Batman: Gotham Knights #50

February 17, 2004

Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: Pushback Book One

As the Riddler sits in prison, Batman sees a face from the past.

Writer: A.J. Lieberman
Pencils: Al Barrionuevo
Inker: Francis Portela
Colors: Noelle Giddings with Heroic Age
Letters: Clem Robins
Editor: Matt Idelson
Cover Art: Lee Bermejo
Publisher: DC Comics

This issue is famously publicized as being the return of Hush, that’s slightly misleading, as the character himself doesn’t appear at all in this issue. His fingerprints, however, are all over it. In prison, the Riddler finds himself the center of attention thanks to his near-defeat of Batman. His notoriety brings danger with it, however, and a threat sends him scrambling to use his major bargaining chip in exchange for outside help.

Meanwhile, Batman sees someone who has been dead for some time, at least as dead as anyone gets in comic books, and this sends him on a chase that sends things into complete turmoil. This person can’t be alive, shouldn’t be alive, and if you interpret some of the dialogue in a certain way, you see no reason to believe this person is alive. A.J. Lieberman is kicking off his run on this title with a good old-fashioned Batman mystery, and that’s a good way to start.

Al Barrionuevo has a very good, solid style with these characters. His Batman is tough, but still human, and his Riddler looks like a smarmy used car salesman – in short, just about perfect.

This issue does seem to shift the focus of the series, however. In the past, it has been about Batman and his relationship with the other members of his “family” — Robin, Nightwing, etc. Except for a quick radio exchange with Oracle, none of them appear in this book. The focus is solely on the villains.

This issue also abandons the “Batman Black and White” back-up feature that the title has had for 49 issues. I’m kind of sorry to see it go, because although not all of those books were great, I always like a comic that provides room for different creators to play around, and back-up stories are one of the best ways to do that. If the backup doesn’t come back next issue, I would hope the price will go down to that of a regular Batman title as the page count drops as well.

This is a solid issue, one that fans of the Jeph Loeb/Jim Lee collaboration won’t want to miss. Solid story, solid art and a beautiful cover. Out of the three core bat-titles, this issue immediately places it in the running as my current favorite.

Rating: 8/10

(2010 Note: This is a case of a good opening that didn’t live up to its promise.)