The past defines us, and controls some of us even more.
Creative Staff:
Story: Jody Houser
Art: Shawn Crystal
Colors: Jean-Francois Beaulieu
Letterer: John Workman
What They Say:
While hunting a new target, Mother Panic may have found her first ally in the strange and enigmatic Pretty. But nothing involving Gather House is ever what it appears to be. Can Pretty really be trusted? And what exactly is going on in Violet Paige’s basement?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Mother Panic delighted me with what it did in the previous issue by moving onto a new arc instead of drawing something out for six issues, a problem with far too many series for me these days. Jody Houser is keeping things fairly tight and interesting, and leaving me hopeful for some fun one-off stories in the future, and the shift to Shawn Crystal on the artwork makes it clear just how neat the interpretations of the character can be. I’m still largely hopeful that Mother Panic is kept to just this book instead of making her way into other Batbooks too much, but I’m totally digging what Crystal is doing here and am weirdly hopeful to see more interpretations of her, and Gotham, in this book in the future.
The dynamic for this installment is interesting as it’s not really trying to do anything too much, no big movements or anything, but more just about immersing us in the characters and the setting. Violet’s stepping out of her Mother Panic role for a night is definitely welcome as she knows she has to put in an appearance as Violet and while there’s a literal stripping down moment here it’s more that it’s just engaging to see how she plays at socialite. We’ve seen that with several characters over the decades but there’s such an indifference or disdain coming from her in how Crystal presents it or how Houser writes the narration that it just feels almost like it’s bordering on flipping to hostile. Which makes sense considering her past and what hoops she has to jump through in order to live the life she wants.
The rest of the book is its own interesting mix of things. Violet’s time spent in costume with Pretty makes it clear that while Violet is certainly broken, she’s not twisted in the same way that he is. He’s a hard one to read in some ways as there’s an aloofness about him that’s almost disorienting, especially when viewed through Violet’s lens. We do see some of what he’s up to when she stops him from potentially taking out a child as that ties back to their own past in Gather house with how kids were used, abused, and tested upon just to see what would stick and potentially make the place money. I’m intrigued by the potential of Pretty but we really don’t know enough. It really could go either way and there’s a lot to like with that. And with how Houser writes him combined with the visual design from Crystal, it’s just unnerving, the kind of person that you’d be looking sideways at if they were around you.
In Summary:
I’m still loving Mother Panic a whole lot and in ways I didn’t think I would when I first tried sampling the series. This installment gives the characters time to breathe and exist without having to deal with world ending or city ending issues. That lets us get into their minds more, or at least Violet’s, and that sets the tone and mood of the book as a whole. Especially when it comes to dealing with her mother! The more we become immersed in this world the more I’m both intrigued and frightened by it, both because of the story but also through the wonderful interpretation that Shawn Crystal brings us. Very good stuff.
Grade: A-
Age Rating: 17+
Released By: DC Comics/Young Animal via ComiXology
Release Date: March 22nd, 2017
MSRP: $3.99
