Reunited once again after the landmark 1000th issue, Peter J Tomasi and Doug Mahnke pit the Dark Knight against the dangerously cold Mister Freeze for this new issue. As a slew of women begin to come up missing across Gotham, the Caped Crusader makes his move against his ice-cold adversary. The dreary renderings of Doug Mahnke’s artistry add a sinister aesthetic to this chapter. While Tomasi continues to make this title an anthology series and divert from the decompressed storytelling techniques popular today.
The chapter opens with two juxtaposed scenes between Batman and Mister Freeze romanticizing over the weather and their respective lovers. Across the city Freeze has sent his henchmen to drug and capture women he has been following that approximate his wife’s visual appearance. While one kidnapping goes entirely south, Batman learns of the crimes and takes action to meet the henchmen head-on as they return to the scene of the crime before the chapter ends.
The highly rendered signature detail of Doug Mahnke is always a welcomed addition, especially on any Batman title. The sheer visceral horror Mahnke brings to the table adds to the creepy nature of Freeze and his scumbag toadies. Whether an action scene of a botched kidnapping, Mahnke displays violence and power not often seen in mainstream comics. Continuing the trend, David Baron’s layer of grimacing colorwork brings about the horrific splendor of Mahnke’s art incredibly well.
Albeit absolutely incredibly art and an entertaining chapter, Tomasi is spinning his wheels from one storyline to the next without overarching importance, bringing it all together. Remaining new reader-friendly with plenty of jumping on points from one issue to the next, it, unfortunately, lacks higher overall importance to keep readers aboard. With each new jumping on point, in that same regard, another jumping-off point appears for readers looking for a book with a Batman title with more weight to it.
The chapter, unfortunately, loses its novelty rather quickly having been yet another seemingly pointless arc in this run. While Doug Mahnke delivers spectacular work as always, the grim nature to his pencils is a bit of an overstatement for the material. Causing it to seem more sinister than it needs to be. With James Tynion IV poised to take the helm of the main Batman title and Warren Ellis having his own mini-series with the Dark Knight. Tomasi is sure to have some serious competition by the end of the year.
Grade: B-
