The Death of A Son

How do you deal with the death of your son? I cannot fathom in the slightest what I would do in such a circumstance. I suppose that the silent aspect of this issue is fitting. I bet it'll make me cry, or at the very least tear up as I take in the visuals. Parents are supposed to go out of their way to protect their children, and yet again, Batman has failed to do so. Having said that, I wish him the best in his road to recovery. I'm intrigued as to how Tomasi, Gleason, and team play out Bruce's struggle with his grief.

Bedlam #4

Bedlam #4
"Chapter 4: If I Started Talking About Religion"
Writer: Nick Spencer
Artist: Riley Rossmo
February 2013
Image Comics


I'm finding that this series keeps upping-the-ante with each new issue. The format is similar to the previous issues, in which there is a sort of precursor event that happens that leads in to the main story after the chapter page is shown. I'm really digging the structure of this comic. Let's just say that the town of Bedlam is surely keeping in line with its name... Without spoiling anything, this issue begins on an unpleasant note, and righteously so.

This "Eric" character has the attention of many people in Bedlam, and he certainly has mine as well. Following the gore of the opening scene, Fillmore Press and The First (Bedlam's equivalent to Batman) finally meet, but the reader knows that this is not their true first meeting... *See issue #1* In a fashion similar to how Batman beats the Joker to a bloody pulp with the hopes of attaining more information towards his crimes, The First attempts to help the police department with their investigation by smacking some sense into Fillmore. However, Detective Acevedo and her colleagues begin to put several pieces of the puzzle together and are figuring out that Fillmore is in fact telling the truth when he says he's trying to help them (and is subsequently innocent).

The artwork by Riley Rossmo and team is as great as always. It has the grit necessary for a book of this demeanor and it appears scratchy and rough in many scenes. There's a lot of dirt and messiness in the environments of Bedlam, which is not due to Rossmo being a lazy artist, but a rather skillful one in that the settings reflect the tone of the book marvelously. The chaos of Bedlam is coming to life and even more so as this arc nears its end. I imagine that there will only be two-three more issues of this current story, but that is only an estimation. Things seem to be falling into place plot-wise so I can't see this story continuing for many more months.

There's a hilariously zany moment when Detective Acevedo returns from her office to the roof where she left Fillmore in The First's hands: Acevedo tells The First to stop harassing Fillmore as she has discovered that he is not the killer, and then the two vigilantes sort of join sides for a moment, in that they both want Acevedo to reveal to them who the real killer is. It's a comedic moment in an otherwise bleak city, which the contrast of the setting made me chuckle upon reading. The issue ends with a total WTF moment... It's pretty sick and twisted and will surely make you cringe.

Once again, this series has kept my interest for several months now, and so long as the writing/artwork maintains its level of tenacity, I'll continue to buy this series month after month. I can't wait to see what happens in issue #5...


Story: 4
Art: 4