“Warmonger Games” and “Into the Circle”
Writers: Joshua Williamson and Dennis Culver and Rafel Grampá
Artists: Giannis Milonogiannis and Rafael Grampá
Letterer: ALW’s Troy Peteri and Steve Wands
Review by Fay Clark
After the greatness of the last issue, I couldn’t wait to get back to the main storyline in Future State: Gotham #5. I need some more Jason Todd goodness. Who doesn’t? I honestly loved seeing Harley and Punchline in this new Gotham, but there is a time that Peacekeeper Red needs to step back in to sort things out.
Explosive truths everywhere.
When I saw the cover, with Batman in handcuffs and Jason looking over at him, my brain said “excuse me, what?!”. I loved the cover and it basically just made me want to read the issue even more. How do we get to Batman in cuffs?! Well, Joshua Williamson and Dennis Culver have all the answers.
In fact, we get a lot more answers than we’re used to. Williamson and Culver obviously decided that we’ve all been kept waiting long enough. I, for one, am happy that we get some real answers. Joshua and Dennis make a 32-page comic feel like a whole novel. Not only do we get the backstory for our main villain, but we also get even more interaction between Astrid Arkham, Batman, Peacekeeper Red, and basically the whole of the Asylum.
There were some epic reveals and setups for the rest of the series in Gotham #5., too. Williamson and Culver clearly work extremely well together. To be able to come up with something this in-depth in such a short format can’t be easy, yet I didn’t think there was too much dialog or too many boxes to read. This is insane considering how much we find out. Peacekeeper-Red was clearly taking no prisoners with how he handled everything… well, no. Red clearly was taking prisoners… Arkham prisoners. I love that even in the Peacekeeper Red uniform, Jason is still able to keep his “I don’t know if this will work, but it’s reckless and I MUST DO IT NOW!” attitude. Classic Jason.
Hats off to you Sir!
Ahh, I knew I recognized that artwork! Giannis Milonogiannis back at it, with some amazing work. I’m getting so used to this series being in monochrome, as it lets the reader focus purely on the talent of the artist. Milonogiannis, to me, has always smashed it out of the park, and this issue’s no exception. There’s one panel in particular where Giannis shows off his talent. It’s a full 2-page spread with a rather wide focus. When you go in and look closer the finer details are amazing, and the linework’s just outstanding. I love the detail in each and every panel. Milonogiannis really goes in and makes sure no matter how close you look everything’s in place and stands up to scrutiny.
Round and round we go.
The extra little story at the end of Gotham #5 this time around is just awesome. There are some I’ve loved and others not so much. “Into the Circle” was just something else entirely. Rafael Grampá really went for it. The plot was excellent and the twist at the end made me gasp! The artwork, also by Rafel was like nothing I’ve ever seen before. It had a real horror/thriller vibe.
Conclusion
This issue was awesome. I loved the background that we got from everyone, and we now have a more solid foundation of what’s happening. Although, that ending still leaves many questions unanswered. I wonder if we’ll eventually see a double or even a triple-cross! Guess we will have to wait for the next issue.
Images courtesy of DC Entertainment
