Detective Comics #936

Rise of the Batmen Chapter Three “Army of Shadows” – Written by James Tynion IV, Pencils and Letters by Alvaro Martinez, Inks by Raul Fernandez, Colors by Marilyn Patrizio

Change in the art department can be jarring for readers. You get used to one style and suddenly It’s different, it’s one of my main anxieties regarding next week’s Green Arrow. That isn’t the case in Detective Comics now with the art team of Alvaro Martinez on pencils/letters, Raul Fernandez on inks, and colors by Marilyn Patrizio. Things aren’t entirely the same, of course. There aren’t the singular soft painterly panels that highlight the pages from previous issues. The series continues to use expansive layouts and experimental paneling. Overall I think Alvaro and Raul produce slightly sharper lines but Marilyn Patrizio has stuck with the pastel inspired color pallet creating cohesion.

The previous issue had a series of double page spreads, which when placed back to back was a tad much. That same expansive design exists but with a new degree of dynamism. Look at Kate’s conversation with her father in #935 and compare it to her conversation with a returning Renne Montoya. Now the settings do play a factor in their comparative dynamism; bars with their lively background players is denser and more action packed compared to a conversation between Father and Daughter in a hallway. But look at the difference in perspective. #936 Enters the scene from a high angle view, and other then one panel never settles on eyelevel. Kate’s conversation with her father is shown overwhelmingly at eye level. The more dynamic layout plays into the perspective of the scenes participants (Kate and Renne) using panels to jump back and forth between their perspectives.

The use of skeuomorphic paneling and layouts elevated the storytelling in this issue. The first page a beautiful single image of a glass of beer, as Kate opens up about her time at boot camp.Comics are a fusion of words and pictures, they’re semiotics on a mass consistent scale. Semiotics is broadly the study of communication (meaning making) with symbols and language, and their interpretation. That is what struck me with the final panel on page 17 (digitally), wherein Colonel Kane begins his villainous monologue justifying his actions and superiority over the Batman (both literally and ideologically). The panel is a provocative one. Silhouettes of Batman and Batwoman folding into bats, which morph into the continental United States. These images, textured in the American flag – with the sharp batwings and gaps make it appear to be in tatters – before turning into a flaming mess as the Batmen of the Colony stand above a silhouetted Gotham.

There’s a lot going on, with two (but likely more) interpretations of the image. From Colonel Kane’s perspective it represents the Batman (and Batwoman due to her association) failure to consider a bigger world beyond Gotham and the enemy of “crime” leading to a vulnerable wounded State. On the other hand, the opposite interpretation is there and the image reveals the absolute villainy of the Colony (the proper name for a large group of bats). It’s the silhouettes of Batman and Batwoman that are solid and whole, the disintegration begins and ends with the Colony. The destruction they wrought born from their appropriation and misinterpretation of the Batman’s position in relation to the State. He exists outside of it, while they as the military embody its hard physical power combining that with vigilante symbols dose nothing but undermine their legitimacy.

Ensemble casts are great, it allows for many different characters interacting and helping shape an overall bigger story. It’s what allowed The Wire to be about institutions as much as individual characters. But you still need a lead to focus around. With his name on the title you’d think it’s Batman but he’s out of the picture (for now). In “Army of Shadows” Tynion places the most dramatic weight on Kate Kane. She’s the one with connections to everything going on in this story. In this issue, she receives contradictory offers and advice from Renne and her Father. Dad wants her to join, Renne doesn’t want an extended reunion. One person tells her to trust herself the other asks her to trust where he aims her. And now we are left wondering what path she’s going to choose. Overall Tynion has done a good job giving if not arcs to characters but nice moments to shine.

On the Batman and semiotic tip, it appears that DC is doing its best to if not surpass the Dark Knight, better individualize his family. Nightwing will be starting an arc proactively titled “Better than Batman”. With Detective Comics, his name hangs over the colloquially understood title of this book. The cast grapple with their relationship to Batman, wanting to simultaneously do right by him and escape his purview. Kate and Time share a nice conversation about their relationship with him in this issue, both recognizing the hardened but ultimately empathetic nature in their patriarch. Even if he only appears reproduced on computer monitors the Batman hangs over and contextualizes everything.

Bits at the End

Here is a decent intro to what that stuff

Clayface becoming just a nice comedic background character, from failing to attend an audition to his reaction to Batman getting punched. Same with Cass, just giving us this.