DC Comics reviews for 6/28/17

Batman/The Shadow #3

While Batman is deciding if he can trust The Shadow, The Joker is firming up his alliance with The Stag. That’s not so good news for the two vigilantes, but it makes for a fascinating and rapid fire page turner.

Writers Scott Snyder and Steve Orlando have gone heavy on the mystery here. The Shadow’s motives continue to be vague and somewhat questionable. Batman’s failure to get a straight answer from him makes The Shadow seem all the shadier. Joker and The Stag have reached a far better working partnership. With his mannequins painted up to look like members of the Justice League and his purple suit T-shirt, Joker somehow manages to be even creepier than normal.

Snyder seems to follow up his current All-Star Batman storyline with another glimpse of Alfred’s military path in a particularly gruesome sidebar story.

Riley Rossmo’s art continues to be a strong selling point. The page layouts and character posing works wonderfully for this darker story. Ivan Plascencia’s colors stand out even beyond The Shadow’s prominent red scarf.

We’re starting to approach the point of the crossover where Batman and The Shadow need to come together to defeat their enemies.

Interestingly, Snyder and Orlando are making this more than the basic casual crossover with implications that The Shadow has been in Batman’s life for years. I’m curious to see how this will play out.

Rating: 9.5 out of 10