Written by: Steve Orlando and Tom King
Art by: Riley Rossmo & Ivan Plascencia
Publisher: DC Comics
There must have been a quota for how many times Batman had to say “we’re going to save everyone” in this issue. I mean, he doesn’t always phrase it the same way, but it feels like he says some equivalent every other page he shows up. Now, I do think this is an interesting concept to play with, especially in the wake of the last issue of Detective Comics. It’s a real chance for character development, as he comes to terms with the fact that he actually can’t save everybody.
The thing is, this isn’t something that feels natural. Batman just says it a bunch of times and nothing changes. I mean, sure, it’s the first issue, but completely ignoring subtlety makes the issue just feel awful. This is, unfortunately, endemic of the rest of the issue as well. It’s not that the issue is overwritten – because it isn’t. Orlando actually manages to be fairly concise in his writing, it just doesn’t feel natural at all.
That said, the set up for this plot is cool. I don’t much care for Hugo Strange’s involvement, but seeing Batman take on a massive monster is really cool. Really, this Monster Men story didn’t need to be some impressive character piece – I was just hoping for a fun Batman story. And there are elements of that here, but the writing is just way too clunky for my taste. The element of “Oh this is badass!” doesn’t justify the cringe worthy dialogue.
Even setting aside the dialogue, the plot is just kind of dull. It feels very by the numbers and a little bland. That’s odd, because man, this should be exciting. Maybe it will get interesting in later issues, but I certainly won’t be around to see it.
Visually, this book is impressive. Riley Rossmo’s style is markedly different from that of many other DC artists right now. Actually, it’s fairly unique among art I’ve seen in general. It’s distinct and just looks awesome. Sure, the character models took a little bit of getting used to, but the line work here is incredible. I do wish Plascencia’s colors weren’t so dark, but I understand the stylistic need for that.
Unfortunately, I’m not going to be continuing with the Monster Men crossover. I really wanted to like this story, if only because of how disappointing the main Batman title has been. Had this been a fun little romp, I would have been entirely into it. But instead, it chooses to shine a glaring spotlight on some truly abysmal dialogue. It really reads nothing like Orlando’s other work, which is odd to me considering how consistent he’s been. That being said, this book did turn me on to Rossmo’s art, so I’ll be looking out for that name attached to future projects.
