Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty murdered his grandma?
We start off once again with White lamenting the fact that in Arkham he's just a fish when on the outside he was "The Great White Shark." We're also quickly introduced to two more new characters. Junkyard dog, an inmate whose gimmick is.. he smells bad... okay. Also Doodlebug, an urban tagger turned famous artist turned homicidal nutcase all because he followed his "muse." Alone in their cell together, Humpty tells Warren his life story. I should note that the artwork in this scene is very well done, with lots of bright colors to offset the gruesome imagery. Plus, Humpty tells it like a fairy tale, really showcasing the child like nature of this character. He was born in Gotham to a loving family straight out of leave it to beaver. But a series of unfortunate events, such as the accidental demolition of his house, his dog getting run over with an ice cream truck and his parents getting killed by a falling Christmas tree (The only thing that could have made it worse was his dodgeball coach getting killed by a falling Luck of the Irish sign) Humpty is landed with his hateful Grandmother who beats him with a knotted stick. Regardless, he grows up to be a relatively productive member of society. But when a train never stops for him, his child like mind draws the conclusion that the train is broken and so he tries to repair it by taking it apart and putting it together again. But, lacking the experience in train repair, Humpty causes the train to careen out of control the next day killing or crippling nearly everyone on board. Meanwhile, back in reality Doodlebug has bribed one of the guards to let him into the women's ward for a *ahem* conjugal visit with the villainess Magpie. Whilst there, he reveals that he has the missing shard of Hatter's mirror. Back to Humpty's story, he has gained an obsession with taking things apart and putting them back together, inadvertently causing chaos throughout the city. When trying to fix the clock tower, something goes kerplooie and somehow all those funky looking statues of cows and violins you'd see in Gotham during the silver age gets destroyed. Clever way to get rid of those I must say. Seeing his destruction and contemplating suicide, Humpty is confronted by Batgirl who saves him from falling and tries to cheer him up, clearly seeing that he's not a mad man and needs help. Then we go to Humpty's home. Humpty tells Batgirl about his grandmother and how horrible she was too him. Humpty says something had to have been wrong with her, so he did what he always does when he thinks something is wrong, take her apart and put her back together. This is one of the most gruesome moments in any Batman book I've ever read and you don't even see too much of it, it's mostly in shadow. Batgirl's look of horror says it all. Back in the present we see Doodlebug helped back to his cell by the crooked guard. when we see the guards face, we learn that it's actually Jane Doe. Our comic ends with Detective Harvey Bullock investigating some gruesome murders with a man in black. All we know is that there's some connection to Arkham. The man in black reveals himself as Jason Blood, AKA Etrigan.
What Works:
Humpty's story is incredibly well done. It's disturbing but also bright and colorful. I like the fact that Humpty is not just another Batman villain, but someone who actually needs psychiatric help. It makes him a very tragic and (no pun intended) well rounded character. Also it's in this issue that the seeds of the final climax are planted.
What doesn't:
Can't think of anything specific, it's a pretty good issue. Could have used more of Aaron Cash, but more of him is coming I promise
Overall:
5/5
Next time, all hell breaks loose