“Drop The Smoke”
Writer: Matt Fraction
Artists: Jorge Jimenez
Color Artist: Tomeu Morey
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Review by Max Byrne
After a slow, deliberate start to life on DC’s flagship book, Batman #4 sees Matt Fraction up the ante and dial up the tension, action and threat to high levels. Although, the impending sense of a metaphorical noose being around the neck of our titular hero via Vandal Savage is put to one side in favour of introducing a new villain to the annals of the Bat – enter The Minotaur!
Into The Maze
Whilst on paper such a villain with a bizarre appearance could be too hokey and over the top for these times, Fraction wisely frames him as a white collar foe, controlling the money flow for all of the major criminal players in the city. Not just a mere banker, this particular rotter looks to be just as happy holding a gun as he does the purse strings. No spoilers here, but the ruthless and evil manner with which he brings the criminal glitterati into line is jaw dropping to say the least, a mic drop way to end the issue. As The Minotaur starts to execute his grand plan, it is safe to say that Batman will be up to his neck in it!
Anarky In Gotham
To help build up the reputation of this new player… We get a fun exchange between Batman and old Lonnie Machin himself, Anarky! Not a character that gets a regular outing in the comic pages. To see him pop up being pursued by Batman is a fun time. And boy, does he take a battering! Thrown through walls, kicked in the face and hung upside down for interrogation, Lonnie takes a licking and keeps on ticking. His almost pathological refusal to name Minotaur to Batman is a great way to enhance his mystique. If the villains are afraid of him then just what is he capable of….
There is something of a subplot here too, as we take a brief break from the City on the brink of chaos for a bit of Bruce Wayne time. His encounter with Dr. Annika Zeller is charming and fun, showcasing that Wayne charisma when it comes to the female population of Gotham. Part flirtation, part business. It is always fun to have the dichotomy of the two personas play off against each other. It does help to add a bit of light amidst the heavy shade of the Bat-antics.
Conclusion
Batman #4 is the best issue so far in the short Fraction run to date. It has a good sense of something new starting. A new foe being brought into the mix and an already loaded deck being stacked up higher and higher. I am now genuinely enthused about this run and am fully onboard for what comes next.
Images Courtesy of DC Entertainment
