Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews
Batman & Two-Face #24
DC Comics
Tomasi, Gleason & Gray
Batman and Two-Face starts off as a great read, but quickly turns into a hacked-up origin story that really destroys all the character focus as well as the deeper plot that Tomasi set up to start off the book. The book reads very oddly and really falls into a below-average category unfortunately. This is not a good way to start out an arc.
The book opens with a creepy scene where Two-Face is awakened by a fly landing on his exposed eyeball. This was a fantastic scene to give the reader a glimpse into what this character's life is like and the decisions that run through his mind on a daily basis. The scene is enhanced by the visuals of the character's surroundings further playing into the two-sided nature of his existence.
The next scene involves a crime boss, McKillen, coming out of hiding abroad to deal with her crime cohorts directly. The setup of this character and her motivations for dealing with Batman and Two-Face are good. The scenes where she meets with the other crime bosses are also good. Then the book falls apart horribly.
The back half of the book begins to show the reader how McKillen was responsible for Harvey Dent's transformation into Two-Face. The motivation is not clear. Some other character is referenced but the dots are not connected. Worse than that, a criminal creating Two-Face for a specific reason doesn't line up with Two-Face's behavior after the fact nor his obsession with Batman. This editorially just doesn't make any sense. Though, McKillen is an interesting villain, this comic somehow ruins Two-Face.
The artwork is good in some parts but not across the board. There are a couple of scenes that are fantastic. For example, the visual of Batman flying over the water is brilliant. There is also a page or two with black and orange backlight during Dent's transformation that visually looks excellent. However, details, such as haircuts and facial expression vary from page to page and don't leave a great impression. There is just too much inconsistency in this comic.
My hope is that the McKillen thread will see more usage in the coming issues and that this Two-Face origin will be straightened out a little more as well. If you don't look too closely at the Two-Face origin then hopefully you will find the issue more enjoyable than I did. The book shifts gears too violently in this comic and the shift is not a good one at all. If the book's focus stayed more on McKillen and the present plot I think it would have been a great read.
2 out of 5 Geek Goggles
