This penultimate issue finally reaches comic shops around the world after once being exclusive to US Walmart stores. Nick Derrington and Brian Michael Bendis deliver another exciting chapter to their detective story, taking the Dark Knight into the far reaches of space this time around. Dave Stewart's beautifully saturated color works give Derrington's artwork a real pop on each page. While a vehicle for Bendis to audition for a potential Batman ongoing series, it is truly Nick Derrington who takes center stage with this series.
After arriving from the Wild West in the past, Bruce is met by nonother than Vandal Savage in the present who had been tracking him for nearly two hundred years. With Alfred hot on the scene, Bruce makes his way back home only to be met by Nightwing. With Vandal Savage in their sight, the dynamic duo team up once again. Planning to take down the mad immortal once and for all. Amidst the struggle, the truth is revealed about the mysterious Faberge egg comes into the light, Green Lantern's light that is!
More often than not, the light-hearted nature and quippy dialogue can feel entirely out of character for the Dark Knight under Bendis. While managing to land the individual voices at times, he still falls into his old tropes, leaving the dialogue to feel interchangeable between characters at any given time. Never fully resonating with their respective comic book versions, the jokes fall flat too often, leaving Derrington to pick up the slack with his visual cues. Luckily Bendis always surrounds himself with the best artists in the industry.
As stated previously, Derrington completely takes center stage with his beautiful artwork and remaining the absolute selling point of this series. His character renditions and cartooning are second to none as he delivers a modernist take on a retro pop art style. The unsung hero of the series, Dave Stewart, ultimately brings Derrington's work to life with beautifully bright color works not often seen in Gotham.
Albeit at times more reminiscent of a more silver age fun Batman compared to the modern takes, it still remains a breath of fresh air for the Caped Crusader who can't ever seem to escape his ongoing depression in other titles. Nick Derrington and Brian Michael Bendis deliver another exciting chapter to this mini-series with this penultimate issue leaving off on a wildly unexpected turn for the better.
Grade: A-
