Batman #150
Writer: Chip Zdarsky
Artists: Denys Cowan & Jorge Jiménez
Inker: John Stanisci
Colorist: Tomeu Morey
Publisher: DC Comics (July 2024)
Spoilers Ahead
It's a weird time in the world of comic books when the ongoing Batman series feels like it isn't running on a full tank of gas. Don't get me wrong, I have thoroughly enjoyed the writing of Chip Zadarsky in the past, particularly his work on Marvel 2-in-One back in 2017. During that run he showed the adventures of Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm as they tried to live their lives without the rest of the Fantastic Four, who were exploring the multiverse. His portrayal of Johnny, Ben, and especially Dr. Doom is some of my favorite work ever done with the characters. Zdarsky's Doom is magnificently pompous and aristocratic, striking a tone that few modern writers are capable of (I'm looking at you, Bendis).
Anyway, I digress—my point is that Zdarksy is more than adept at writing a good story, I just don't think he's done anything very good ever since he took over Batman. Joker: Year One left me aghast at how awful a take on the character's origin it was, while Failsafe and the odd fall from space to earth with nary a scratch on his bat ears fizzled out at the eleventh hour.
Maybe it's stage fright, maybe it's Zdarsky has simply started to run dry of ideas, or maybe he's simply not a fit for Bruce and company, but I think I'm among those who are patiently waiting for DC to announce the end of his run and someone new taking his place. Although who that might be is more uncertain than ever given the dearth of talented writers that Marvel and DC find themselves suffering from. Until that day comes, fans will just have to tough it out with mediocre Batman tales. At least Batman #150 is above average compared to more recent efforts.
It's an anniversary issue that sets out to resolve a dangling plot thread, namely that a low-level thug seems to have figured out Batman's secret identity during the Gotham War arc. This issue revolves around that criminal, a man named Teddy, who is now trying to figure out how to benefit from his newfound knowledge. As a premise, it's not bad—what would anyone do if they knew that Bruce Wayne is Batman? Certainly there would be some kind of upside by having such a sought after, secret piece of information.
As Teddy comes to find, there actually isn't much of an upside at all when it comes time to try and actually trade in on what he knows. A fellow criminal named Percy tells Teddy that he can get some cold, hard cash if tells the right person who Batman is. Expecting a million dollar payday, Zdarsky guides the reader through all of the pitfalls of attempting to collect on such a deal. Unfortunately, it's a mixed bag in terms of what does and doesn't work here.
On the positive side, there's an excellent moment with Two-Face where Harvey claims to already know who Batman is (although he never names him aloud), but that to reveal this truth to the world would mean ending the duality of his nature. This is something that Harvey is drawn to, naturally, but he also realizes the more pragmatic concern, which is that a Batman with no secret identity would just be Batman all the time. This would result in a caped crusader who would become a relentless thorn in Two-Face's side, along with all the other criminals in Gotham. It starts to get a little nauseating when Harvey describes Batman's duality as "true beauty," which I don't think Harvey would actually say. Note to comic book writers, it's okay for Batman's enemies to just hate his guts and limit their obsessions to wanting him dead versus "loving" him, thinking he's "beautiful," and so on.
On the negative side of things, we have Teddy's afternoon special "come to Jesus" ending. In short, Teddy wants the money to take care of his family, but as his wife and son point out, his desire for cash comes from his irresponsible compulsion to be a crook, not some selfless drive to be a provider. If he really wanted to do that, they argue, Teddy would have lived life on the straight and narrow and been there for his family instead of out on the streets being a criminal. It's all a touch cliche, especially Teddy's son Yuto who has prototypical Gen Z blue dyed hair. The dialogue is often grating in how on the nose and scripted it sounds. Looking back at these pages, it surprises me how Zdarsky apparently couldn't see that the way these characters are written isn't how people actually talk to each other. Yuto exclaims "I thought you were what a man is supposed to be!" at one point, for crying out loud. The issue really suffers from this tedious, paint-by-numbers dialogue.
I couldn't help but think of the Riddler's arc in Hush from back in the day as I read this issue. During that story, Nigma figures out Batman's secret identity and lords it over him, declaring how the world is now his oyster. Batman quickly reminds Nigma that his addiction is riddles, and that a riddle everyone knows the answer to is worthless. If Riddler outs Bruce Wayne as Batman, that knowledge becomes commonplace, thus robbing Nigma of any pleasure in being the only one who knows the truth. Batman #150 feels like an expanded examination of that concept, with Teddy realizing by the end of the story that he's more likely to end up dead than rich by trying to profit off of what he knows. He also is overcome with guilt when he finds out that Batman saved Yuto from following in his dad's footsteps as a lowdown crook. Things end with Teddy on his way to a new life in Metropolis courtesy of Bruce Wayne.
Again, this story isn't bad, and it's certainly better than recent issues, but it's a touch bland. It plays things very safe and has some daytime soap opera-levels of cheesy, unrealistic dialogue. I give Zdarsky credit for producing an accessible one-off issue, though, not to mention a story with a positive message that doesn't feel pandering. The backup story, by the way, ties into the Absolute Power event happening at DC right now, and I couldn't have cared less about it. The event doesn't interest me and the backup story felt completely tacked on. If you're keeping up with Absolute Power, by all means, give it a read, but it felt like a waste of space here.
The art helps to elevate the main story quite a bit. The legendary Denys Cowan steps in to work alongside regular artist Jorge Jiménez. Cowan does the bulk of the drawing and his expressive, gritty style is a perfect fit for Batman. Something about this issue felt reminiscent of an old '90s Batman comic, perhaps a tale that might have been in an issue of Legends of the Dark Knight, thanks to Cowan's illustrations. I don't know, maybe I'm just nuts, but that was the vibe it gave me. Jiménez's art, meanwhile, is interspersed between Cowan's pages, used to depict the flashback sequences in the story. His style doesn't exactly blend with Cowan's, but it's beautiful art nonetheless.
On a side note here, has anyone else found the scheduling of Jorge Jiménez throughout Zdarsk's Batman run to be unusual? Taking nothing away from Denys Cowan, wouldn't DC think it might make more sense to have the premier Batman artist of this generation do the entirety of the series' 150th anniversary issue? I thought this is as well when I read Joker: Year One. Giuseppe Camuncoli is a good artist in his own right, but if I'm DC and I'm billing this as the definitive origin story of the Joker, I'm pretty sure I'm bringing the most top tier talent I can to the project. Instead, Jiménez is used less than optimally before taking a breather. Pretty weird, but I again digress.
If you've been wanting a nice, basic Batman story to read with no continuity to worry about and a break from Zdarsky's ongoing storyline, Batman #150 might do the trick. It's not a great story, but it's a serviceable one with a decent premise, a great Two-Face scene, and some delightful art that helps make the experience all the better.
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