Writer: Vita Ayala, Ram V, Mohale Mashigo, and Mark Russell
Art: Nikola Čižmešija, Anand Radhakrishan, Arist Deyn, Karl Mostert, Nick Filardi, Steve Wands, John Pearson, Aditya Bidikar, Saida Temofonte, and Trish Mulvihill
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $5.99
Release Date: February 8th, 2022
BATMAN and Ace the Bat-Hound have been captured. However, Ace is locked away separately in a covert lab used for animal testing while BATMAN remains trapped by some notorious villains bruised but not quite beaten! Meanwhile, in another story, BATMAN and ZATANNA continue to fix the magical crisis they helped initiate all those years ago. And if that wasn’t enough, readers attempt to discover more about the Wight Witch while KID ETERNITY starts to make Gotham his own. Let’s take a look at BATMAN: URBAN LEGENDS #12 and see how these stories shake out.
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BATMAN & ZATANNA
Well, Vita Ayala continues this tale by giving fans little to no new information about this void, how it was formed, or who these people are that have now secretly appeared. Furthermore, Ayala sprinkles in some magical nonsense with a medical metaphor in order to attempt to shed light on what’s happening in this issue. However, readers will leave just as puzzled and questioning the point of the narrative overall.
Yet as weird and trivial as the story is, it’s actually Nikola Čižmešija’s art that’s the most puzzling. It continues to render some of the most perplexing facial expressions for both BATMAN and ZATANNA. Moreover, Čižmešija’s Bruce Wayne looks nothing like him and wouldn’t be distinguishable from the character if not for being partially in the Bat-suit. It’s almost as if Čižmešija’s style was set up to be an Anime. Now, mix all that with the lack of fortifying story beats and understanding, and I’d have to take a hard pass on this first story arc by Ayala.
WIGHT WITCH
Ram V’s story continues with even more mystery and intrigue. However, there appears to be some complexity that Ram is infusing into the narrative that’s extremely hard to understand at this juncture. Maybe it’s the lack of pages? But right now, I’m struggling with this story as well. Ultimately, it looks like Dr. Delacroix wants to help the Wight Witch retain her memories in order to have her break free. It’s that ever-popular story where one of the captures/ prison guards/ workers tries to help someone escape. It’s a common premise in many stories yet the reasoning is a bit fuzzy as to why.
And speaking of fuzzy, Anand RK’s art is incredibly blurry and hard to decipher with this almost charcoal expression and technique. Granted, the purpose of this blurry style is to promote the foggy malaise that’s over the Wight Witch. Sure, it makes sense. Still, it makes the story harder to follow because it’s more difficult to distinguish what’s going on in each scene as well as any physical features amongst the characters involved.
ETERNITY
The shocking story that I never thought would interest me in BATMAN: URBAN LEGENDS #11 continues to impress in issue 12. After being introduced to KID ETERNITY last month for the first time in a long time, Mohale Mashigo uses BATMAN: URBAN LEGENDS #12 to showcase his abilities and reasonably explain how the process works. Sure, we don’t understand how he got the abilities BUT this narrative isn’t meant to rehash origins. Mashigo’s sole intent is to reintroduce the character while catching fans up on what he’s capable of. And ultimately, it works. Mashigo made the issue feel like a Pilot for a brand new series in a rather enticing way. I still find myself more and more curious about diving deeper into back issues of the character thanks to Mashigo and his team.
As for Arist Deyn’s illustrations, they’re… fine. They work for the story but the facial features are mostly sharper angles across the definition of the main characters’ faces. Plus, the characters all look so similar that they could practically be relatives. My personal take is for an art team that provides more definition and depth along with realism and texture. The characters seem almost cartoony and more animated than I’d like for the tone of this story. I could actually see Anand RK’s art from the prior story fitting in with Mashigo’s tale much better adding an almost horror element to the issue. Or better yet, take Aaron Campbell’s art style from SUICIDE SQUAD: BLAZE #1 this week and wrap them around this story and I’d buy the heck out of that series.
ACE THE BAT-HOUND
This story by Mark Russell wasn’t exactly what I expected after BATMAN: URBAN LEGENDS #11. However, that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. BATMAN: URBAN LEGENDS #12 begins the way most Russell narratives do, with sly, subtle humor masked within some type of societal tone and/or heavy worldly concept. Oftentimes, Russell focuses on money, power, and corruption from the top down. And, it appears quite frequently in his stories. Readers will uncover, at the expense of Bat-Hound, a villain working on advancements in animals through experimentation. It’s actually quite sad the way Russell writes the story as it begins making comic fans feel for the pets that are involved. Alas, by the end of this story, readers’ spirits will be uplighted as Russell makes sure many of the henchmen receive their just desserts.
Karl Mostert has a very unique style and linework that has this almost elegance to it that’s very contemporary with a cartoonist flare. Furthermore, it’s Mostert’s design that actually adds more of the subtle humor than Russell himself. From the names on the Pet Cemetery Tombstones to the Cat Posters on the back walls, it’s obvious that Mostert gels so well with Russell’s style. Come on… a dog named “Licks Luthor”. Together with the color choices by Trish Mulvihill, the underlying comedic and cultural takes practically slap you right in the face.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I was definitely much higher on BATMAN: URBAN LEGENDS #11. However, I still thought the last two stories were strong and worth the read. Here comes the problem. In BATMAN: URBAN LEGENDS #11, I was a bit higher on Ram V’s portion than in this installment. Nevertheless, knowing what Ram can do, I know the Wight Witch story will come back around. It’s actually Ayala’s BATMAN and ZATANNA story that hurts the most. Therefore, the price tag comes into full effect when I’m really only digging half the pages. Now, noting that I wasn’t a fan of Ayala’s story in BATMAN: URBAN LEGENDS #11 yet held a strong stance in grabbing that issue, the deciding factor in this week’s BATMAN: URBAN LEGENDS #12 comes down to the Wight Witch installment.
However, I’m going to hang my hat on the fact that Ram V will turn that story around quickly and that the confusing infrastructure of the plot beats gets ironed out next month. Personally, I’d hang in there for one more month. Why? Well, KID ETERNITY and Witch Witch wrap up next issue while Bat-Hound continues. So, why not see it through at this point? However, if money seems tight right now, it may be best to spend your money on back issues of KID ETERNITY or past trades by Mark Russell like FLINTSTONES. This way you get the best aspects of BATMAN: URBAN LEGENDS #12 without all the extra uncertainty. Let me know what you think, have a great week, and God Bless!