BATMAN #703 is a bit of a fill-in this month, but when he's given the
ability to write the story he wants, Fabian Nicieza can write a good one.
Although Dick, Damian, and Tim are the main characters active in this
story, the overall theme of the thing was the humanity and compassion of
Bruce Wayne. Nicieza, who is also currently the writer of RED ROBIN (be
sure to check out Ryan Hoss' reviews here at BOF!), he makes Tim's
arrival in the story a big moment, in addition to tying this issue in
with some of the more recent happenings in that title. Nicieza does a
good job of capturing the nigh-antagonism between several characters,
most notable Damian and Tim, and Vicki Vale and Dick. Even with so many
characters, and even though he hasn't returned yet, Bruce Wayne is still
the focus of the story in more ways than one.
In the story, Dick and Damian pursue a hood that is the daughter of a
criminal Bruce and Dick pursued as Batman and Robin. After an argument
in which Damian accused Dick of letting the perp go, Dick remembered a
similar scolding he gave Bruce for letting the previous hood get away.
After learning the circumstances behind Bruce letting the criminal go,
Damian has learned about a side of his father he'd never truly seen
before: his compassion. Along the way, Vicki Vale thinks she has the
Bat-family's identities exposed, only to learn that what she can't prove
speaks for itself. While she truly is onto them, Dick and the rest of
the Batman stable are doing an excellent job sidestepping her "proof,"
as well as reinforcing their position about why their jobs can only be
done by them alone.
Cliff Richards does a respectable job with the art chores this month.
While it's not as defined as Tony Daniel's, his lines are clean and
there's a pretty clear delineation between characters just in facial
structure, which is a hard thing to capture for some artists. While the
work isn't of the regular atistic quality this book has grown accustomed
to over the last couple of years, his name is definitely one I'll keep
an eye on for the future.
All in all, as far as fill-ins go, this is a pretty stand-up job for a
book that's biding it's time until next month's main event of Bruce
Wayne's return. If we get more stuff like this in the meantime, then
that's perfectly alright with me.
