Batwing #2

One of the pleasant surprises in the "New 52", Batwing #1 quickly became a fan favorite for those willing to give Judd Winick a shot despite his so-so track record as a comic book writer. But for those still boycotting this book because Winnick's name is on it, shame on you. Batwing #2 is every bit as good as Batwing #1, as David Zamvimbi is quickly becoming a Bruce Wayne type stubborn personality, with the Dick Grayson "devil may care" attitude, making for a very entertaining character.

Last issue left off with a crazy cliffhanger, where Massacre stabs David Zavimbe through the chest, wondering if our protagonist was already dead. Of course he wasn't, because its comics and you can't kill off your main character in the first issue, but it still led to a decent amount of drama, enough to pull most readers back for issue #2 (including yours truly).


The issue begins where the last one left off with David Zavimbe and a machete through his chest. We see him pass out before Officer Kia Okuru chases off Massacre with firearms. He wakes up only to find out that he has a punctured lung, and has been out for two weeks, and Batman's detective work while he's been has been to no avail (really?) while David Zavimbe has been unconscious.

Ben Oliver kills it yet again on this issue, delivering stunning pencils with great raw emotion and heart-pounding action.  He was born to draw fight scenes, knowing when to use backgrounds and when not to, and simply refuses to waste panels. Even when there's not something important to illustrate, he makes sure to add something extra to the panel through his visuals that the text wouldn't otherwise tell us.

Winick is slowly building a great cast of characters around David Zavimbe, while also slowly phasing out Batman's presence in the book. Matu and Kia are great supporting characters, with Kia serving as a potential long-time "will they, won't they" type of relationship, and Matu working in the Haven as David's very own Alfred. Kia is a strong, confident women that isn't to be messed with, and Matu is loyal, blunt, and resourceful.

Yes, this story moves kind of slow, honestly, not much happens as far as plot advancement in this issue. But the fight between the villain Massacre and former superhero Thunder is crazy cool and exhilarating, and the dialogue between David and Matu lends a lot to showing off what kind of relationship the two have.

What I enjoyed: Everything. Great story, great scenes, great dialogues, great art, great lead-in to the next issue (picture above). It's really hard to pick out what this comic does wrong, if anything.

What I didn't: Nothing. I mentioned the only slight drawback earlier, that the plot doesn't move very far, but honestly I don't mind.

Conclusion: I'm giving this comic a 8.5/10 (B). I know I've been dealing out praise for this issue like it's a near perfect comment, but that's an over-exaggeration. What holds this issue back is the lack of a true "wow" moment. I'm not super-worried though, as the last page leads me to believe that next month's issue will do it, giving us a true kick-ass, beat-down moment from Batwing.