Review: Bruce Wayne - The Road Home: Commissioner Gordon #1

Now that Gotham's villains have Vicki Vale's scent, Commissioner Gordon might be the only who can protect from a hit put out by two low-level capes.
 

The Good

Kudranski's art is incredibly moody, keeping the intensity at a pitch throughout. Even though the story's told in a non-linear fashion, I also enjoyed the methodical progression of the goons' assault, Gordon's defense and Bruce Wayne's more-involved-than-expected intervention. Also, while it wasn't as probing as the Batgirl and Catwoman specials were, this still had the interesting angle on Gordon's character - - how he's trying assert his own value while, at the same time, respecting Batman's necessity.

The Bad

Gordon even makes a joke about it being pretty obvious that this new mask is really the Batman he's work with for years - - so I still think that the conceit Bruce puts his allies through seems like a bit of stretch, even by superhero standards. Also, why I did like the artwork's moody atmosphere for the most part, there were definitely portions where things got so dark as to almost make it hard to follow the action.

The Verdict - 3.5/5

Part of the fun of a special like this is the chance to see supporting characters like Gordon finally get the spotlight and have a little more attention lavished on the nuances of their character. While this might have got a little messy at points, I still enjoyed the claustrophobic horror/thriller tension. Also, seeing as how Gordon was wise to Bruce's ruse, it addressed issues I had with the believability of some of these tie-ins.