Batman #12 // Review
Verity Pennyworth’s appearance at Bruce’s place would have been completely unannounced were it not for the fact that there would have been some mention of it in Alfred’s last will and testament. Of course...Bruce didn’t exactly want to read that. It would have been far too much like saying good-bye and he certainly didn’t want to do that. A new assistant is the least of his problems in Batman #12. Writer Matt Fraction adds a bit to Bruce’s world in an issue that is brought to page and panel by artist Jorge Jiménez and colorist Tomeu Morey.
There have been a string of murders in Gotham City. This, of course, is nothing worth mentioning. The fact that the murders in question didn’t involve anyone with superhuman powers or any kind of apparent mental illness might be a bit suspicious in a city like Gotham, though. And the fact that there doesn’t seem to be any apparent connection between them? That’s a bit of a challenge considering they all just arrived in town at roughly the same time. Bruce has got his hands full with this one. Thankfully, Verity is a particularly resourceful assistant who seems to be one step ahead of everyone else...
The initial flitting between murders is a bit tedious. Especially after Fraction had just spent quite a bit of time establishing an appealing character with subtlety and nuance in the form of Verity. Once it becomes apparent what Fraction is doing with the script, the story becomes substantially more tolerable. There are a few moments with Verity that feel fun. The killers come across with a wide-ranging appeal in their own right. It’s a large ensemble of characters for the current plot arc, but Fraction is doing a pretty good job of juggling them.
Jiménez is given a wide range of different characters to deliver to the page. They bring with them an impressive range of moods and personalities that the artist conjures to the page with a great sense of style and poise. So much of the more clever energy of Fraction’s script resets below a veneer of posture and formality that Jiménez is bringing to the page quite well. Morey adds considerably to mood and atmosphere with some cleverly details and textured color work. There’s a very sharp and cleverly-defined range of colors being used to deliver some strikingly impressive effects.
Verity shows-up in town at precisely the same time as a bunch of assorted killers. Fraction better not be setting-up another femme fatale for Bruce. He’s had more than enough of those over the years and one more would just be...annoying. Alfred always came across as a bit of a cheesy ripoff of Wodehouse’s Jeeves...only without the charm. Verity seems like a very cool progression from the Jeeves ripoff. It would be particularly poor taste to turn her into another villain. She does actually seem a lot more interesting than Bruce in her big full-issue debut. It would be nice to see her progress.
