Comics / Comic Reviews / DC Comics

Review: All Star Batman #7

By Philip Schweier
March 22, 2017 - 07:38

This issue features two stories. The first is “Ends of the Earth,” part 2, in which Batman follows Pamela Isley out into the desert in the hope of enlisting her help. A child has been infected by an unknown pathogen let loose by Victor Fries, and he hopes Dr. Isley has a means of counter acting the lethal infection.

It portrays Isley – aka Poison Ivy – much more sympathetically than I recall. She’s no longer an obsessive plant maniac, she’s become a victim. She claims what she has become is the result of Bruce Wayne and his corporate manipulation, a corruption of the botanical research she conducted on behalf of Wayne Enterprises. Of course, she sees things that way, but we know better: she’s a terrorist, plain and simple, using plant toxins as a weapon.

One thing I am uncertain of is Batman’s costume. Yes, he wore it out to the desert, somewhere between Death Valley and the Nevada border. I’d love to see the look on Alfred’s face when Batman returns to stately Wayne Manor with a sunburn around his mouth and chin. And with temperatures soaring over 100 degrees in that part of the world, no doubt the full-body bat-suit will be better of burned than washed.

But I digress.

Batman’s costume is gray and green. I’m not sure why, but that’s only one of the puzzles in this book.

In the second story (“The Cursed Wheel, part 6”), Batman is facing down the Riddler. At least I think it’s Batman. He’s wearing a variation on the costume (sans cape), heavy on gold accents. It looks like a costume department reject from Batman & Robin (1997). It turns out it’s not Batman, and it’s not the Riddler.

“Batman” is actually Duke, who appears to be Batman’s latest candidate for teen sidekick. He has a score to settle, and despite Batman’s pep talk against going off half-cocked, the kid goes off half-cocked. It’s a brief tale, with the promise of more developments in the next issue.

I can’t say I care much for Tula Lotay’s work. It has an sketchy quality that does not appeal to me, though others may feel differently. Francisco Francavilla’s work also seems unfinished. I normally enjoy his artwork, but here it seems rushed. But the coloring (which I assume to be Francavilla’s as well) helps elevate the rendering, and adds a great deal of mood and atmosphere.

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12