Batman-9000
This week’s evil Batman spin-off sees the amalgamation of Cyborg and Batman; the unfortunately but aptly named “Murder Machine” appears with an interesting and well thought out origin. Luckily, aside from the name of the character, I enjoyed everything about this comic and if DC continues to put out interesting and engaging spin-offs, these issues will be the most anticipated comics from this series.
As previously, it’s hard to explain what is going on in this comic without spoiling it. All you need to know is that the merging of these two characters from a doomed universe is not as simple as initially thought and consequently it surprised me with the interesting concept they chose to adopt for this Faux Batman. Frank Tieri is not one of the many prolific writers that I usually obsessively follow and after researching his previous outings with Marvel and DC, I’m confused that his name hasn’t stuck around. I’ve read his previous works, albeit seemingly passively but nothing stuck with me, and even though that seems to be cause for semi alarm, I feel now that if I see his name on a new comic, I would be more inclined to read it after reading this issue.
Upon reviewing this issue, I was torn in the use of describing this comic as “compelling”. I still don’t know If I would use the exact word but I was drawn to turn every page and as it ended I wanted more. This can definitely be attributed to the story but I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the art that accompanied it. Riccardo Federici is an incredible artist with a phenomenal style. He fancies himself an artist of all types of styles and techniques, not just in comics and is now even teaches as a professor in Europe, including his home in Naples. His contemporary use of panels (or lack thereof) elevate this comic from a cheap tie-in to its own personal piece of the story with engaging and beautiful art.
The story of the Dark Batmen/women is heating up and for the better. I don’t see a sign of the villains letting up and I can’t wait to see what happens next. With these introductions giving a greater understanding of these perhaps torn and pushed to a point of no return “heroes”, it leads to an interesting story arc and results in some much-needed gravitas. I cannot wait for the next issue that describes the Green Lantern Batman, I just hope the amazing writer and artist combos continue.