Batman: Gotham Adventures #24 by Scott Peterson, Tim Levins and Terry Beatty.
The Plot: One by one, the members of the Bat-Team are captured and held--and even joined by a super-villain, with no idea why they've all been brought together.
This issue rewards a repeated reading. The scenes of the various characters being rounded up are a bit confusing, and the opening sequence of Robin being shocked by--something--then falling, and falling, and--splat!--landing...is extremely disorienting.
I say the issue rewards a second read, and I mean it. I didn't much like it after I put it down the first time, but I wanted to give it a second look, and it all made a lot more sense the second time around.
While this, generally, would not be a good strategy for a successful comic book, this title has been so uniformly excellent that such experimentation in this case can be forgiven.
I don't want to give too much away, because writer Scott Peterson's story contains a clever conceit that, as I say, explains the entire issue once you go back and read it again. My first reading left me with enough of a sense that it wasn't a bad issue that I wanted to review and investigate my hunch, and I was right. It's not the greatest comic book ever, or the most clever twist in a story, but it is different, it does work, and as such it's a good issue.
Tim Levins and Terry Beatty do some terrific work with the artwork here. I am constantly amazed at how DC is able to find artists capable of working within the style created by Bruce Timm (and others) for this animated universe. Especially when contrasted with similar, failed efforts from Marvel and other publishers at presenting entertaining stories in a simpler penciling style. Marvel's Avengers: United They Stand title has had excellent artwork, but it is not of the same genre as that employed in the DC titles.
There are some absolutely spectacular panels and sequences in this issue, such as the shot of Nightwing soaring above Gotham city on page 4 or Batman and Batgirl leaping off a bridge at the bottom of page 9 (is that a Frank Miller homage there? I'm too lazy to look).
The sequence where Killer Croc gets drawn into the plot is hilarious, as Nightwing goes from a fairly peaceful encounter with the villain into an all-out slugfest because a) Nightwing doesn't know when to shut up, and b) Croc is pretty stupid.
It's a nice bit, and it resonates well with the TV series that inspired this comics series. Another really nice moment is when Nightwing falls into the bunker-like trap, joining a smirking Robin, who chastises Nightwing: "And, you're late." Having established in an earlier scene that Nightwing was supposed to be meeting Tim Drake, it's a great use of both language in general and the language of comics in particular.
Robin's relaxed, sarcastic attitude also serves as a hint to the reader that the threat represented by Robin and Nightwing's capture is more of an inconvenience than an actual danger to their safety. It allows us to enjoy the loopy moment a few pages later when Croc drops in.
It's nice to see Batman working so closely with (the real) Batgirl here, too--whether deliberate or not, it certainly foreshadows the more complex relationship established for the pair in the future continuity of Batman Beyond. I know it'll probably never happen, but it would be great to see that relationship actually played out, either on TV or in the pages of a comic by creators as skilled as those who create Batman: Gotham Adventures.
Ultimately, once the "villain" of the story is revealed, Batman is left confused and fairly clueless. While on the face of it that might seem an insult to the reader and Batman, the reason for his confusion is completely in keeping with his motivation, obsession and character. The expression on the Dark Knight's face in the final panel of the issue suggests, despite the "The End" box at the bottom, that there will be more of this story in the future.
While I would hope the story would be a little more straightforward and not as confusing, this issue was well done enough to make me want to read the sequel.
