Batman #8: Three Old Men

Batman #8 is a very different issue from the previous seven issues of Matt Fraction’s run on the caped crusader. Instead of using the “episode of the month” format, issue #8 sidesteps Batman almost completely to tell three shorter stories all happening at the same time in Gotham. The focal points of these stories are three old men who see the world with different, weary eyes.

To break things down simply, the story is divided between these three viewpoints, giving readers a look into the three different parts of Fraction’s Gotham City. Vandal Savage’s portion of the issue represents the ever-present corruption in Gotham; the reporter Jack Dean’s part represents what it’s like to live under fear of the tyranny of that corruption, and Alan Scott represents fighting back against said corruption.

Vandal’s quid pro quo conversation with Mayor Ivy, formerly of the Poison variety, portrays them as figures separate from everyone else. This elitism, “we know better” attitude, is a major part of what’s wrong with Gotham City. Jack Dean and his young sidekick fearing the flash of police lights, despite having done nothing wrong, shows the effect of that elitism on the average person. And lastly, Alan Scott being harassed by and fighting back against a couple of random street thieves shows the good-natured light that beats at the heart of Gotham and its “Bat-Family.”

Ryan Sook’s art does a good job of capturing these different viewpoints. Vandal Savage’s scenes are all big and luxurious, the finery of the mayor’s office, a big splash page as he talks about how much bigger his view is than anyone else’s. By contrast, pages that focus on Jack Dean are rapid and brief; there is a kind of cinematography as each shot goes from moment to moment rather than idea to idea. Alan Scott’s pages could be best described as “the classic modern superhero style,” where a conversational scene is stacked vertically but the action is overlaid with takedowns and superpower special effects. Tomeu Morey’s colors do a good job. Though they don’t feel as unique for each storyline as, say, the artwork does.

Lettering deserves some praise here as well, as there are several pages where the speaker is not in the scene when ideas from one character’s story overlap into the other two. This is handled very well by Clayton Cowles, as each character’s text is color-coded and easy to read as you transition from one story to the next.