Batman #133 // Review
Bruce Wayne is in a parallel world that never really knew him. It’s a Gotham City that never had its Dark Knight. This gets rectified in Batman #133. Writer Chip Zdarsky takes another plunge into an alternate earth with the aid of artist Mike Hawthorne and inker Adriano Di Benedetto. Color lends some depth to the page courtesy of Tomeu Morey. Batman’s journey into another world continues to find further definition into the nature of Bruce Wayne, who he’s been and what makes him tick. Zdarsky finds some insight into the character, which is quite an accomplishment given how thoroughly the mind of Bruce Wayne has been analyzed by writers over the years.
A very dark and contemporary Gotham City is beginning to learn the name Batman for the first time. That doesn’t mean that things are turning around for Gotham, though. The villain known as the Red Mask still has great control over the city. If Batman is truly going to aid this particular Gotham, he will need to trust the expertise of people who know it just a bit better than he does. Can he really trust a Catwoman from another world?
Zdarsky manages to find a few powerful moments in and within the intriguing premise that he’s put on the page. Not all of it makes a whole lot of sense. There’s quite a bit of power in Batman digging up the grave of Bruce Wayne in order to do an autopsy on...himself. Needing to literally perform his own post-mortem is kind of a cool idea that never manages its true potential with everything else that Zdarsky is trying to manage, but it’s a hell of a series of images. Zdarsky puts so much in play that it can’t help but feel at least a little rushed.
The art team tackles the complexity of the drama quite well and even manages to make a few action sequences look pretty cool. There are some stylish low-angle shots in the issue that emphasize the immensity of the action nicely. Morey’s colors add a tremendous amount of depth and atmosphere to the page. This universe’s Riddler looks really good in red. Multiple locations all have their own distinct feel. And when Batman digs up the grave of Bruce Wayne...it’s a rainy night in Gotham. The art team actually does kind of an impressive job of making this particular rainy night in Gotham City look unique.
Zdarsky has a really interesting idea. Batman in the Gotham City of a parallel universe is too clever a concept to rush through this quickly. The idea of a seasoned Bruce Wayne having to start over completely in a world that never knew Batman would be a lot of fun for a multi-title crossover. Instead, Zdarsky has to rush through it as a multi-issue arc in a single title. It all feels a little too compressed to manage the full impact that it could have had if it were allowed more room to breathe.
