“League Of Shadows,” Part 3
Writer: James Tynion IV
Artist: Marcio Takara
Ra’s Al Ghul is back! In vintage comic-book style, The Demon’s Head and his henchman Ubu appeared suddenly in the Batcave at the end of Detective Comics #953.
Bruce is truly alone. Tim drake is M.I.A. Orphan has run away to face Shiva, Batwoman has been captured by The League Of Shadows, Spoiler is A.W.O.L. and Clayface is facing an army of ninjas.
Whew!
With his team gone, Batman is understandably on the defensive, so he takes down Ubu and Ra’s. The former fights back, but his master doesn’t. It appears Ra’s is there for Batman’s help.
James Tynion has been on a real roll since taking over the writing on Detective Comics. He’s a master of capturing classic moments, tipping his hat to stories of the past, while still managing to give us something new and refreshing every single issue.
Speaking of new, I don’t recall ever seeing the work of artist Marcio Takara before. This guy is good! I’ve been loving Christian Duce’s art on the book, so was a little dismayed when his name wasn’t on this issue’s cover… I needn’t have worried. Takara’s work is clear, crisp and, though a little more cartoony than that of Duce, of equal quality and similar style.
The Enemy Of My Enemy
With Team ‘Tec in disarray, it seems that Batman’s best course of action will be to work with his enemy against Shiva and the army she stole from her former master. Yeah, I bet that’s gonna work out well… Not!
As if all this wasn’t enough to worry about; Colony Prime and Ulysses Armstrong have broken out Jacob Kane, so the list of enemies Batman has to face has grown, yet again. The League Of Shadows on one side and Kane’s army on the other. Ninjas, and mercenaries and killers… oh, my!
At this stage, the stakes have never been higher and, while the threats mount against the Dark Knight Detective, his own forces are scattered, depleted and lost, possibly irreparably so. It looks like this could be Gotham’s darkest hour.
Conclusion
This issue keeps the pressure building from the first page to the last, and there’s a real sense of doom and foreboding raking at the readers’ souls. This atmosphere and tension make this title a consistently entertaining read, therefore I have to give this issue another solid:
Images courtesy of DC Entertainment