With Bruce Wayne banished to the set of
10,000 BC and Dick Grayson wearing the cape and cowl in the monthly comics, Bruce Wayne-as-Batman stories are a rare commodity now days (except for
BATMAN CONFIDENTIAL which has sucked more often than not).
There have been some mini and maxi series – like BATMAN AND SUPERMAN VS. VAMPIRES AND WEREWOLVES -- have offered enjoyable tales of the original Dark Knight. UNSEEN, however, does not. Better to leave this one on the rack and hunt for back issues instead.
UNSEEN reunites writer Doug Moench and artist Kelley Jones (GOTHAM AFTER MIDNIGHT, BATMAN: RED RAIN) for a tale set earlier in Bruce Wayne's Bat-career. The conflict involves Batman losing his edge as the criminals of Gotham no longer fear him like they once did.
Sounds smart, right?
Sadly, Moench's script seems to forget about that important plot point after a while. Heck, it almost seems to forget about Batman entirely.
Moench returns to the villain he created years ago, Black Mask, but he disappears rather quickly from the story, figuratively.
Moench also introduces what DC is calling "The newest member of Batman's rogues gallery". This villain is also where the series plummets off the edge of readability.
This new villain is “Dr. Glass,” who disappears from the story quite literally.
After seeing Grant Morrison so effortlessly establish Professor Pyg as a new force to be reckoned with (in the BATMAN AND ROBIN monthly), it's disappointing to watch as another new Bat villain fail so miserably in comparison.
Kelley Jones artwork does nothing to save this title – and it appears that he doesn’t even try.
My advice? Skip this issue and buy a soda. - Justin Gonzalez
