Streets of Gotham #7 Review

Streets of Gotham #7 Review

Written by Paul Dini. Art by Dustin Nguyen and Derek Fridolfs

Do my eyes deceive me? Paul Dini is, by far, one of the best Bat writers out there and I was giddy to see his name on issue #7 of Streets of Gotham. A little uneven and confusing, this issue packs a lot of info into the first of possibly many parts. (Also, the cover is for the Manhunter feature in the back.)

Warning: I’m going to spoil the heck out of this issue.

Number seven hearkens back to issue number four, wherein we were following the reemergence of Mr. Zsasz. Black Mask had brought him back onto the scene and funded him and, if you recall, Zsasz and his super creepy homicidal personality were putting together an awful child abducting ring and setting up shop in an abandoned warehouse.

The issue opens with these amazing yet dizzying panels covered in snow. This is a Christmas issue – ha! We’re led to believe that our villain is actually Santa, stealing toys. Batman and Robin are on the scene, tracking down the bad guy to a children’s shelter. You’re getting the idea that “Santa” is slightly off his rocker. And you’d be right, for it turns out to be Arkham’s own Humpty, who only wanted to help the children. But God, you don’t expect the next page.

Humpty was looking for toys to fix when he stumbled upon dead children floating near the dump. He brought then to the shelter – as only a psychopath would do – and laid them in beds. The fact that they were kids and stone cold dead didn’t do right by Damian and we get a glimpse of his – shock! – humanity; the poor boy couldn’t stomach it.

Cut to a church wherein a man from earlier who was questioning “Santa” is seen looming over a boy – probably an orphan. I am really not sure who he is – though his internal monologue explains he’s tracking down a killer with no help from Batman – but he wears a trench coat and brass knuckles bearing the word “abuse”. In typical Batman comic fashion, we’re led one way and left hanging by the end, wanting more. Needing to know.

On the final page, we again hearken back to Mr. Zsasz and his evil scheme to make money/kill a lot of people at the same time. It would seem that a gaggle of men are betting on knife fights between an older looking teen and one of the runaways that Zsasz has been hoarding. The final page is haunting in that he is going to make them fight and then he himself will fight the winner. It’s creepy and it’s crazy and it’s completely compelling. I doubt anyone would drop this from their list after this issue!

Like I said, the issue itself is a little uneven and I don’t think it’s Dini’s best work. Although, first issues of story arcs can be like that. You need to be given some groundwork to start with and go from there. As long as he’s staying on to continue this plot, I think it’ll continue to improve. I’m definitely interested in seeing what Zsasz is doing – as demented as it is – and how Batman and Robin are going to shut him down. The thing I like most about Streets of Gotham is that it lives up to its title in that it covers a lot of aspects of the city itself. Readers get a more even feel for what an awful city this can be. It’s a more well-rounded view of the world of the Bat.