Hands down, this is the most forgettable week for Batman fans in the month of March. Literally three-quarters of the ongoing books on the shelves this week have already been cancelled. For two of those three, this is the final issue. The other has one more month to go. So, effectively, the only book that “matters” is Batman Beyond which isn’t even set in the “present” of the DCU.
Batman Beyond #3
It’s almost damning with faint praise, but this is without a doubt the book of the week this time.
Over the past two months, Adam Beechen has woven a solid, entertaining opening story arc for the ongoing Batman Beyond. We’ve had melodrama, as Terry has to balance his love life, family life, and superhero life. We’ve had a creepy new villain, as a disgruntled scientist unleashed a device he didn’t understand, much to the chagrin of a whole mall full of innocent shoppers. And we’ve had friction between Batman and the Justice League of the future that did a nice job of echoing the sometimes contentious relationship the original Dark Knight had with the League of his day.
Finally putting aside their tactical differences to take down a common foe (and in turn rescue Terry’s family, who is trapped in said mall with the aforementioned crazy scientist), the League and Batman crept through abandoned sewer tunnels, showing that some things in Gotham City never change, no matter what time period our story is set (next stop: the Abandoned Warehouse District, located conveniently on the waterfront). Unfortunately, they arrived in the mall finally to found (to paraphrase the Emperor) a fully armed and operational Matter Master.
This month, we get the inevitable throw-down between the heroes and the out-of-control villain and artistic inconsistencies aside, the track record so far suggests that it’ll be a fun read that’s well worth your three bucks.
Batman Confidential #54 (Final Issue)
This book, at least in its final arc, was not cancelled for the absence of quality talent. In this case, it’s being written by Marc Guggenheim and penciled by veteran artist Jerry Bingham. In both instances, we’re talking about creators who are quite good, if not exactly superstars that are known by every comic fan.
At the end of the day though, this book is being cancelled for the same reason that its thematic predecessor, Legends of the Dark Knight, was: a perception, for right or for wrong, that the book doesn’t matter in terms of the ongoing continuity of the character and hence, is not required reading (much less buying). Like LotDK, Batman Confidential has been a rollercoaster of quality, seemingly varying on an arc-to-arc basis. It would be nice to think that the comic book industry is healthy enough to support a book like this, which was essentially a Batman anthology, but it just isn’t. The business as it stands today is, no matter how much fans complain about it, driven by events and a “what’s hot this month” mentality and that means books like Batman Confidential are not going to succeed in the long run (although lasting four and a half years is no mean feat).
Having said all that, it would be a surprise if the end of this book was not met sooner rather than later with the launch of a copycat title, albeit with a different name again. Read More...
