Letters to Batman and Robin #11

I really liked this issue, it offers us a wide look at Gotham City and the various denizens, with multiple story lines and a wide range of characters getting some face-time. I'm always amazed at just how effectively you blend all the various elements and incarnations of the Batman legend into a piece that's wholly your own. It's a rare gift indeed.

The issue opens up with an interesting scene centered mostly around Carrie and Bruce, and it's fascinating for the most part to see both how far they've come in terms of familiarity with one another, and yet at the same time how much more work they have to do on their relationship - Bruce, despite his attempts to be more open, remains guarded and tends to lash out needlessly at Carrie's inquisitiveness, and Carrie seems to still have much to learn about exactly how far she can push and cajole Bruce into sharing. These sorts of dynamics are what keeps us coming back to this series for more.

I still enjoy greatly how closely tied the Bat titles are to one another, so seeing Renee's name pop up here was a treat as well.

You've really got a great feel for these characters, I loved the interaction with Bullock and with Catwoman, they're both handled very effectively here and really shine in your hands. Bullock maintains his gruff attitude clearly inspired by the animated series, and Catwoman just exudes danger and sex in a completely natural way. Clearly in the aftermath of these two conversations, one would think Batman would fair better with the "cop's bullet between the eyes" than he would with any extended encounter with this Catwoman. She's going to be really fun to see going forward.

I loved the encounter between Ra's, Alfred and Carrie - the edge that exists in every word between the two men is great and you can feel the unease in which Alfred talks with him, and how that's immediately followed up by Carrie inquiring about the "price" of the information she's been seeking. Even if a person had never heard of this Ra's al Ghul character before and came upon this issue, the notion that he is someone to be reckoned with would have been made very clear. Speaking of the favor, I definitely loved the idea that Alfred would step up and take responsibility for the favor to Ra's rather than leaving young Carrie pay the price for it. I have a feeling this won't exactly as simple for Alfred as Mr. Bonasera arranging a funeral and I can't wait for the payoff to this one, I'm sure it'll come at a most inconvenient time for our heroes.

As you show us more about the way the police interact amongst themselves, the dynamic between Sarah and Jim is very fascinating, and I definitely look forward to seeing that explored. Definitely says a lot about Essen that she would address her commanding officer by just his first name, and tell him to go home in front of a city council member - however qualified she may be, I'd suspect a lack of appreciation for protocol might also have factored into her being passed over for the Commissioner's position. But she does show herself to be a very capable officer, making headway at least in negotiating with Selina Kyle, though it leaves a perfectly natural way for our suspected Catwoman to make her escape without requiring convenience for the plot, so that too was a good idea.

The big sequence at the press conference was rather well crafted and exciting with lots of unresolved issues and mysteries being brought to the forefront: at what point did Gordon get nabbed (which leads to the question about what other operations in progress might have been compromised during that time on behalf of Karlo's employer), does the appearance of Catwoman during Selina's speech indicate that she isn't Catwoman after all, or is this too part of the ruse? In the opposite line of thinking, if Selina isn't Catwoman, who is? (much as the assumption might be obvious to those with DC knowledge, Nora Fries really requires us to check ALL assumptions at the door in this series). Definitely plenty to keep people coming back for more.

The final scene ends both predictably and ominously at the same time - sort of hard to see why she'd trust Cobblepot in that situation, but then again, if she got involved with him in the first place, thinking might not have been her strongest suit. His plan is brilliant though and shows just how savvy he really is - Churchill once said something to the effect of "A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on." Should be interesting to see what comes of Fuller now, and if history is about to repeat itself, or worse.

The only real complaint that I have (and it's a minor one at that) is that it would have been helpful to have had a bit of a recap of the "story so far" before the issue began. Though I think the reader gets caught up on the important details quickly enough, I have a feeling some of the more subtle ones you're including could get lost without it. For instance - the line at the beginning about why Bruce would need security, which is the first detail introduced in this issue, doesn't really get expanded on much in the issue itself. That could confuse people who haven't gone through and read the previous issue recently, or gone back an issue or two just to get the flow of the story again before reading this one. But like I said,
it's definitely a minor point and doesn't detract from the enjoyment of the issue.

But really, another great issue overall, can't wait for the next one.