Batman: Dark Patterns #4 is written by Dan Watters and published by DC. Artwork is by Hayden Sherman, colours by Triona Farrell and letters by Frank Cvetkovic. Main cover art (left) is also by Sherman.
Batman: Dark Patterns #4 Is available from today, in print and on digital platforms where all good comic books are sold. Grab your digital copy from Amazon Comixology UK right here.
Synopsis
CASE 02: “The Voice of the Tower,” Part IThere is a strange tower in Gotham City where the voices of the living and the dead echo. Its inhabitants are in a standoff with the police—with one officer dead and another held hostage inside, a riot seems all but guaranteed…unless Batman can navigate the building and save the missing police officer.But what the Caped Crusader discovers is that the people of the tower are following the direction of a single, strangely familiar voice that thrums throughout the building…and the voice wants blood.
Review
Over the course of its three-issue first arc Batman: Dark Patterns cemented itself as an incredible entry in to the Bat-legacy. Dan Watters’ back to basics approach driven home by Hayden Sherman’s visceral art style. Together this Dynamic Duo tore up the Batman rule-book in impressive style. Today Dark Patterns returns with the first chapter in its second arc, “The Voice of the Tower” and going in I’m nervous to find out if the book can keep the momentum.
“The Voice of the Tower” neatly settles itself right in to the overall Dark Patterns continuity. After a cop’s body is dropped from a local tower block it’s over to our favourite formaldehyde addict Dr. Sereika to examine the body. Meanwhile Watters’ quickly catches us up on the story of Bledin Towers. It turns out this building has been marked for demolition and is set to be replaced by luxury condos. Around half the residents have refused to leave and it has led to the current hostage situation. A hive of gang activity, the Bledin currently has another cop being held against their will inside and it looks like only Batman can save them.
There are aspects of “The Voice of the Tower” which reminded me of 2012’s Dredd. Watters backs Batman in to the dark corners of the Bledin’s graffiti-covered corridors. Uses its inhabitants are friends and enemies. Whilst Sherman runs with the idea of its central stairwell to create a claustrophobic yet unique visual to accompany Batman’s journey. Turning the Bledin in to a strong character works really well right across the issue. When it comes to final twist in the tale all of the development work pays off in spades.
Even more than the previous arc, “The Voice of the Tower” stars out with Sherman in experimental mode. The panel layouts are incredible. No two pages are alike as Batman makes his way around and up the inside of the tower. No two pages are like and it adds up to an exhilarating read from start to finish.
Watters peppers in clues towards the direction of travel in the story. “The Voice of the Tower” is aiming a little higher on the roster of Bat-villains albeit with a twist. Watters is putting his own spin on a classic and, once again, I can’t call how the story will play out. How or why this villain has ties to Bledin Tower remains to be seen. But given the tight storytelling in the first arc I’ve no doubt that Watters has it all planned out.
Aside from setting up a brilliant new mystery, Batman: Dark Patterns #4 really cements that this book is capable of handling the three-act arc structure. Whilst it could be argued as an anthology there’s so much carry over between arcs that it just feels like natural story progression. I don’t know why I was nervous it could keep this up…
Verdict
The second arc of Batman: Dark Patterns starts out strong. Echoes of the world building from arc one are built upon using a wildly different style of story. The Attack the Block, Dredd and The Raid formula of a single location we see Batman thinking on his feet, exploring his crime fighting style from a new angle.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
