Monday, November 16, 2009

Batman: The Widening Gyre #3

I'm confused on exactly when this series is taking place. Bruce Wayne is clearly still Batman, and Aquaman is beardless and acting "classic." Tim Drake is Robin. Silver St. Cloud has been gone for years. I've heard rumors that the new vigilante Baphomet will be getting an ongoing series, but how long has he been off the scene comic-time wise?

Kevin Smith is doing some neat stuff in this series. I really liked the Robin reveal while Cornelius Stirk had Batman captured. The pacing was dead-on and Robin's appearance actually made me chuckle. The follow-up conversation between the dynamic duo was pretty funny too. Bruce starts to take it easy as the book goes on, spending his days on a tropical island with Silver St. Cloud and then jetting back to Gotham to keep doing his thing. Batman and Baphomet finally get a chance to speak and Smith gives Baphomet a nice voice. The guy is a smart mouth and very confident. I loved Batman taking him down a peg asking if he was a "stoner." Awesome. I really liked how the issue closed; Aquaman looks in on Batman and Silver's happy times and then swims away. Aquaman is pleased to see the "ghoul" so happy. I like the friendship apparent in their interaction.

Walter Flanagan is still a bit inconsistent, but he's getting better. I really like how fun he makes Silver with her goofy and affectionate facial expressions. There are actually a fair amount of guest stars in this that look good too. I'm not sold on Baphomet's mask yet, it seems like it would be too easy to grab.

Fair

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