before, but I don’t recall seeing him ink and color his own stuff, either, and this issue looked real good. Stylistically, I was most reminded of Craig Russell’s moody, spooky stuff. The expressions on the junky’s face and on Dick’s later on are the most striking, as well as some of the poses. I also liked March’s take on Batman’s cape and the clothing and hair on everyone, actually. March’s work is very fluid, but at the same time, this organic touch doesn’t detract from the heroism of figures. Batman is constantly larger than life and heroic, especially when checking out the damage left by Azrael. By the same token, the emaciated figure of Fireball fits the dramatic mold too, being the type of anti-hero exaggeration that sticks in your mind because of the grotesqueness of the character and situation. The color work was brighter than normal Gotham, and it succeeded in setting a different kind of tone. Dick’s false memories and the Crusader’s point of view both required a brighter kind of color style (much like White Knight is forcing in the current Batman and Robin arc) and the thematic greens and reds were very purposeful. All-in-all, beautiful visual storytelling and I am really glad I like Guillem March.

Storywise, I like the religious nutbar angle that Hine is taking here. I don’t know if this is editorially-driven, considering something similar is happening in Batman and Robin too, but I find the “moral Christian Knight” angle in this series more compelling. The imagery with Azrael and Crusader is strong and is forcing Dick into some moral territory and personal questions he doesn’t normally deal with. Heroes are often told they should do less. How often do they get told they aren’t doing enough, or haven’t taken a high enough moral ground? How often do they get questioned as to whether they are effective? It may be a question of focus (like whether Batman is an agent of individual justice or an agent of societal change), but the questions themselves are going to be fascinating to watch.