Chip Zdarsky and Jorge Jimenez’ Batman run has been a fascinating book, to put it mildly. Sometimes, like the first arc and #900, it’s a really fun and cool book that operates as what I like to affectionately call my “Saturday Morning Batman book.” It doesn’t really have me thinking about a lot, but it’s certainly got its grip on me the whole time I’m reading through it.
With DC’s brand new publishing initiative, All In, every title is meant to have an issue that’s very approachable and easy to jump into for new readers. With how deep this Batman run is into its own narrative, it intrigued me to see how they would go about refreshing it to attract a new audience, while also not leaving readers who have been following for the past 28 issues (since #125!) alienated. Did they succeed? Let’s find out.
Batman #153, by Chip Zdarsky, Jorge Jimenez, Tomeu Morey and Clayton Cowles is very much a return to form for the character. We’ve been dealing with the aftermath of the death of Alfred Pennyworth and the loss of his mansion and company for a long time now, but here we are, somewhat back to how things used to be with a new coat of paint.
He’s working with Jim Gordon again (something we’ve been seeing in Detective Comics but missing from the main title), he’s leading Wayne Enterprises again but not as the CEO, he has a new chauffeur, there’s a new CEO in place of Lucius, and of course, Vandal Savage is the Commissioner of the Gotham City Police Department. All of this is presented to us without too much baggage, easing potential new readers into the book, while also leaving enough intrigue to get people interested to pick up the previous issues.
The new status quo of the Riddler is certainly interesting too, but what caught my eye was the return of the Court of Owls (it’s funny that they’re coming back in the same month co-creator Scott Snyder is writing another Batman book, but I digress). My opinion of the Court has always been that they work best under his pen; Snyder understands how to truly make them work as puppeteers in the dark who control by fear. Zdarsky instead takes the approach of having them be more “exposed” (to our characters anyway). From a group who people were afraid of even talking about to one that’s not as discreet has me vary, but I’m certainly invested in seeing where that goes, retooling them for a new narrative.
Truthfully, my biggest criticism of this run so far has to be the fact that it doesn’t have a real throughline on what it wants to say about Batman, or the world he inhabits, instead just going through the motions of how Bruce feels past his prime. It comes as somewhat lackluster especially after Zdarsky’s Daredevil, a book that had a lot to say about the idea of forgiveness and redemption and the lengths we go to to earn these virtues, especially when framed in the context of reformation and the prison system.
Now, it finally feels like Batman might be reaching that step—by looking at how corrupt police forces will use patriotism as a crux (something he also explores in Avengers: Twilight), looking at how tech moguls jump on cryptocurrency, at how modern politics have got a loud minority to think that helping the poor and homeless is somehow a bad thing. These are all subject matters that I expect a book like Batman to tackle. If he’s thematically meant to be the chaos in the system, on top of being a knowledgeable and technologically advanced crime fighter, these are all themes that organically fit into his storytelling roulette. I just hope Zdarsky is able to pull it off.
Jorge Jimenez returns to the book after two issues, and it’s a treat to see him back! He always kills it on page composition, fantastic action sequences and great expressions, and it’s further exemplified with Tomeu Morey colouring the hell out of it. Clayton Cowles’ letters also just add that extra pop to tie it all together, especially with the sound effects during the action sequences and the framing during the quieter moments.
If you haven’t been reading Batman, you can definitely jump on with this one. It’s the most promising the book has been in a while, and I have faith that it will deliver!
