Justice vs. Tragedy
This issue has a REALLY intense cover. The basic layout's nothing too special, but the execution is so full of raw emotion and perfect colors that I can't hate it.
I still love Fiorentino's artwork here, it actually just keeps getting better, but there's one glaring problem I noticed. On the final page, when Batwing dons his new armor, it looks different than it has the entire series, but I also realized it looks basically the same as how Fiorentino has been drawing it already. The effect is a little off, but the rest of the issue is stunning, especially the fantastic violence. Although there's a very awkward scene with Dawn that appears to have a panel or two missing.
This issue is all about David attempting to handle the tsunami of tragedy that's come crashing down on his head lately. His life is collapsing around him on literally every single front, and the future seems bleak at best. There's not a lot of high octane action in this issue, but what action we do get is surprisingly intense, especially from David on crutches. But this isn't just another arc, as Fabian Nicieza leads us where he's been going all along, making Batwing his his breaking point. The solicits for the next issue painted an already bleak future, but one that seems incredibly bizarre as a followup for this issue, so the future of this series is in an interesting haze at the moment. But overall it's clear that these events have taken a heavy toll on Batwing, and he's broken. His creed lies in ruins as he turns his back on the instincts he's been fighting for years and decides, "The time has come for people to die."
In Conclusion: 4.5/5
There's not a lot to say about this issue, there's a few hiccups in the flow keeping this from a perfect score, but overall this is the penultimate point in Fabian Nicieza's arc and s*** has seriously hit the fan. Something intrinsic has changed within Batwing after his attempts at justice have blown up right in his face, and a dark future dangles in front of us. Batwing is rising up as one of the better series once again and that's pretty exciting. It's also interesting to note that this issue ends promising "Batwing 2.0" next issue, which is about 3 issues away from the # Hardware 2.0 was introduced in HIS series.
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