Whoa, momma, indeed!
Creative Staff:
Story: Ray Fawkes
Art: Juan E. Ferreyra
What They Say:
Two of Gotham City’s top news anchors seem to be swaying the minds of the public with sinister supernatural intentions.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
While the larger story for Gotham by Midnight for this arc still feels elusive, what we’re getting is quite engaging. The series has put the characters through the paces a good deal so far and it continue to toy with them in ways that reveals more of who they are. And the more we know them the more we bond with them. There’s an obvious misfit label to apply to them all on different levels and people tend to draw towards similar types, so seeing them working the midnight shift like this really is no surprise. But what they do together, separately and in different pairings just feels so right. Fawkes and Ferreyra continue the magic here while building up a couple of different arcs along the way.
What draws in the most here for me is just in seeing how the configurations work and the reveals that come from it. Gotham is definitely dealing with a real issue with what’s going on, as we saw in the previous arc, and that sense of dread has to be growing to an oppressive level for people. We see that being taken advantage of from the start here with the main story of the issue involving a psychic aggression level coming through the local news broadcast that turns the downtown area into a raging fight as tempers flare. Drake gets to be a part of this and there’s a toll in general and she certainly takes her lumps as well. But where it proves interesting is the fallout afterwards, with Corrigan checking on her in the hospital in his kind of aloof and uncertain way. And made all the more so when her boyfriend shows up. While she’s not dark and gloomy, he’s just so outgoing that you can see that they make a really fun couple. His inviting Corrigan over for steaks is an issue that must happen as a standalone piece just full of dialogue and awkward social interactions.
The other pairing that gets some time here is that of Corrigan and Tarr as they deal with the threat at hand. This has Tarr’s nervous behavior proving to be a lot of fun as he knows things have to be dealt with before the Spectre arrives and judges everyone, him included. The nervous energy he has is definitely fun and it’s really good to see how he gets involved in dealing with the actual threat. He’s obviously not an action character but that doesn’t mean he can’t be involved in the action. The more we see some of the truth of what’s going on with the broadcasters and the psychic energy, the more Tarr gets involved – while also protecting Corrigan. It puts him in a weird position but that’s been true of Tarr from nearly the start. And that makes him one of the more interesting characters that really needs a full on character breakdown issue so we can really dig into what makes him tick.
In Summary:
The running subplot of shutting down the midnight shift plays into this issue and I continue to like the way Rook is really uncertain about it all but there is definitely a sense that something bigger is going on. Fawkes is providing for some strong standalone issues with what he presents to the reader to keep us engaged while laying down some really good character details to build who the team is and how they struggle to interact with each other. Juan Ferreyra again gets to shine beautifully here, particularly in those first few pages, with his sense of design and creating a close in and claustrophobic feeling without being so blatantly obvious about it. His style and the coloring he applies to it gives it a great look but it sets the tone so well while being distinctive on its own that he leaves me wanting more. The balance between larger panels and smaller ones is great and the movement between them definitely draws you further into the story and the details of his artwork. Beautiful stuff that gives his arc its own feeling while still very much being Gotham.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 16+
Released By: DC Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: August 26th, 2015
MSRP: $2.99
