Tony Daniel takes over as both the writer and artist on the flagship Bat-monthly,
BATMAN. So, is this a good or bad thing? I’ll tell you that in just a bit.
Admittedly, I wasn’t too thrilled about Daniel returning to BATMAN -- as a writer that is. I thought his BATTLE FOR THE COWL was nothing more than unneeded and uninspired filler. However, I blame that more on DC, not Daniel. Based on that, I was certainly willing to look at Daniel’s work on this title with an open mind and give the dude a second chance.
Issue #692 has Batman teaming up with Catwoman to take down Black Mask and his False Face Society. In addition, a certainly crime family from THE LONG HALLOWEEN returns to Gotham City.
The best part for me was the dynamic between Selina Kyle/Catwoman and Dick Grayson/Batman. You can tell that they like each other, though it’s clear that Bruce Wayne is THE Batman in the eyes of Selina. I’m looking forward to seeing more of Catwoman in this title. And with the reappearance of that aforementioned Gotham crime family -- one that Selina has ties to -- I’m expecting that will be the case.
Overall, I’m leaning towards Daniel’s run on BATMAN as being a good thing -- at least when it comes this particular issue. I’ve never had a problem with Daniel’s Batman artwork -- was his writing that was sub par. But based on this issue, Daniel’s writing has improved dramatically and I’m honestly looking forward to seeing where the story goes from here.
And remember, we’re only 8 issues away from BATMAN #900. Are we getting closer to the return of Bruce Wayne? And if so, how will that affect Daniel’s run? We shall see….
