Thursday, November 12, 2009

Batman & Robin #6

Ugh. I wonder how good this comic would be if I could understand what was happening? For all of his striking appeal on the cover, the Flamingo is a grunting brute who doesn't even speak as he takes on Gotham's protectors. The Red Hood and Scarlet have to do a lot of the heavy lifting against Flamingo, since they locked up Batwing and Robin last issue. The first few pages deal with the dynamic duo having to untie themselves before they are broadcast on a webcam in their underwear. That's a great bit, and I really do love a lot of elements of Grant Morrison's gonzo book. But the incomprehensible artwork really leeches a lot of the entertainment.

Eventually, Red Hood takes out Flamingo (possibly killing him, yeah right). What's cool is that Morrison addresses the whole "Gotham votes" idea where Red Hood wanted folks to decide if they preferred Batman or the Red Hood's methods. I guess Jim Gordon's stance is clear, he arrests Red Hood on the spot. The Hood has a great rant as he's taken away, basically claiming that Dick Grayson is keeping Bruce Wayne dead on purpose, so that Dick can finally get the spotlight. I really dug the emotional attack and seeing how quickly it broke through Dick Grayson's cool exterior. Scarlet does escape, and something happens with her mask, I think. But I'm not sure what happens at all.

There are a few beautiful panels mixed in, but for the most part this doesn't look good. It's really quite odd, a lot of the epilogue scenes with Batman and Gordon look really soft and moody, almost Simone Bianchi-ish. But the bulk of the issue is lumpy and oddly dark.

Average

1 comment:

Martin Gray said...

I took it that the traumatic attacks had made Scarlet's mask slip off, giving Sasha a chance at a normal life. Well, normal for a character in a bat book.