Batman #14: Fighting in the Cold and the Dark

Following the resolution of Vandal Savage’s attempted herbicide attack on Poison Ivy, Fraction sends Batman after Mr. Freeze in search of a potential solution to the prehistoric plant overgrowth in Gotham City. Batman #14 continues the trend of Batman and his allies handling the events of Bad Seeds in a roundabout manner. Readers who are also following Poison Ivy will see the logic in this since that series’ most recent issue established that fighting and defeating Ivy will have no real impact on the plant growth in Gotham.

Fraction tells two parallel stories in Batman #14. While Batman is searching for Freeze, Verity is back at the manor which has been broken into by thieves taking the opportunity during the chaos to steal from the rich. Verity getting more to do here, especially in a fight, is fun. This is a nice way to remind readers, especially those that have not been following Batman, that Verity is more than merely a “guy in the chair” and forensics assistant character to Bruce/Batman. Additionally, it’s nice to be reminded that in the kind of chaos caused by Bad Seeds, there would be ordinary bad actors trying to take advantage of the situation, especially in this kind of classist argument manner. This is an element that is always welcome in Batman events that put Gotham in danger; it makes Gotham feel more realized as a city.

The Batman/Freeze encounter is actually the weaker of these two storylines from the perspective of this issue as a Bad Seeds tie-in. Readers familiar with the Mr. Freeze backstory in Batman will appreciate this continuation of that plotline, and Fraction does a good job using it for extra conflict. But for the purpose of continuing the Bad Seeds storyline, which so far has done little to actually combat the prehistoric plant overgrowth in Gotham, the conflict between Batman and Nora feels unnecessary.

That said, the way Fraction composes Batman #14 is extremely successful. The frequent intercuts between the Verity and Batman storylines during the action sequences make the issue a page turner. Once the action gets going, the issue moves at a fast clip.

Scalera’s use of thin lines to help define musculature and small patches of shading to give definition to clothing heightens the energy of the action sequences. This is especially the case with Verity’s storyline. The added dimension of the ordinary clothing she and the criminals wear emphasize movement even more than in Batman’s fight with Nora.

This same style of thinner, lighter lines goes a long way toward adding nuance to characters’ expressions. This is also most evident in Verity’s storyline since her whole face is visible as is the criminals’ (for part of the time, at least). Instances of widened or narrowed eyes definitely adds emphasis, but Scalera doesn’t rely purely on things like characters’ eyes and mouths to communicate everything which can result in less nuance.

Coloring styles vary somewhat between the Verity and Batman storylines. Morey does a good job adjusting to the implied light level. Coloring in Batman’s storyline is relatively vivid, especially when he is in proximity to Freeze’s lair. The chunks of ice have a nice brightness that implies the reflection of light. The hue choices in Verity’s storyline are slightly darker. This plays nicely into Scalera’s heavier use of black patches in this storyline which is appropriate for the darkness in the mansion.

Cowles does his usual good job organizing dialogue bubbles to keep them out of the way of important visual elements, especially in the smaller, dialogue heavy panels early in the issue. He also adds a nice visual flair by using a spotty blue and red border to the radio signal dialogue bubbles when Verity and Batman communicate. His use of color here is actually brighter than Morey’s in most cases which really makes these dialogue bubbles pop.