Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Detective Comics #18 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Damian's death is mentioned for all of two panels here, which is pretty amazing considering the fact that, if you don't read "Batman Incorporated" or the comics press, you'd have no idea that it happened at all.  But, I'm actually willing to overlook that problem, because, if Layman had actually spent time to focus on it, it would've distracted from the kick-ass story that he tells here.

Penguin learns the depths of Emperor Penguin's treachery in this issue and it's a sight to behold.  Layman does a great job with Penguin, showing him at his egotistical heights when taunting Batman in the wake of Joker's scheme at Arkham Asylum and then brought down low when he realizes that Oglivy has taken everything (including his mother's name on the Children's Center) from him.  You can actually hear the old bird sputter and Layman infuses a certain reckless violence into Penguin that I can't recall seeing previously.  After building up Penguin as a philanthropist over the last few issues and showing him thoroughly enjoying  his new position on top of a pedestal, Layman makes his fall from that all the more spectacular.  You really wonder what he's going to do next.

But, Layman really excels with Emperor Penguin.  He's done what I'm always surprised that more comic-book authors don't do, taken the time to create his own super-villain.  I really hope that Oglivy isn't just a flash in the pan, because Layman portrays him as so criminally efficient and tactically brilliant hat he's an excellent addition to the rogue's gallery, the perfectly sane but really evil Gotham villain.  I mean, hiring Zsasz to kill Penguin's ballyhooed lawyers?  How good was that?  First, I didn't see it coming, figuring that Zsasz had just killed two random people.  But, the impact was made all the more profound when you realize that Oglivy is just that clever.

Honestly, with its focus on Gotham stories, this series is exactly what I want every Bat-book to be.  If you jumped off the ship during the Tony Daniel era, it's worth a look again.

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