Batman ’89 #5: Cold-Hearted

One of the best things about reading this book is artist Joe Quinones. Not just because he lets us revisits the characters, places, and atmosphere of the 1989 film, but it’s also because he introduces us to new elements that exist in that world. Time has passed, things have changed, some people have changed costumes, they’ve aged and new characters have come into this universe. It’s an absolute treat to experience and Quinones actually makes it an experience through his artwork. If I had to critique one thing, it would be his page layouts. They can almost be confusing sometimes, knowing which panel to read next, however, the number of panels is totally needed to pack everything into this issue because it’s so packed with story. He makes everybody look good and makes the bad guys look very, very bad. Throughout this whole series, he’s portrayed Two-Face as a legitimate threat that you know could stand toe to toe with the Joker or the Penguin any day. 

The writer of the original film and author of this comic is Sam Hamm, and if anybody knows how to tell a story in this universe, it’s this man. This comic seems that Hamm never stopped typing after completing the final draft of the movie. He’s packed this issue with SO MUCH but has managed to give everybody the perfect amount of screen time and has given us a very compelling issue that’s action-oriented, but also has a lot of character development elements packed inside. This is the penultimate issue in the series, and it feels like it, but I really would like to see this world revisited sooner rather than later.