REVIEW: ‘I Am Batman,’ Issue #7

I Am Batman #7 is written by John Ridley, illustrated by Christian Duce, colored by Rex Lokus, and lettered by Troy Peteri. It’s published by DC Comics. Part 2 of “Empire State of Mind” sees the New York City Police Department reaching out to Jace Fox to help them solve the brutal murder of philanthropist Devin Rubel. However, the new Batman refuses to get involved unless they help him bust a gun-running ring. Meanwhile, the rest of the Fox family continues to grow acclimated to life in New York.

In the last issue, Ridley started to separate Jace from his predecessor Bruce Wayne, particularly in how they operate as Batman. That continues here, as Jace shows no interest in solving the Rubel murder at first. However, he manages to come to a compromise with the NYPD which solves both of their problems, which is something I couldn’t see the original Batman doing, even with someone like Jim Gordon in his corner. Jace is also more open to receiving help from others, as most of the detective work on his end is done by his ally Vol. His family is also looking to do things differently—mother Tanya wants to use her family’s newfound wealth to actually make a difference while sisters Tam and Tiffany catch up after Tam awoke from her coma.

Duce also illustrates an action-packed sequence that features Jace tracking down an informant via motorcycle chase. The sequence opens with Jace firing one of his retractable batons and tripping up the informant’s bike, sending him flying. It then smoothly transitions to a fight scene between Jace and the informant, with Jace’s combat skills giving him the edge. Lokus’ colors shine a light on nearly every scene, from the sun shining on Jace’s office to the lights of skyscrapers and cars mingling in a dazzling display. It’s another reminder that New York is an utterly different city than Gotham, and Jace must operate differently. As Jace puts it, unlike his predecessor he’s not facing foes like Killer Croc and Deathstroke, but corrupt politicians and thugs.

However, it continues a troubling trend I’ve seen in this series: there’s no consistency to the artwork. Though Duce is the most consistent artist, it’s frustrating to see artists like Olivier Coipel and Ken Lashley regulated to solo issues. A similar issue plagued the entire run of X-Men Gold by Marc Guggenheim, which led to readers departing, and I’d hate to see that happen to this title. When Peteri’s lettering is one of the most consistent things in the series, that’s rather troubling; people’s eyes are usually drawn to the art before the letters.

I Am Batman #7 continues to have artistic issues, but it’s doing a fine job of separating Jace Fox from Bruce Wayne when it comes to being Batman. With Jace set to receive a new enemy, I look forward to seeing more of his Batman adventures, but hopefully, this series picks an artist and sticks with it.

I Am Batman #7 is available wherever comics are sold.