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Comics - Ongoing - Batman - Issue #626

BATMAN #626
COVER TAGLINE:None
TITLE: As The Crow Flies, Part One: Visions
STORY ARC: As the Crow Flies

RELEASE DATE: April, 2004
COVER DATE: June, 2004

WRITER: Judd Winick
ARTIST: Dustin Nguyen
INKER: Richard Friend
COLORS: Alex Sinclair
LETTERS: Clem Robins
EDITORS: Bob Schreck
COVER: Matt Wagner

PRICE: $2.25 U.S./$3.00 Canada

CHARACTERS: Batman (Bruce Wayne); Robin (Tim Drake); Alfred Pennyworth; Penguin


COVER ART:


Continued In Batman #627

PLOT:
The opening sequence for this issue, starts off with Batman's inner monologue narrating to us what we see in each panel, what we see is a madman with a gun. "Big Tommy A.” is yet another baddie from Gotham's mob scene. In the first page we see Tommy firing his weapon all over the place, with a crazed look on his face. The next page shows us what he's going ballistic about. We see Tommy frightened to death as he is surrounded by what appear to be demons and goblins and the like, it is as if he landed smack dab in the middle of hell. Batman tells us they are not just ghouls however; they are also the many victims of Tommy. What is perhaps the most frightening of all creatures that Tommy encounters is a giant bat. It asks him about what he's seeing, but Tommy only replies with a panic stricken, "Get away!"

If you think all of this seems a bit weird and creepy, you're right, which is why we are suddenly brought back to reality, as we see the familiar face of our caped crusader. Batman struggles with Tommy for quite sometime, taking notice of his unusual levels of speed and strength. Finally in the midst of all the frenzy Tommy launches himself right out of a window and falls to his death upon a random street in Gotham.

Meanwhile, at Gotham General Hospital, we find a female med student named Caroline Hill being asked for a date by another med student. Soon after we see that the she is actually a he, and that he is Robin. Robin communicates to Alfred back at the cave and they exchange some comedic banter about how Alfred designed robin's costume to have rather large breasts. After some lighthearted moments robin finds Big Tommy's body in the morgue and retrieves blood and tissue samples.

A short while later we find Batman in a similar situation as at the start of this issue, in which he's battling a strangely enraged mobster. This time around the fight is a bit grittier, but the end result is the same as before, Ruben desoto dies. rather than jumping out of a window, its his heart which finishes him. Whatever is in his system, which is likely to be the same as what was in Big Tommy's system, has ran his heart out.

Finally to conclude the issue, we find ourselves at the home of Oswald Cobblepot. The Penguin is none too pleased with three of his random thugs. They try their best to provide excuses but he'll have none of that. Finally everything is tied together and makes sense to the reader as they explain that they put on glove and applied some sort of substance with which they touched both big Tommy and Ruben, just as they were told. We find that both mobsters went into frenzies due to this. However, someone quickly asks if the thugs bothered to wet their gloves before applying the powder. When the thugs answer that they didn't, we see the Scarecrow explain to them and us, that the substance was a scare toxin of some kind. Because the gloves were not made wet, the dosage was too concentrated and thereby killed the mobsters, rather than simply scare them. Penguin and Scarecrow then end the issue by deciding to do better next time.

REVIEW:
This is the first issue in a 5 part storyline written by Judd Winnick, who starting with Batman #635 (12/04) will become the permanent writer for this title. Winnick has a nice straightforward approach to the story. He drops subtle hints for us to play around throughout the issue. We do not have to wait for the conclusion of a year long arc to find out who the masterminds are here, we find out right at the end of part one. By this he solidifies some basic elements for us as readers right from the get go, but he nicely manages to leave enough out for us to guess what will come next. I especially liked how he handled Batman's inner thoughts. It gives us a view from the Dark Knight’s perspective of all that is going on, and also lets us know just how he's feeling. Whether its knowing that throwing a cable will prove to be useless, or being aware that his trachea is close to being broken, whatever Batman thinks, we get a glimpse of. Its also interesting to see how human he is behind the cape and cowl and how his thoughts are very much normal, despite his wealth of knowledge and ability to plan several steps ahead.

As for the art, I really do not have much to say, the story is what drives this issue. Dustin Nyguen does a good job, but nothing spectacular in my opinion. There are certain panels which seem to be drawn rough for lack of better term on purpose, but I think the effect only works well some of the time and at other times, ends up looking a bit sloppy in my opinion. The painted cover for this issue is what I feel is definitely worth mentioning. Matt Wagner does an awesome job recreating the scene in which "Big Tommy" sees a vision of a terrifying bat while under the influence of the scare toxin. It from Tommy's view and from the looks of it I think we'd all be firing guns like crazy if such a creature was rushing towards us. The painted covers for each issue are definitely something to look forward too.

Overall, this is a great starting point and I think it'll only get better as the storyline progresses.

REVIEWED BY:

 
   
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