Batman Incorporated #7: This Little Piggy Will Have Roast Thief!

Immediately picking up from the events in issue #6, Ghost-Maker and El Gaucho drop in on Professor Pyg’s hideout, hoping to find the newest terror of Gotham and stop him once and for all, only to find that a small handful of henchmen there and that Professor Pyg is nowhere in sight. However, as a consolation prize, they find that some of the most notorious villains of Batman and Gotham are captured here, which leads Ghost-Maker to make a decision on if he should do what he does best and live up to his name, or keep the promise he made to Batman and enforce the “no-kill” rule for Batman Incorporated.

Meanwhile, the rest of the team has tracked down the location of the cargo that Professor Pyg has been tracking down (his mother), which two local teenage boys accidentally stole. Pyg is about to murder the two thieves when Batman Incorporated steps in to prevent the massacre from happening. But after these events, the issue ends with a hint of revisiting a conflict mentioned at the end of issue #5 and a shocking event that will change the future of Batman Incorporated.

The writing by Brisson in the series so far has been enjoyable, to say the least. The first five issues had that spy-thriller, Mission: Impossible feel to it that any fan of that genre can enjoy. It’s clear in issues 6 and 7 that they’re going to go adjust the focus from a spy-thriller mystery to more of a crime noir mystery given what we know about the upcoming series and where the story is heading.

Overall, the writing structure is wonderfully paced, going back and forth between the two main storylines in a way that gives you enough of what you need and then breaks away to what’s going on with the other members of Batman Incorporated. Within each group, the reader can enjoy the relationships and character development that builds within the issue itself as well as the arching story, especially with the development of El Gaucho’s views on Ghost-Maker and the growth of Clownhunter. There’s even a great moment where Ghost-Maker tries to be a better leader by doing something he told would help team morale, even if it is clearly insincere on the surface (probably the highlight of the story). If there’s anything to be weary of, there is one corny villainous line that shows up here with Professor Pyg (“this little piggy will have roast thief,” the inspiration for the article’s title), but readers can handle having one corny line that actually works well in this instance.

Staying true to the art style so far, Bandini and Lokus’ work is stellar. Their style, coloring, lighting, and composition are very cinematic, and they love to break through the boxed limitations of the panels to make the story come to life. The little details they provide with the art, such as adding a smokey effect and the silhouette of the moon in these pages, for instance, do something to the story that elevates it just that much.

That said, there are a couple of instances that the details (or lack thereof) are a little jarring. For instance, in one panel, we see Ghost-Maker’s back to the audience with his swords sticking out from his back. However, the details were missing to show how they were being held since the swords go through his cape, but there is no artistic detail to show a slit or hole of any kind for the sword to go through. Another instance that has been mentioned before is the unclarity behind Clownhunter’s lettering. His lettering is significantly different than others (mostly being all lowercase and a little smaller than the others) and it’s not clear why. Is it because he’s younger? Is he more soft-spoken? this detail is phenomenal, but the rationale behind it is lost to the readers.