Batman Incorporated 7 review

In the last issue, Batman charged into Talia Al Ghul’s hideout solo, while leaving Robin behind at home. It was a glorious issue as Batman charged his way through Talia’s goons, before being captured by a mysterious figure. This issue focuses almost entirely on Damien Wayne, and it’s equally brilliant.

Batman Incorporated 7 is mostly an aftermath issue. Not only was Batman captured in issue 6, but Batman Incorporated suffered a huge defeat in the issue before that. What’s odd is that Batman doesn’t utter a single word in this issue, it’s all about his sidekicks and allies. That’s very refreshing for a Batman book, considering he’s usually the central character in every issue. There are scenes with several former Robins arguing about the situation, scenes with Commissioner Gordon in the streets, and scenes with Talia’s further antics. There’s a strong feeling that anything can happen with Talia’s plans, especially once Leviathon’s agents start showing their true colours.

But the core of the issue is Damien Wayne, and him telling Alfred everything he knows about what’s going on. There are a lot of reveals in this issue. We learn who the mysterious figure is, we learn more about Talia’s plan to take over the world and we learn about a traitor in the bat family. It’s fun seeing Batman outsmarted by his sidekicks for once, and to see Damien Wayne coming to Batman’s much needed rescue for this comic’s cliffhanger.

The art is also very good. It has a strong, atmospheric feel that fits the comic’s mood perfectly. Character expressions are well done. The visual storytelling backs the story up well. There are little details all over the place, such as the ripples in the pool as the rain touches down and the statue in the background in one panel, which later becomes a plot point. Looking through the comic again, it’s easy to see that the art is very well thought out. The only problem is that three pages are drawn by a fill-in artist; they aren’t quite as good as the rest.

Batman Incorporated is simply awesome. Not just this issue, but the entire series so far. If you’re a Batman fan, you really should be reading it – it’s that simple.