Luck of the Irish.
Hot off the heels of Valentines Day Bruce Wayne is covered in GREEN. Not money, not the St. Patrick Spirit, but mind-controlling plants from the seductive Poison Ivy. This issue does read better in trade and I remember originally feeling like this was a filler issue just to tie-up Valentines Day, don't get me wrong Loeb is best when he sticks to his gimmick, but this felt like part two of a micro-arch, then a real St. Pats event. I think the only things really symbolic was the token item after another "hit" on the crime family. There was no green beer,no people getting pinched for not wearing green, no people having a good time on the streets, maybe St. Pats is boring in Gotham, but in Toronto it is an event.
As usual Tim Sale I think really carries so much of the story-telling since "noir" tales need to be paced nicely visually, which he does. Another thing Tim does well is contrast of light and darkness, he really captures the noir feel. The only set back to Tim's art, or may be its the script, this issues reads extremely fast, a lot more splash pages it feels like, when thinking back to past issues.
This issues is important to the overall story, since it introduces Sofia. At the same time even if Sofia is introduced here, or later most of this issues was just an extension of the last one. This was a good issue, but I won't consider it one of the best of the series. I look forward to April Fools, another new rogue seems to be joining the party.
Have a happy St. Patrick's Day.
Cheers
- Silkcuts