About_Faces!

I know that Ram V’s “Gotham Nocturne” isn’t for everyone, nor is it without flaws, but I still didn’t know how to deal with this criticism of the latest issue:

Putting aside how he apparently doesn’t understand the actual plot from the fact that he thinks it’s just about “Gotham vs werewolves” for some reason, I can’t get over this idea that Batman can’t or wouldn’t ever work with the likes of Mr Freeze and ESPECIALLY Harvey. Every other interaction between Batman and these two has Batman pleading “LET ME HELP YOU!” He CARES for them, and having them on his side even for a little while is a small triumph for Bruce and his hope for these men to turn their lives around!

And also, “Batman is ok working with murderers now?” JASON TODD, DUDE. Not to mention that in the pages of this very run of Detective Comics, Batman has worked alongside Harvey Dent TWICE, first in James Robinson’s “Deface the Face” and then in Peter Tomasi’s “Ugly Heart!” This isn’t a random, out-of-character choice for Batman, you just don’t read the comics!

And like, even if the story WAS just “Batman teams up with the rogues to fight werewolves,” why would anyone find that “dumb”?! That’s AWESOME! What kind of weirdo wouldn’t want to read that?!

It’s like, okay, I know this storyline isn’t going to be for all tastes. It’s an arthouse film epic of Gotham City as a whole, not the usual fan-friendly samey stuff about Batman and the Joker that’s tying into DC’s latest overblown event. It’s weird and different and definitely not for all tastes, plus its sprawling nature and ambitious themes can come off as incomprehensible and pretentious to anyone who’s not engaging with the story. I get all that.

But if you can’t get on board because it has Batman teaming up with two of his best tragic, tormented rogues, leading to Harvey fighting one (1) werewolf, I fundamentally just do not get you.

Covers for Batman: The Long Halloween: The Last Halloween (Oct 2024) by a roster of guest artists honoring the late Tim Sale.

--Jason Shawn Alexander

--Chris Thornley (Raid71) prints for BTAS

A hint of what’s to come in “Gotham Nocturne,” with certain rogues who will be joining Batman in his fight against the Orghams.

Evan Cagle’s covers for Detective Comics (2022)

DETECTIVE COMICS #1067

ON SALE 12/27/22

Covers by Evan Cagle, Jim Lee, and Colleen Doran

Mr. Freeze encounters an Azmer, one of the demonic beings terrorizing Gotham’s villainous underground network, and then Mr. Freeze makes an offer to the Dark Detective that he cannot refuse. Then, the Orgham’s werewolf protector gives Two-Face one more chance to tell him who Batman is.

In the backup story, take a stroll inside Two-Face and Harvey Dent’s mind as they try to have a secret conversation outside the listening ears of a mysterious shadow stalking them in this headspace…

TASK FORCE Z #12

Written by MATTHEW ROSENBERG

Art and cover by EDDY BARROWS and EBER FERREIRA

Variant cover by JIM CHEUNG

1:25 variant cover by TRAVIS MERCER

Hispanic Heritage Month variant cover by CHRIS BATISTA

$3.99 US | 32 pages | 12 of 12 | Variant $4.99 US (card stock)

ON SALE 9/27/22

Jason Todd’s final second chance. Red Hood and what remains of Task Force Z have seen the true horrors that Powers International has released upon Gotham City and the world. When he shares all of this with Batman, it will lead them to their worst confrontation yet and lead Jason Todd to change his direction in the DCU. What’s the point of forgiveness when the world is so broken? Find out in this epic series conclusion!

YEAAHHHH BOY HARVEY TO THE RESCUE

—Alex Ross

I can find no proof to back this up, but I swear that I remember an interview with someone involved with Batman Beyond (Dini? Timm? Burnett?) during the first season where they talked about their original plans for a Mr. Freeze cameo.

I distinctly remember that they thought about having a moment where Bruce would go to his freezer to get something and Mr. Freeze’s head would be in there. Alive. And pissed. He’d say something like “Wayne. I will freeze your bones. I will shatter your—” and then Bruce would close the door on him and carry on talking with Terry or whatever.

And like, I’m glad they didn’t do this, naturally. The Mr. Freeze episode of BB we got was one of the series’ best. And poor Victor deserves better than the prospect of being stuck alone and powerless in a freezer for decades. It’s a highly disturbing prospect the more you think about it.

All that said, I’d be lying if I said that some small part of me wasn’t sad that we missed out on a Victor cameo like this:

—Chris Samnee