City of Secrets
In the present Red Robin and Robin tango with the Architect. In the past Nicholas Gates is confronted with the true nature of Gotham and her elite.
The Good
Firstly I've got to say that having Dustin Nguyen on pencils this issue was a real treat. I'm a huge fan of his work, especially on Batman books, so this was a pleasant surprise.
The Fight with The Architect was very impressive and he comes off looking like a real threat. In stories this short the villain often gets a win to make them more threatening and it feels like the heroes are job out to them. I definitely didn't get this feeling here.
Alan Wayne is not just Bruce Wayne in a period costume. He's the exact type of man Bruce dedicated his life to taking down. Nicholas learns just how right Bradley was about Gotham's founding families. When he asks for Alan's help to prove that Kane is responsible for the accident that caused his brother's death he makes it abundantly clear that he's not one of them...and never will be.
The writing of Dick Grayson is much, much better than it was last issue. Seeing him encourage Tim to persevere was a great big brother moment.
I really liked the interaction between Dick and Cassie, it was a great idea to switch up the parings because it gives all the members of the Batfamily a chance to bounce off of one another. So much weight is given to the influence of the city in the eyes of the others, especially Bruce and Dick, but Cassie's perspective on Gotham was really refreshing.
The Bad
McCarthy's cover is a bit bland compared to his prior work on this book.
Having two artist in one book can often be very Jarring, especially when they're art is in the same story. The transition from Ngyuen to Donovan is very, very jarring especially as it happens mid issue and then switches back again at the end. If another artist with a style similar to Nguyen's had been chosen this would've really helped a lot. As it stands, Donovan's work clashes with Nguyens and also is too bright and cartoony for the tone of this dark story. It really kills the mood that's been established in this story for me.
Nguyen draws Damien looking a bit too old, in a few panels he looks almost exactly like Tim during his tenure as Robin.
The Verdict
Gates of Gotham continues to be an engaging, intriguing, and exciting read and one hell of a reference on Kyle Higgins resume. This is the final chapter before this excellent mini series comes to it's highly anticipated conclusion. Art troubles, aside this was a genuinely enjoyable read. As the Architect sits poised to destroy the Kane County Bridge and destroy half of Gotham Batman will have to pull out all the stops to put an end to his quest for vengeance. Dick seems to think he's figured out how to do exactly that and I for one can't wait to see what he's got planned.
