- Cover & Art by Alex Maleev
- Written by Gregg Hurwitz
Purchase your copy @ Comixology now!
BEWARE OF SPOILERS
Ahead of ‘Villains Month’ ‘The Dark Knight’ needed to wrap-up its Clayface arc and this issues ties everything up neatly with an airtight bow.
When we left off last month Clayface was still on the lose and out for revenge and that’s still where we find him when this issue picks up. Essentially this issue as a story of catch me if you can with Batman trying to keep up with the elusive villain until he finally comes up with a plan to capture him.
I have to admit that I’ve gotten a little lost with this story but this is a good conclusion to this part arc. Previous arcs under ‘The Dark Knight’ title have spent large amounts of time dedicated to the backstories of their central villains and also exploring some of the psychology of their actions, much like ‘Villains Month’ is doing on a broader scale, but this arc has been more about the impact of Calyface’s actions of Batman, Gordon and the citizens of Gotham.
There’s some okay detective work in the middle of this issue with Batman hunting down the source of some personal information which Clayface has found himself in possession of.
My expectations are always higher for this title because the premise was to explore the darker side of Gotham so I expect a certain level of darkness that hasn’t quite come to pass as yet.
The biggest draw for me in this arc has been the artwork. Maleev continues to drawn some dark and shadowy scenes throughout this issue which really help to push the mood further downwards and create that atmosphere that should be synonymous with ‘The Dark Knight’ brand.
Sometimes faces get a little lost in the darkness but there’s no doubting which characters we’re seeing. There’s a look of tiredness to Gordon and Bruce which I think perfectly personifies their never ending war on crime, they’re fatigued but they continue to soldier on.
If you’re not already reading this title then I recommend you hold off picking it up until the villains issues which also feature a Clayface special. When we return with issue #24 we continue the Clayface story looking in to more of his origin so unless you’ve got a keen interest wait until issue #26 for a silent story which is sure to pack some heavy hitting artwork.
6/10
