Batman Curse of the White Knight #1 Review

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Batman, Batman Curse of the White Knight, Batman Curse of the White Knight #1 Review, Commissioner Gordon, DC Black Label, DC Comics, Gotham, Joker, Matt Hollingsworth, NCBD, Sean Murphy

Batman Curse of the White Knight #1

Review by Paul Bowler

Dark secrets and old scores wait to be settled in Batman Curse of the White Knight #1, the hotly anticipated sequel to the critically acclaimed Batman White Knight, when the Joker sets out to recruit Azrael to his cause to ruin the Wayne legacy and bring chaos to Gotham City once more!

Writer and artist Sean Murphy’s new eight-part mini-series continues to build on the foundations set up during Batman White Knight which established his unique spin on the Dark Knight’s world, one where Joker reclaimed his sanity to become the good guy, while Batman’s increasingly brutal methods effectively painted him as the bad guy. Now in the sequel Curse of the White Knight the Joker is back with an axe to grind, and determined to have the last laugh on Gotham as Batman contemplates his future as the Dark Knight.

From the foreboding flashback to Arkham, 1685, to the Clown Prince of Crimes ingenious escape in the present, right up to Batman and Gordon’s grim discovery, Sean Murphy’s script quickly sets up the premise of this new mini-series and runs with it for all its worth. The warped existential fallout of Joker’s and Jack Naper’s psyche in the aftermath of Batman White Knight allows Murphy to skilfully fuel the chilling narrative via the Joker’s character, and fan the flames of Jean Paul’s equally fractured psyche to bring Azrael to the fore.

Gordon knows Bruce is Batman now, but that doesn’t really seem to have changed the dynamic between them. If anything, their relationship now seems more assured and measured in Curse of the White Night. The mystery they uncover offers up some tantalizing clues early on. However, the big highlights this issue are the character driven Bat-Family moments: such as the powerful scenes between Bruce and Dick Grayson in the Bat-Cave, where Murphy’s blisteringly sharp dialogue shows just how much Bruce’s perceived failure has had on him, there’s some wry humour to defuse the darkness as Batman and Batgirl assess the case evidence so far, and the late Alfred Pennyworth’s deeply moving note is sure to melt even the coldest of hearts.

Sean Murphy’s art is on top form and brings everything to the page that you’ve probably come to expect from this series already. The dark, gritty rendition of this alternative slant on the Dark Knight’s world is swathed in deep shadows and a mesmerising gothic grandeur that seems to encompass even the smallest scene. Arkham is more sinister than ever, Murphy’s grizzled Batman seems even more intimidating this time around, fan boy cinematic flourishes such as the Joker’s gun are an added bonus to enjoy, and the Bat-Cave depicted here is a sweeping vista of Bat-paraphernalia the likes of which feels more like a frame in a movie than a panel in a comic book. Matt Hollingsworth’s colors complements Murphy’s artwork perfectly as you’d expect, with the opaque shades of the earlier scenes giving way to subtle greys and earthier tones as the issue progresses to a fiery denouement. The lettering by AndWorldDesign is crisp and clean – essential in a dialogue heavy issue like this – and together with the sumptuous art and colors you will soon find yourself immersed in the multiple twists and turns of the plot.

Batman Curse of the White Knight #1 gets this new series off a fantastic start. Sean Murphy and Matt Hollingsworth make a fantastic team, the Joker’s plot in Curse of the White Knight is sure to test Batman and his allies to the limit, the introduction of Azrael to their Dark Knight’s mythos is also an intriguing one, and I really like how this storyline follows on from the events of the previous mini-series in so many unexpected and surprising ways. One thing’s for sure, this new chapter in the White Knight saga looks set to shake Gotham to the core!

Publisher DC Comics (DC Black Label)

Writer, Art, & Covers by Sean Murphy

Colors & Cover Colors by Matt Hollingsworth

Letters by AndWorldDesign

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Batman #16 Review

Tags

Arkham Asylum, Batman, DC Comics, Death of the Family, Greg Capullo, Joker, Scott Snyder, The New 52

Batman #16

Review by Paul Bowler

[Contains Spoilers]

Snyder and Capullo’s genre defining Death of the Family saga has struck right at the heart of the Dark Knights world.  Now Batman must venture into the shadowy halls of Arkham Asylum itself if he is to save Alfred and confront the Joker before his maniacal plan comes to fruition. As he enters Batman discovers the terrified guards who Joker’s imprisoned, forcing them to dance in the waterlogged cells while wearing Batman and Joker costumes, with the Clown Prince of Crimes watching via CCTV – finger poised to electrify the floor at any moment.

After dealing with the threat, Batman explores further: encountering heinous acts of cruelty and depravity, a gang of torch wielding maniacs, a gut wrenching tapestry crafted to commemorate his past encounters with the Joker, chanting lunatics strung up like bats, and a plethora of enemies from his Rogues Gallery who have assembled to foil his attempt to reach the Joker’s inner sanctum in Jeremiah Arkham’s quarters.

But the Joker is not alone; he has brought Two Face, Penguin, and Riddler with him for this final act, along with four captives who he has dressed up as members of the JLA. As Batman struggles to break down the door, Joker gets each prisoner to play a bizarre game of Russian roulette with an electrified chainsaw. Batman breaks into the room, but metal bars slide down to keep him at bay, while the Joker reveals what he has done to Batman’s allies on a bank of television screens. Shocked by what he sees, Batman has no choice but to agree to the Joker’s demands and sit down of the throne that has been specially prepared for him…

Batman #16 is one of Scott Snyder’s finest issues to date. His incarnation of the Joker is so unashamedly evil that it makes your skin crawl, there seems no limit to the Joker’s madness this time, and Snyder uses every opportunity here to make you almost jump out of your seat. There is one particularly horrifying moment where even Batman seems to almost lose his lunch as he searches Arkham, it picks up an almost irrelevant plot thread, douses it in gasoline and sends it charging right out of the page to sear your mind with nasty afterimage you won’t easily forget in a hurry.

If just the just prospect of Greg Capullo drawing Arkham Asylum left you drooling in anticipation at the end of last issue, then Batman #16 will send you teetering over the abyss of gothic glee as you descend into the bowels of Gotham’s most nefarious institution. Not only do we get to see Greg Capullo illustrate every nuance of the Joker’s deranged plan within the inky depths of Arkham‘s corridors, we also have Capullo drawing nearly every one of Batman’s greatest foes in one issue, and I don’t mind admitting to a little fan boy squeal of joy as my personal favourite Bat-Villain, Clayface, lunged at Batman in a spiral staircase.

Most shocking of all though is the Joker’s appearance in Batman #16. Since his return his face has been stretched over the raw flesh of his skull, now it seems to be decaying. Every close up of Joker shows flies buzzing around his head or crawling around his scalp, its revolting in the extreme, yet its impossible to not be fascinated by the deliciously macabre glint in his eyes that almost seems to bulge from their lidless sockets in anticipation of his greatest victory.

The previous back up stories by Snyder, Tynion IV, and Jock, have all served as mini prequels to the principle storyline. Judgment differs significantly in this respect, acting as a direct continuation of Batman #16’s shocking conclusion, which sees the direct aftermath where the Joker venomously turns on Riddler, Penguin, and Two Face. I loved the way the Joker picked away at Two Face’s psyche, almost as if he were teasing Harvey Dents scabbed face away with words – just as the Dollmaker removed his own face and pinned it to the wall. The Joker almost does the same thing here to the trio of captive rogues, but does so without even breaking a sweat or spilling a drop of blood, all the more terrifying in the light of the special delicacies he’s prepared for dinner.

With a cover that shows the Joker waiting for Batman in the kingdom he has built for him, his overalls adorned with the clothing of the vanquished members of the Bat-Family, we can only begin to imagine what the final act of Death of the Family will hold for us.