BATMAN - Bruce Wayne : Fugitive Vol 3.

Containing Detective Comics 773-775, Gotham Knights 32, Batman 606-607 and Batgirl 33.
Written by Greg Rucka, Ed Brubaker, Kelley Puckett, Devin Grayson and Geoff Johns
Drawn by Steve Lieber (aka the bane of my existence), Scott McDaniel, Rich Burchett, Roger Robinson and Damion Scott
Why do you care who inked it? Dweeb.

I guess it's my own problem that I scoff at any Batman story that doesn't somehow involve at least one of the main stable of villains in some remote way. To me, these non-villainous tales just end up being disastrously unsatisfying. Some obscure, lame villain named Deathguns or Blackstruction pops up, and suddenly, I'm forced to remember that this is only a comic that has suffered at the hands of enough inspirationless creators to still be suffering the residuals... and that sums up this trade pretty well. Give me some hot, nasty Penguin action any day.

On a side note : I don't know where continuity is going right now, but between JLA, Batman, and the books in this trade, ol' Brucey's got the recent hots for at LEAST 4 women. Wonder Woman, Catwoman, Sasha Bordeaux and that dead Vesper chick (the latter two being boring side characters that I don't think ANYONE ever really gave a flick about). Seems like quite the explosion of action for a guy whose guardedness is his main personality flaw. What the heck is going on here? It's like he's trying to mate with everything he can find, going all pon'farr on us. I fear for Alfred.

Anyhow, this is book four in the Bruce Wayne : Murderer / Fugitive debacle. Sure, it sounds good in theory. Frame Bruce Wayne and his assistant for murder, tease the reader along for a while, really test the limits between the Batman / Bruce Wayne dichotomy. Great, right? Those first two books were great. Now, we're just kinda being dragged behind the dull, rattling VW Bug that is the confused and convoluted conclusion to it all. For 2 whole extra stinking trades. Without diving TOO deeply into the story preceding this, we've already found out who tried to frame Wayne, and who actually did the killing of Vesper. The killer is caught, and Sasha (the chick that Bruce was with at the time of the murder) remains in jail. That's where we start here.

Then... then, sweet holy Jesus, Sasha dies but doesn't really die because of some other chick we're supposed to remember, and some other guy comes in and tried to kill Vesper's killer and Bruce loves Sasha and Sasha loves Bruce except Sasha's someone else now (besides just being poorly drawn).... GIVE IT A DAMNED REST! The biggest flaw? This trade, and this entire godforsaken arc, is trying to get me to somehow care about minor supporting characters that are never given any kind of personality or interest. And how come Batman never has to pee? How come he's never in the middle of a battle and suddenly REALLY has to take a whiz? I bet he installed a complex series of catheters. He would do something like that.

Things are happening around Batman, and I don't freaking care. Uncompelling tripe. The story ended 2 trades ago.

The art in the first 3 issues just adds to the wreck. Steve Lieber is responsible for making me question how hard it is to get a job pencilling for DC, as well as the meaning of life in general. It's stagnant, flat and inconsistent from panel to panel. Usually, I can bear to read a book if either the art OR the story stands out. Dare I say that this is wholly unbearable? DARE I? How do these things even get published? I'm on a charming mean streak today. At least I didn't call for a pie made from his minor organs and skin. It would probably be a shoddily drawn pie anyhow. Thankfully, the art becomes more acceptable as the book moves on, until we reach the really nice art of Damion Scott and Scott McDaniel, who actually express a lot of motion and style - sometimes so much that I can't even tell what's going on.

But wait... what's this page in the middle of nowhere in which a gay couple is celebrating 'Batman Day'? Right... that's in the middle of the out-of-nowhere feelgood Batman story, where we're shown how Bats / Wayne affects so many lives so positively. So THAT'S what he does! Damn, thanks for clarifying. I thought this was a comic about dog training until that exact point.

Okay, I'm being mean. It's a well-written story, when it's not being painfully saccharine, and it's a good point to kind of chill out after the hurricane that's been Batman's life... but maybe it kind of overshoots that. It makes Batman TOO nice - scrapes away the grit and sprinkles on the sunshine. THAT he ain't.

The book closes on a really good note. The final Batgirl story hit me with the unexpected, a few small twists, and a very casual, solemn approach to a part of the Bat mythos. Batgirl sits around, helps out Batman, and then goes to visit her dad. The art is really simple and superb, and it's enough to make me want to go out and read the Batgirl books. This issue, Batgirl number 33, is the only thing that I found worth reading in this whole trade. It doesn't justify the cost, and it certainly doesn't justify milking the bejesus out of the arc.

All I get out of this is a lot of fluff. It's like a huge Batman pillow, except it's filled with something that's not very comfortable to sleep on. Let's say human arms. This book is like a pillow full of arms. You can use it if there's nothing else around to sleep on, but don't expect it to hold up over time. Go get a GL trade instead. That guy has a magic ring!

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