Story – Scott Snyder
Written by – Scott Snyder & Brian Azzarello
Art – Jock
Colors – Lee Loughridge
Letters – Deron Bennett
As if you hadn’t heard already, Scott Snyder has drafted Jock back into the Batman fold for a brief interlude in the introduction of Mr Bloom to give us a skewed perspective on his origin story.
The story starts out fairly typically, with Batman and Jim Gordon alone at a crimescene, but what unfolds from this point out conscientiously holds a mirror to some of the touchpaper themes and events that have dominated the news in America over the past year.
What could easily have been a mawkish attempt to place Batman in *our* world and ask ‘What Would Batman Do?’, Snyder and Azzarello’s story actually takes a considered look at how communities struggling to survive on the edge of poverty can become hothouses for violence and rage, borne out of their societal impotence.
The people who occupy the lower rungs of Gotham society are sympathetic, despite being dangerous criminals, and here we get to see Batman listening far more than meting out two-fisted justice. In relation to the real-world story elements that are its inspiration, it’s a subtle reminder to us as readers to always take the time to piece facts together for ourselves, before vaulting toward violent assumptions based on race, class, and zipcode.
Jock’s artwork combined with Loughridge’s color palettes give the entire cast a vitality that jumps off the page, whilst also giving the page a smudgy grime that creates a palpable sense that for all of Gotham’s soaring heights, there is dirt, decay, and danger the deeper you go.
Deron Bennett’s lettering throughout ably nails down the realistic, urban tone of the entire issue – switching between the scratchy, journalistic narration to the pared-down dialogue. There’s also an extended moment towards the end of the issue where the Gotham is carpeted with newsprint – giving form to Batman’s mental processes as he correlates specific facts within the broader context of the city. Again, a moment that could easily have fallen apart as a good idea poorly executed, but here offers an insight into the noise of information that Bats has to navigate as he seeks a deeper understanding of his city.
I’m a long-time fan of everyone on this book and Batman #44 is an all-star issue with plenty to satisfy casual readers as well as committed followers.
Batman #44 fully gives us Bruce Wayne in detective mode and, like all of the best Batman tales, he’s a better man by the story’s end. If you haven’t picked this up already, you should go grab it now before it goes back to the printers for a second printing.
