Ray Fawkes and Ben Templesmith lead readers on a horrifying journey in Gotham by Midnight #3. Like previous entries, Gotham by Midnight #3 contains a dual narrative, one set in the present as Corrigan and his team fight off the supernatural, and one the back-story of a member of his team. This issue focuses on Lisa Drake as she wonders on the wrong side of the law in Gotham’s streets.
Riding around the streets of Gotham with a drug-addicted man named Fred, Lisa soon finds herself in over her head. Fred goes to make a purchase from a group of dealers, but instead of money, they want Fred and Lisa to kill a man they have in the trunk of their car. The man? Detective Corrigan.
Meanwhile, in the present Corrigan and his team are called in by a hospital ward. A girl has tested positive for smallpox. Corrigan and his team immediately question the results, but the doctors insist. The child has tested positive for a disease that was wiped out. But things are not all as they seem, as they discover that the child has a parasitic demon attached to her shadow. Corrigan’s team fearlessly puts on quarantine suits and enters the child’s isolation room to face the demon.
Both past and present narratives ratchet up the tension, and the reader’s developing knowledge of Corrigan and his team helps to raise the stakes as everything goes straight to hell.
THE POSITIVE
Ben Templesmith’s art continues amaze. The gray washes of the past are beautiful in their murkiness, and Templesmith uses little splashes of color to great effect. In the modern day sequences, the art is just as lovely to look at, and the use of colors amplifies the immediacy of the danger caused by the demon.
The script by Ray Fawkes is stellar as well. In previous reviews, I took issue with the way some of the secondary characters were handled, but Gotham by Midnight #3 confirms that each supporting character will spend one issue with their background being explored. And with backgrounds as exciting as Lisa Drake’s, it’s nice to see them get the space they deserve.
THE NEGATIVE
Three issues in and Gotham by Midnight has yet to turn in a subpar issue. There are no faults here, as both words and art work in tandem to create a thrilling tale.
THE VERDICT
Gotham by Midnight is turning out to be a stellar series and Gotham by Midnight #3 is no exception. Fawkes and Templesmith are delivering fantastic work and some of the minor faults in previous issues have been alleviated by the cohesive whole that this chapter helps to solidify. No, this comic may not be for everyone, but it’s certainly worth a try.
