Using the past to fight for a future.
Creative Staff:
Story: Jody Houser
Art: John Paul Leon
Colors: Dave Stewart
Letterer: John Workman
What They Say:
No one ever said detective work was Violet’s strong suit, but she’s never been one to let details get in her way. Mother Panic’s got a hunch about the new murderer in Gotham, but are impulsiveness and a thirst for vengeance really the right tools to stop a killer?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Mother Panic has managed to keep me pretty engaged with what it’s doing with its run so far due to shorter than usual arcs and essentially being a kind of comics noir piece with some unsavory characters. While I still crave to see Gotham done by Andrew Vachss, Jody House is giving us some solidly grim material to explore the area with. Her work with the artists so far have been strong but there’s a real appeal to the distinctiveness of John Paul Leon’s work here that definitely clicks with its angles and intensity, particularly combined with what Dave Stewart brings to the page in adding more mood and unease about a lot of the panels and cast.
Violet’s life is one that has been rough to be sure and seeing how it’s shaped her into what she is now is what makes it as engaging as it is. We don’t get a lot of flashback material to when she was just a number in the House but the kind of training she got is reinforced as is the way they saw her and others like her as a foundation for something bigger that would be coming. What we see of this period continues to reinforce why she’s as single-minded as she is and how that’s getting her into more trouble as the scope of her mission grows with each new person that she meets and the stories of their lives begin to impact her. She’s just as hard and harsh as she was at the start of this run but she’s also starting to be more protective of others, to take their paths into consideration to some degree.
That was amplified with her saving Rosie the last time around and now feeling even more driven to do something to help her since it reminds her of elements of her own past and the path that Rosie could take. We get to see just how far she’s willing to go, using her own past and propping up an incorrect image of her father to do so, in order to get what she needs and that kind of drive with the internal dialogue is fascinating to watch. And that plays just as well with the focus on her medical issue with the spinal piece that’s causing her problems. She’s still got days before they can do the surgery but she’s insisting on things that will let her continue to fight, which will surely lead to her own death. This is one of those growing up moments for her as she has to balance her own fate against that of others but it leads to the creativity that we see at the end. Watching her go through those spasms is brutal, however, especially if you’ve ever encountered significant back issues. That she fights on speaks volumes.
In Summary:
Gotham without the usual caped crusaders is the Gotham that I want to see and Jody Houser is delivering. Her work with John Paul Leon is spot on here as it delves into more of how she’s changing in who she is and how she fights in this city and I keep wishing it could sustain a twice a week format. The growth here with the supporting cast is really fun to watch, including some wonderfully done time with our favorite rat catcher, but it’s Violet that’s the draw and understanding how far she’ll go and what she’ll do is what keeps me reading. There’s not a lot of costume time here but that’s not a bad thing. It’s Violet under it all and understanding her more ups the understanding of her in the costumed role. Very good stuff here.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 17+
Released By: DC Comics/Young Animal via ComiXology
Release Date: June 28th, 2017
MSRP: $3.99
