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| [ SMILE AT THIS SALE, SUCKA! ] |
To QUOTE John Philpot Curran: 'My dear doctor, I am surprised to hear you
say that I am coughing very badly, as I have been practising all night'.
THE STORY:
Running against the clock Batman and his group of allies try
to track down the elusive 'Patient Zero', with the intent of finding a cure to
prevent the Jokers dastardly airborne virus.
So far their plan has only been... cough-cough... partly successful.
Even though Batman and Gordon has figured out who... cough-cough... 'Patient
Zero' actually... cough-cough... is, Ha! That doesn't necessarily mean... Ha! Cough-cough...
they'll be... Hahahaha! Ha! Hehehe! Cough! Joker. Chill. Bang-Bang! Death.
Blah-blah-blah!
Oh! Sorry. I'm so sorry about that. I don't know what's coming
over me. Anyway, meanwhile in the back up feature, some big fat man talks to a
woman with glasses about... hahahahahahaaha! Hahahahahahahahahaahhahahaha! Hahahahahahaah!
Hha! Hhahahahaahahahahahahahahahahaahhahahahahahaahahahahahahahahahahaah!
Cough!
OK. So this is the third part of 'End Game'. And as we all know,
part three of a book can do either one of two things. It can either step up its
game where the overall narrative is concerned. Or it can dawdle around slightly
and prolong the premise for another month.
In this case, though, well, it's both of these things I
suppose. The first section of the story involved Batman and his gang figuring
out what he had to do next. Where as the second section was about him and Jim
trying to stay alive and help save the day.
Admittedly. I can't go into too much detail or else I might
spoil the surprises in store. Although what I can say is that I'm loving Julia's
inclusion, especially how she interacts with those around her. Plus I also
liked the fact that Jim showed up after his fairly long absence, as it gave this
yarn one hell of an intriguing revelation.
Now what this revelation is -- and if it's true or not -- once
again I cannot say. This time though not for spoiling the surprise, but because
it isn't very clear if this is true or not. Such as....
THE BAD:
Now there was a scene depicted in this issue where Batman
came face to face with the Jokerized 'Patient Zero'. However, as soon as this transpired,
immediately thereafter it was overlaid with two other scenes -- with one of them
involving Batman elsewhere no less -- thus giving this segment a rather
confusing tone.
Granted, I understood that this nuance did give this multi-layered
scene a very suspenseful and fast paced edge. Yet in the same breath, as I said
before, it was very confusing too. Making me unsure what was real and what was
not, at every given turn of the page.
Also, if you read this story back to back with the
story-line currently running in the Justice League book -- part two of 'The Amazo Virus' -- you can't help but notice how similar they both are on a
conceptual level (i.e. A hero has to
find a patient so he can discover a cure, blah-blah-blah).
THE MUSIC:
For a change I thought I'd musically match up this comic
book with a song that's nothing like it at all. 'And why would I want to do
such a thing?', you might ask yourself. Well, blame Jim Gordon's ring tone. Because
it played the Bobby Fuller classic, 'I Fought The Law, And The Law Won'.
Without giving too much away there was a segment amidst this
adventure where Batman compared the process of coughing to the process of laughing. Stating that basically they're both the same thing yet on different levels. So,
if he can do it, why cant' I?
On the whole I'd say this issue was like a cough. Even
though it is distracting in places, at the same time there's a sense of release
about it as well.
THE CONCLUSION:
Ops! I almost forgot to mention the back-up feature, didn't
I? Well, worry not, dear reader. As I thought this would be a pretty good space
to say what I thought about it, as well as the many others I almost
overlooked.
You see, overall I felt the concept behind this supplementary
story-line was a pretty good idea on paper. Essentially it allowed a hand full of
old school Bat-artists to return to this book, whilst relaying a tale about
what each Arkham inmate thought about the Joker. Admittedly, by in large this piece
was constantly being overpowered by the main tale. Plus on occasion they did feel
a bit tagged on -- or wedged in -- as if to give Scott an excuse to say
something he couldn't fit into his 'End Game' narrative.
Having said that, though, that's not to say these stories
weren't enjoyable to read, because they did come across with a unified flavour
where it's Jokerised tone is concerned.
Hey! Let's face it. Who is the Joker? And what is he all
about? I mean, is there any truth to their being a previous incarnation of old
pale face? And if there is, why is it only now that this fact is being revealed?
Also, if you think about it, this question does roll on over to Mr J knowing Bruce's
origins too.
Truth or Lie? Nuff said. For now.
BATMAN #37
Reviewed by David Andrews
on
January 05, 2015
Rating:
Reviewed by David Andrews
on
January 05, 2015
Rating:
