As Batman continues to hunt assassins, the designs laid out years ago begin to come to fruition. Spoilers for Batman #89 follow.
The first couple of issues for James Tynion IV’s run on Batman have been pretty great so far. There’s a great sense of world-building combined with a solid amount of fun character moments and action. That continues to be the case with this issue as well. However, after three issues of the same stuff, it really feels like more needs to be happening. Hopefully, with how this issue ends, more meaningful moments will occur in the next issue.
So, what does this issue do well then? Well, Tynion knows how to write Batman incredibly well, both as a fighter and a detective. There are some great moments throughout the issue of Batman deducing minute details, as well as some great action. For some reason, it feels rare to see both of these things occurring in the same issue, so it’s always nice to see it happening. The problem though is, the plot surrounding these moments begins to feel like it’s meandering in this issue. This is apparently a nine-issue story which, right now, feels a bit too long and drawn out.
There’re also some great interactions between Catwoman and Harley. Tynion writes both of them well and brings out a nice camaraderie between the two. I’m not the biggest Harley fan, but I love Catwoman, so I love seeing her thrown out of her comfort zone, even just a little. This leads to what will hopefully will allow the storyline to explode next issue, with Catwoman revealing everything. It’s a smart way to build personal stakes, in addition to the city-wide stakes, but it feels like it’s taken a bit too long to get here.
There are also some glimpses into lingering threads in this issue, as well as the reveal of what the Designer looks like. Basically, it’s nice to put a kind-of identity to the name of the Designer, but that’s about it. It’s also revealed that Penguin didn’t actually die somehow, so there’s that too. We also get our first glimpse at a new Joker right-hand woman, Punchline, as well as what is potentially Joker’s most monstrous plan yet. None of it really makes that much of an impression in this issue, but allows for threads to continue to stay open.
As for the art, Carlos Pagulayan and Guillem March handle this issue and do so well. Pagulayan handles the Batman centric portions of the issue, while March handles the Catwoman/Harley portions. Each one handles, their respective parts of the issue incredibly well and capture great aspects of the characters that they focus on. Their art is easy to follow and not confusing in the slightest which is always nice. And, as always, Tomeu Morey kills it with his coloring and keeps the entire issue cohesive, which helps keep you engaged.