“Three Old Men One Night In Gotham“
Writer: Matt Fraction
Artists: Ryan Sook
Color Artist: Tomeu Morey
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Review by Max Byrne
Batman #8 sees the main narrative return to the story line concerning Vandal Savage and his plans for taking Gotham City from Batman. After being relegated to the sidelines following issues dedicated to Joker and an additional assortment of colourful characters, Fraction puts Savage back at the proverbial head of the table to reassert his plan to eradicate the Dynamic Duo from Gotham, using his position as Police Commissioner to cast our heroes into the role of public enemies numbers one & two.
Immortal Enemy
Fraction takes an interesting path in this issue by employing the use of a three-pronged narrative, telling a trio of stories simultaneously. One is Vandal Savage conspiring with Poison Ivy to install her as Mayor of Gotham! Since when were mayors elected in this way?! Incredibly far fetched stuff, but if Savage can be Police Commissioner then it isn’t a huge stretch to think of other villains taking up roles in public office. I look forward to Killer Croc becoming a City Council member in due course now…
Also, we revisit Jack Dean and his young informant as they travel the city on an educational walk. Quite what his motivation is remains to be seen, as he shows the boy how the dark side of the city works and they hypothesise about what they can do about it. It is inevitable that they will cross paths with our titular hero at some point.
A Savage
Most importantly and most significantly, Batman decides that in order to combat Savage effectively, he needs to know more about his adversary, so summons the Golden Age Green Lantern himself, Alan Scott, to Gotham for a cup of coffee and information. This particular reader is a sucker for Golden Age related content, to see two iconic characters interact in this fashion is enthralling. Seeing two legendary figures sit like regular guys in a nondescript diner (albeit with Batman in his costume) whilst having a high stakes conversation is a nice juxtaposition indeed.
With Mayor Ivy now using her executive powers to make the dynamic duo wanted men, we should be in for an interesting few months ahead. It does feel as though her fellow immortal cohort is using her for his own needs above all else, as we are yet to truly find out why his fate is so linked to that of Gotham City itself.
Conclusion
Batman #8 is an issue that lays off the action in favour of being a conversational issue, with dialogue very much at the forefront. This works extremely well, providing an engrossing set of pages that show Fraction’s strength as a writer of characters. The table is certainly set now for what will be an hellacious ride for Batman et al,
Images Courtesy of DC Entertainment