The
STREETS OF GOTHAM are crowded with talent and terror this month. Regular writer Paul Dini only gets a "story by" credit on issue 12, with script duties performed by Dustin Nguyen and Derek Fridolfs -- who also penciled and inked it.
Artists becoming writers is certainly not a new trend in the Batman books lately -- Tony Daniel was writing and drawing BATMAN until Guillem March from GOTHAM CITY SIRENS stepped in for an artistic assist; meanwhile, March provided the storyline for a recent issue of SIRENS.
So how did Nguyen and Fridolfs do? About as well as you'd expect from two guys who've been intimately involved in Dini's Batman stories since their legendary DETECTIVE COMICS run began, and that's very, very well. (And we can't forget colorist John Kalisz, whose warm palette has long been the perfect complement to these tales.)
Our main character in this issue is Jenna Duffy, aka the Carpenter, who's been busy in the pages of SIRENS designing and building the guts of Selina Kyle's home with Harley and Ivy. She's already blown through the substantial cash she scored from that job and is looking for her next gig.
Enter the Broker, another one of Dini's seedy characters from the little "Dini-verse" he's been building since the DETECTIVE run began. He refers Jenna to the Director, who wants her to build an elaborate stage in none other than the old Monarch theater, on which he plans to film the first of his superhero snuff films. The first hero he aims to murder on camera, of course, is Batman.
Meanwhile, Damian Wayne reaches out to Colin, the little boy Batman saved from Hush and the Scarecrow who later became the vigilante Abuse thanks to the after-effects of a Hulk-like serum still running through his veins from his time in Scarecrow's captivity. It seems like Damian's trying to build his own little network of allies beyond Dick Grayson. Now why would he want to do that…?
Speaking of Dick, Batman appears (and mostly only peripherally) in one brief scene at the beginning. Most of the narrative is about the Carpenter's dilemma, with Nguyen and Fridolfs writing her origin in true Dini fashion. Lots of good little characters bits here, too, with my favorite being that even though the Director sees himself as some kind of visionary filmmaker, his storyboards are still primitive crayon drawings. Also noteworthy are the Director's homemade posters for his future superhero snuff films.
All in all, another very solid issue of STREETS, and a very impressive showing for Nguyen and Fridolfs, who combine their consistently awesome blend of handsome and unique art with a script that hits the same kinds of character and story beats that Dini is so admired for.
But wait! There's more! In the MANHUNTER backup, Kate Spencer's son continues to be lost on the mean streets of Gotham -- though his superpowers prove to be more than a match for a nasty street gang. The script by Marc Andreyko is a fine character piece with some truly inspired twists, including one big one that he's been building to for months. How could I have been so blind not to have figured this out sooner? He really got me good, and I can't wait to see where he goes after this installment's delightfully deranged cliffhanger. Regular artist Jeremy Haun (busy at the moment with DETECTIVE) sits this one out, with Szymon Kudranski stepping in with some muddy (but appropriately so) and creepy visuals enhanced by Nick Filardi's macabre colors. Great stuff as always.
From cover to cover, it's plenty of bang for my four bucks. A solid A all around. - John Bierly
