Arkham Unhinged #55
Welcome to the Slough of Despond
Arkham Unhinged has been pretty good recently. The story of the Bookbinder is a fascinating one, but it is beginning to feel like this story has stalled. At the end of the last issue, Batman finally discovered a lead on the individual who appears to be the Bookbinder. Will this issue finally show Batman racing towards a confrontation with Bookbinder, or is this story just spinning its wheels?
In this issue, a con artist takes a ride out of Gotham and Gotham for a ride, Commissioner Gordon muses about Batman and Bookbinder, and Catwoman makes a deal with Batman.
The Stupidest Crime Prevention Program…Ever!
There are parts of this story I love (Bookbinder) and parts of this story I hate. (people imprisoned for political views) I think the scheme proposed to decrease crime and poverty in Gotham, paying people five thousand dollars to leave the city, struck me as so stupid that I mentally blocked it out. In addition to just being a sign of the end of days if a government ever got to that point of paying people to leave a city there is an obvious loophole which could be exploited. Specifically, there is no way to stop someone from saying they will leave and then either not leaving or coming right back.
It almost feels as if this plot is being intentionally drug out at this point.
Ready for My Close Up?
I hate to say this because I actually had an exchange with Tony Shasteen just this week about how good his art looked in last week’s issue, but there was some art in this issue which was not great. Shasteen seems to have the big picture stuff down great, but when he does close-ups of people’s faces, things start to look odd. Commissioner Gordon looks a little off, and Catwoman looks Asian in a few panels. Worst of all, Batman looks like he is about to start crying on page fourteen. Other than that, everything looks good, but there is a definite issue with the faces.
Catwoman Finally Appears!
It was nice to see Selina finally come into the story. She has been on the cover for over two weeks without any actual appearances. Her interaction with Batman seemed appropriate, and it is interesting seeing the dynamic between these two in the Arkhamverse.
Conclusion 7/10
The story is still entertaining, but as I said last week, I’m growing tired of the narrative failing to move forward. If something does not happen soon, I’m going to get completely bored with this arc.