“The Director”- Part One, “Utility”, “Arkham Academy” – Part Two , and “The Murder Club” – Part Three.
Artists: Lucas Silveira, Hayden Sherman, and Vasco Georgiev
Color Artists: Adriano Lucas, Jordie Bellaire, and Alex Guimarães
Letterers: Lucas Gattoni, Ferran Delgado, Pat Brosseau, and Carlos M. Mangual
Review by James Attias
Batman: Urban Legends #22 is a wild ride that will make you smile, sigh, angry, and finally make you happy again. In that order.
“The Director”
Let’s kick this issue off with everyone’s favorite Titan, Nightwing! This story was great, mainly because it’s set in the current Tom Taylor/Bruno Redondo continuity, which is arguably the best run on the character of the last 20 years! (Read our reviews here).
We find Mr. Grayson fighting crime and flirting with Babs (standard day in Blüdhaven) when an all too easy mission turns out to be something a bit more sinister. This story involves threads from both the ongoing Batgirls and Nightwing series. So as someone who reads both, I was thrilled.
The art and writing show that Taylor and Redondo’s legacy on Nightwing will live on, even when/if they move on to other titles. I for one am very happy about that. I loved this story and can’t wait for part two.
“Utility”
For anyone who reads the contents page before the book begins, we knew Anarky would be involved in this story. So, seeing Batman scratching his head about who’s shot gunned a bunch of his tech onto the dark web, wasn’t the most thrilling experience. What was thrilling, was that Batman’s grapnel guns and Batarangs can be 3D printed by a group of kids and domestic abuse victims.
I feel like there was meant to be some sort of moral to this story, but it slightly missed the mark. While I liked Anarky trying to teach Batman a lesson about his arsenal of gadgets and weapons, all in all this story felt slightly preachy and didn’t convey the message I think it was aiming for.
“Arkham Academy”
If you’re part of Gen Z, love social media, Tik Tok, and have thousands of followers, then this story’s for you. If you’re a grumpy old nerd who thinks that kids today don’t read enough comic books… then, not so much. We get the origin story today of… ugh… Lil Kitten… man, that name just sucks the life out of me.
How could an attempt to get more followers end up as a ticket to Arkham Academy? I’m going to be honest with you, loyal readers, this story’s not for me… in fact, it’s my worst nightmare. If you’re a young, trendy, social, teen, please leave a comment on my review and let me know what you think. The only solace I get from this story is the idea that Killer Croc will eat all these kids. Summary: Badly written, badly drawn. Just my opinion.
“The Murder Club”
This story’s been an emotional ride. and I wanted so badly for it to be canon. We now have a bit of exposition, and a small bit of hope, now that we know how it all happened. How will Bruce ever recover after hearing what his father said to him? This story will break your heart.
From Thomas, Alfred, Damian to even Dick, every character says something that makes you just wish Bruce would know just how much he’s loved and appreciated. I was worried after the end of last issue that an obscure villain could lower the gravitas of this story, but this issue remedies that. This tale was well written, well drawn, and I for one, cannot wait to see how it ends!
Conclusion
Batman: Urban Legends #22 is a great issue in what’s been thus far a high/low series. Some stories have been fantastic. Some feel like they were written without heart. This issue has a bit of both.
Review Written In Loving Memory of Kevin Conroy. Always Our Batman.
Images Courtesy of DC Entertainment