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Batman Dark: Patterns #3: Batman has come to Green Fields in search of answers as to who the Wound Man is. What Batman finds is nothing he ever expected to find and is on the cusp of uncovering something even larger.
Creative Team:
Dan Watters (WRITER), Hayden Sherman (ARTIST and COVER) Triona Farrell (COLORS), Frank Cvetkovic (LETTERS)
*POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD*
The Art:
This issue contains one of the most bloodcurdling scenes in a comic. They don’t show us explicitly what happens, but, when the Wound Man is standing a needle over a naked eye, it is just enough to turn your blood cold. Hayden and Triona did an excellent job contrasting the scene and making it fill up the entire page, making the reader feel what was about to happen.
It doesn’t stop there as there are bloody and brutal scenes where the Wound Man is shown his backstory in the shadows, and it is again drawn and colored in such a way that they leave it to your imagination. One final standout scene is when Batman is confronting Sionis, and his cowl has different shades as he is detailing the story. I love these little details involved in creating this picture and story, bringing it to life.
The Story and Letters:
Frank captures the pain in this story, making you feel every ounce of it as each character is going through emotional and physical pain. The way he letters these panels emphasizes these painful aspects and brings it all to life.
Dan has turned this horrifying tale and makes us feel sympathy for this grotesque being known as the Wound Man. We go from terrified to feeling for him as Dan dives into the backstory and what Ace did to him and his wife. This to me, is such a clever way to turn a story on its head and bring about such a tragic case such as his in which the Wound Man is a product of evil done to him, and nothing can be done to make him feel again. It speaks to Batman’s character as well, as he turns to helping Wound Man and attacking the root cause.
Final Thoughts:
Batman: Dark Patterns #3 takes the horror element, flips this tale onto its head, and brings out sympathy from the reader. There are scenes within that are not for the easily queazy, but this is a comic that should not be left on shelves!
Overall Grade: 10/10
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