[Editor’s note: This review may contain spoilers.]
Writer: Sam Humphries
Artist: Neil Edwards
Inkers: Jay Leisten and Keith Champagne
Summary
Jessica and Simon have been summoned by the one person in the world who can make them jump without question. Who, might you ask, could get super cops to leave a Sunday brunch uneaten to fly across the country with no questions asked? Batman, of course. It turns out that Bruce thinks the Sinestro Corps are spreading fear in Gotham. He is busy, as Gotham is kind of a dump and full of terrible people who do terrible things and thus, he needs some help fighting intergalactic baddies with fear rings. Plus, he is just a guy so, you know. Â Jim Gordon does not like Simon Baz. Who does really? I mean besides Jessica.
Positives
This book is all about Simon Baz. While I am a huge HUGE fan of Jessica Cruz, this is his book too and it is high time he had some face time. What do you get when you mix a control freak in a costume, with a guy who has anger issues in a costume (can you tell which one is which…does it matter)? You get a lot of chest bumping and finger pointing and rage. Pretty great stuff. Bruce rubs everyone the wrong way. Of course he rubs Simon the wrong way. The best part is, we hear Simon’s thoughts. We know he is scared. We know he is in over his head. We understand. Of course, he does not want Bruce to know that so he acts like a 9-year-old boy would. It is pretty spot on.
I love the idea that somehow the villains are using viral videos to control the population. That is some pretty keen social commentary right there. Of course, that is exactly what happens. Lies and misinformation create chaos. Like always, Humphries has his fingers on the pulse of the country.
The new artist this issue is Neil Edwards. His Batman is excellent. His Simon is perfect. His last page is amazing. Drawing Gotham is not easy. We all have our own version of Gotham in our minds and trying to get us to see someone else’s is difficult. This is really great.
Negatives
Well, there is an abrupt stop in the middle of the shouting match and that did not seem to work. I get the whole “no guns” thing in Gotham, so it was a nice touch, but it seemed a bit forced and over the top. Bruce knows Simon carries a gun. Why did it just come up? Hmm. I did not think that worked as well as it could have. In a book that has almost zero filler, this felt like filler. Yes, it is plot point later, but it just didn’t work for me.
Verdict
I will follow Sam Humphries anywhere he wants to take me on this Green Lantern journey. I just hope the next issues are a bit more even. Maybe it is the use of Bruce that is throwing him off, but I trust. I believe.
