Written by Grant Morrison
Art by Chris Burnham
Batman confronts Talia al Ghul with detrimental results for some unlucky Gothamites.
Batman Inc has been a huge month-to-month thrill ride and it only pushes down harder on the gas pedal with issue #6. After his team was caught up in a trap in the last issue, Batman seeks to confront Talia al Ghul and finds himself in a trap as well, having to choose between the lives of Gotham’s citizens or the life of Damian. This plays out through the whole book as Batman takes the fight to Leviathan room-by-room clearing out a Leviathan base. As smart and cunning as Batman as is, he’s always at his best when he’s fighting against huge swaths of enemies and that is delivered in spades in this book. In fact the action was so good in this issue that I didn’t even care if the story was good or not, make no mistake though, it’s good.
There were also some great moments of tension with Knight using a taser to revive an almost dead Squire, or when we see the fate of the poor hostages taken by Talia. Morrison is crafting a barnburner with this issue, and that barn is burning up fast. I have always been a fan of Morrison’s work on Batman titles, and Batman Inc is only solidifying my fandom. Talia is elevated into a super villain even more with a master plan to destroy all of Gotham and only the Dark Knight standing in her way. I really enjoyed the way she cat and mouses him through the issue, very reminiscent of her father Ra’s, she taunts him at every turn while trying to make Batman feel powerless to stop her. I am also curious to know where the revelation concerning a future Batman will take us. I was a bit confused by this part and I’m hoping #7 will clear some of that up.
Burnham’s art is phenomenal as usual, including a great scene with Batman working his way through an enemy filled staircase. The art really stood out with Knight trying to revive Squire. The sheer panic filling Knight shines through with Burnham’s work, making us feel every bit of emotion that Knight is going through watching his partner dying. In fact, looking back, it’s hard to pick one particular page over another as the art delivers on just about every page.
Overall Batman Inc. #6 is an action romp that pushes the story and the art to exciting places that I am more than happy to go to. These last few issues of Batman Inc. have been incredible, with the Death of the Family going on in the main Bat books and with Snyder’s awesome work on Batman, I feel like Batman Inc. has been living in the shadows of the other Bat books, but make no mistake, Inc. has carved out a story that could stand with the great work Snyder and company of done with Batman.
4.5 out of 5 nerds
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Marc
Marc is a self-confessed nerd. Ever since seeing Star Wars for the first time around 1979 he’s been an unapologetic fan of the Wars and still believes, with Clone Wars and now Underworld, we are yet to see the best Star Wars. He’s a dad of two who now doesn’t have the time (or money) to collect the amount of toys, comics, movies and books he once did, much to the relief of his long-suffering wife. In the real world he’s a graphic designer. He started Following the Nerd because he was tired of searching a million sites every day for all the best news that he loves and decided to create one place where you can go to get the whole lot. Secretly he longs to be sitting in the cockpit of his YT-1300 Corellian Transport ship with his co-pilot Chewie, roaming the universe, waiting for his next big adventure, but feels just at home watching cartoons with his kids….
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