ARTISTIC ELEVATION
Score: 8/10
Batman: The Dark Knight #16 adds new artist Ethan Van Sciver and what an addition he his. Don’t get me wrong I am a big fan of David Finch’s art but not in recent memory has an artist change boost my level of interest in a single book as this one. I have this series on my pull-list but the cover alone is so dynamic and detailed I would have grabbed this off the shelf in a heartbeat. And as far as Batman’s rogues go, I am less familiar with the Mad Hatter than most. On the surface he has always seemed a bit silly but this version of him is far more disturbing and Joker-esque insane than I planned on reading.
The story begins with kidnappings that are rampant in Gotham and Batman can’t determine a pattern or reason for the uptick of disappearances of citizens in mass. Bruce tracks down some of the kidnappers and the action begins. This is where Van Sciver’s art shines. His attention to detail and dynamic action sequences literally had Batman’s batarangs flying off the page. The pacing is quick and visually arresting especially during Batman’s rescue of a single victim from a moving van that felt cinematic in scope.
When the action subsides the use of piano keys as a framing device is masterful. Never has a single conversation held my interest so solidly as this one. Bruce has an unusually honest heart-to-heart with Natalya that writer Gregg Hurwitz knocks out of the park. While Natalya tries to tear down Bruce’s barrier he knows what he can’t offer to a relationship that doesn’t include Batman. What can usually comes off as a typical hard Bruce exterior is shown in a way that is fresh and vulnerable way through Hurwitz’s dialogue and Van Sciver’s art. You really feel Alfred’s sadness from afar and Alfred always feels that way but with this creative combo it comes off with more sympathy that normally gets lost or is glossed over in many Bat-books.
Finally we get an in-depth look into who’s behind Gotham’s kidnapping. Some criticism of this part of the story, that I've read, was that seeing a villain “off” his henchmen was nothing new or shocking. That’s not how I read it. The first victim that we see killed was not a henchmen of The Mad Hatter but one of the many Gotham citizens taken for an unknown reason. He was hand picked by the Mad Hatter to be abducted and then two pages later “offed” because he wasn’t the right choice. To me that it is drastic and a sign that very bad things lurk around the corner to anyone who falls prey to this madman. Crazy killers are nothing new to the Bat-verse but this version of the Mad Hatter is as dark and insane as the current faceless Joker. Again, while that can come off as typical, Van Sciver’s art makes it feel less than typical and more villainous. It’s more graphic than I expected and that may be part of the reason I see it as a fresh spin on a less than intimidating Batman villain as the Mad Hatter.
Currently we are over-saturated with Batman’s “Death of the Family” crossover. It’s actually a nice change of pace to see Batman facing off with a different enemy under a different set of circumstances. It’s a stand-alone book and I can separate it out from all the current tie-in books. Some can’t and that may diminish your opinion but it holds up nicely for me. The last arc of Batman: The Dark Knight #16 started to feel sluggish with his battle against Scarecrow and this issue kicks off with a big bang and great art. If you love a good Batman story and are suffering from “Death of the Family” fatigue pick this title up. It will reenergize your visual senses.
