“Army of One”
Writer & Penciller: Tony S. Daniel
Inker: Sandu Florea
Colorist: Ian Hannin
Letterer: Jared K. Fletcher
Assistant Editor: Janelle Siegel
Editor: Mike Marts
Published by DC Comics
The current state of Batman and the other characters that surround him like Nightwing, Robin, Catwoman, Alfred, and even Jason Todd have been a very odd state of flux for the last couple of months. I think the ‘death’ of Bruce Wayne is probably one of the coolest ideas that I’ve seen in Batman since “No Man’s Land”. I like that there’s been a chance taken and I like where things are heading with these characters, but its the journey that I’ve not enjoyed.
All of that changed once I read the first issue of this miniseries. I think things are finally coming together. I feel a good sense of unity with the characters. I can see the path a lot clearer, and I think Tony Daniel is doing a great job from a writing and artistic point of view. This is a huge undertaking for one person to take on to write and draw, and Daniel has stepped up and shown readers what he can do. I’m impressed!
This issue continues from where we left off last issue with a new Batman appearing with guns blazing. It really doesn’t take a lot of deduction to realize who is under the cowl, and it doesn’t take Nightwing and Robin that long which is good. I would have hated to see this drag out till the last issue with a ‘real’ Batman emerging from the rubble. I think the pacing is good and the dialogue is strong. There are a lot of things going on in this story, and it flows well. Daniel hasn’t lost me once.
The big fight in this issue between two of the Batmen (I’m not revealing who) and its a great fight sequence. It really allows Tony Daniel to show off what he can do artistically. He knows his strengths and he plays them up in this issue. Every page of this issue is great. The one-page spread with Black Mask over the city is amazing and really sets the tone for what’s possibly to come once there is one Batman.
Battle for the Cowl seemed to be an unnecessary storyline when it was first announced. Tony Daniel and everyone involved in this miniseries has proven that to be wrong and that this is a crucial event and its being treated as that. Where I was once considering dropping out of the Batman titles because of all that’s come before now, I’m invigorated and I can’t wait to see what happens next!
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