It’s important to remember where you park the bucket.
Creative Staff:
Story: Brian Buccellato, Christopher Sebela
Art: Jheremy Raapack
Colors: J. Nanjan
Letterer: Wes Abbott
What They Say:
In Wayne Manor, Batman’s team faces Killer Frost and Solomon Grundy. Down below in the Batcave, Harley faces Nightwing.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Having talked about my ambivalence of sorts with this series, largely because it’s so Harley focused and I appreciated the other series with the different viewpoints we got, this latest issue is one that works very well as it continues to expand the scope. It also works really well as Buccellato and Sebela get to work with Jheremy Raapack, an artist who elevates this book pretty well here with the designs and layouts. The action material feels like it flows very well here, better than expected, and combining that with some strong color work? This feels like the best looking issue of the series so far and we’ve had some very good looking issues overall. And that carries the overall tone of the installment up a few notches, especially as it feels like Sebela’s getting a better handle on the humor in this.
The book does largely work two storylines here and each is worthwhile. Batman is in the midst of leading the other world League members into the remains of Wayne Manor in order to get what he needs to defeat Superman. There are some welcome fill-in moments about what’s gone down in this world so the new guys are up to speed in a very basic way, but it’s just enjoyable to see this team even in this form working to deal with a dark and bleak situation. Some of the quips are amusing, mostly from Ollie and Arthur, but it connects well. Of course, their mission can’t go easy and they have both Solomon Grundy and Killer Frost to fight as someone is always guarding the castle, but it has a good flow for what little we get with it.
The larger portion is Harley and her crew, the first crew of hers that I’ve really liked in a long time. Their journey below the Manor to get the Batmobile is a lot of fun as we see her with the map, trying to keep them all together rather than split up because of horror movies, and even a quick bit where Man-Bat shows up in a comically wonderful little cameo sequence. Getting a feel for the Batcave itself at this stage is nice and the whole swiping of the car really does feel like something with a goal and that helps her storyline immensely at this point. Of course, we also get some action down there as Damian tries to stop them in their tracks, but her verbal takedown of him is just so her and so spot on that I couldn’t help but to grin over it.
In Summary:
While I’ve enjoyed the book for the most part and don’t deny that in the slightest, this is the first issue where it feels like it has its groove on in a really good way. The dialogue is spot on, the flow of two different but connected stories is a welcome change of pace, and the action is engaging and fun to watch. Raapack’s artwork definitely is a strong piece of this as there’s some great dynamic action bits and I love the flow of some of the layouts, and I especially like the whole map sequence. Harley’s expressions feel like they’re a bit more exaggerated here but it adds a good bit of comical effect to her that contrasts some of the more serious narration we’ve had lately. Hopefully, this groove will continue for a number of issues.
Grade: B
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: DC Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: December 6th, 2016
MSRP: $0.99