And in the Manhunter co-feature, Two-Face's trial comes to a surprising end as a new trial starts! Can Kate balance all of that with her need to spend time as Manhunter? And what's Kate's son Ramsey doing in Gotham?!
Paul Dini had set up one hell of a twisted (albeit exciting) outlet for Mr. Zsasz's depravity by the end of issue #7 of
STREETS OF GOTHAM ... and then we got two issues by another writer telling a totally different tale. Truth be told, the interruption knocked me all the way out of the groove of the main story. But Dini pulled me back in with issue #10. All the way back in.
Zsasz has been hosting arena fights pitting kidnapped children against each other -- and against their will -- in knife fights to the death, bringing in big-time underground box office receipts from Gotham's most perverted voyeurs. But his supply of forced participants is dwindling, so he sends his flunkies out into the streets to steal some fresh meat.
Meanwhile, Damian Wayne is still struggling with the rage and disgust he felt upon seeing some of Zsasz's previous young victims. So he goes off undercover on his own, and the trouble that finds him is exactly what he'd hoped for.
And in another meanwhile, the young boy whom Batman saved from The Scarecrow during HEART OF HUSH (available as a collected edition in both hardcover and softcover) makes an appearance in a way that further expands what I like to call Gotham's "Dini-verse," which builds on characters and situations Dini was dealing with during his run on DETECTIVE COMICS (and that he's also referencing in the pages of GOTHAM CITY SIRENS). No matter what else might be going on in the other Batman titles, and no matter where in time Bruce Wayne might be at the moment, Dini always makes me feel like Gotham City is still home. And I love that.
But that's not all. We also find out the truth about the mysterious vigilante Abuse, and it's a revelation as massive as the big man's trench coat. Awesome, awesome, awesome.
Many fans agree -- and I'm one of them -- that Grant Morrison is the best of the current Batman scribes at writing Dick Grayson as Batman. In this issue, Paul Dini becomes my favorite writer of Damian Wayne. I've never been shy about my dislike of Damian as a character, but I love how Dini writes him here. And some might even feel that Dini's Damian is inconsistent with how the kid's being depicted in the other books, but I prefer perseverance over petulance any day. I still don't like the idea of Batman having a son, but I love how Damian is written in this issue. And I found myself cheering for him more than once.
(My only complaint is that he's awfully quick and trusting when it comes to sharing information with a particular character, and I just don't buy that his temperament -- regardless of who's writing him -- would allow that kind of interaction.)
Because what we get here is a Damian who might be reckless (by going off on his own without telling Dick), but who's also a master strategist and fighter. But against someone as despicable as Zsasz, whose unpredictability is every bit as dangerous as Damian's precision, will the new Robin's skills and confidence be enough?
Dustin Nguyen's art continues to be spectacular, and I love how he draws the action in this issue.
And then there's the Manhunter backup, which keeps finding new and exciting ways to rock. Big trouble for Kate Spencer in the courtroom leads to even bigger trouble for her second job as Manhunter, and we get another great appearance by the evil Jane Doe. In the same way I've been saying that Alice is Batwoman's Joker and Ra's Al Ghul rolled into one, Jane is Kate's Two-Face and Zsasz rolled into one. Which is bad news, because she's already got a Two-Face -- Two-Face! Writer Marc Andreyko and artist Jeremy Haun are doing killer work on this story, and I'd love to see them inherit a Batman title someday.
I give the main story an A, and the Manhunter backup an A. It's a good month for being on the STREETS OF GOTHAM.
