There's no doubt that Kevin Smith is a talented guy. His films are
beloved for their raunchiness, their charm, and their interesting characters.
His comics tend to be kind of a mixed bag for people, though. He has a
reputation for tardiness and still has a project or two from Marvel
sitting unfinished, his
GREEN ARROW run was delay plagued, and some
people think he fills the word balloons a little too much.
I tend to like Smith's comics work altogether, QUIVER is probably my
favorite GREEN ARROW story and I really enjoyed his work on DAREDEVIL.
When BATMAN: CACOPHONY was released last year, I didn't think it was his
strongest work, but overall I enjoyed it. Now, Smith returns to Batman
very quickly with artist Walt Flanagan for BATMAN: THE WIDENING GYRE.
In the first issue, Smith starts out with a bit of new history in a case
handled by Batman and the first Robin. He follows that up nicely with a
"present day" (but pre-R.I.P.) case that Batman and Nightwing work on in
Blüdhaven. Smith seems to get Dick Grayson as a character, the things
that make him similar to Batman ring true as well as the things that
make him different. Although, the reference to Spongebob Squarepants was
a little much.
Batman eventually moves on to find the answers to a case, which includes
a relatively surprising line-up of villains, up to and including Poison
Ivy. I was impressed at Smith's way of having Ivy "drug" Batman without
involving her done-to-death pheromone routine. It was very creative and
worked well within the bounds of the story. Smith at times tends to make
Batman sound like a snobby intellectual. Not that Batman ISN'T an
intellectual, but it seems strange for him to talk like a California
lawyer in places. Not a big deal, but just a little distracting.
And yes, Smith does fill the word balloons quite a bit. What he usually
fills them with is good, but it tends to slightly drag especially in the
middle of an action beat. Overall, the first issue of Widening Gyre is
interesting enough for me to jump into the next issue, but it's got some
characterization and pacing issues that I hope will smooth over as the
story progresses.
Not a bad start, but we'll see if Silent Bob can pull it off by the time we hit #6!
OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS: "The stakes are high as Batman encounters a new vigilante under his wing amidst what writer Kevin Smith describes as a 'backdrop of romance, intrigue, and geek-bait guest stars galore.' Trust us when we say that it's as awesome as it sounds."
