OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS: Is The Riddler friend or foe? One thing's for sure – he definitely isn't making life easy for Catwoman, Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn!
If you loved issue #9 of
GOTHAM CITY SIRENS, you'll have to make room for an ever bigger spot in your heart for this month's continuation/conclusion. Writer Paul Dini continues to pluck and weave threads sewn throughout the "Dini-verse" he began creating in
DETECTIVE COMICS, with many of his original characters and situations appearing here and in
STREETS OF GOTHAM.
Last month it was Dr. Aesop, last seen on the receiving end of Hush's gun in "Heart of Hush." His attempt to frame Selina, Harley, and Ivy for the murder of a nurse sent the girls to the Riddler for help, and The Riddler's investigation landed him right in Aesop's trap. This issue begins with a clever (and appropriate) fable about birds, beasts, and a bat, dissolving from the nightmarish vision within Aesop's mind to the immediate plight of Eddie Nygma.
As Aesop confesses the mechanics and motives of his dastardly plan to Eddie, the girls work out a plan to save the man they unwittingly sent to impending doom. Their means are smart, sneaky, and even very sexy, with Dini building everything up to a huge finale bursting with massive action beats.
Everything in this issue pops thanks to the one thing that's made this book tick from the beginning -- character, character, character. Dini never takes a breather from finding ways to inject little character beats in every single exchange of words, fists, or feet, and he does so in ways that never feel stale or repetitive. Whether it’s foreboding or just plain fun, the dialogue is always clever.
Regular artist Guillem March provides a knockout cover, but the interiors are by guest artist Andres Guinaldo, whose style works well with the book. He can draw big action, and he's not afraid to cram a panel full of cheesecake if the opportunity arises.
Every page here is packed with goodness, and I continue to commend the team on this book for knowing exactly what it is and continuing to deliver issues with zest and zeal. Even though this issue doesn't end on a cliffhanger as many of its predecessors have, it does conclude with a question that could hold some very serious implications for our favorite bad-girls-gone-not-quite-as-bad.
GCS #10 earns a very solid A for being a very enjoyable read. - John Bierly
