This issue of Batman, Inc. arrives with a couple of strikes against it. For one thing, it's late. Three months late, in fact, which is pretty bad for a monthly comic.
For another, the artistic cover fails completely. It tries to combine numerous elements to form a textured image - but it just ends up looking like mush. I looked at the issue several times before realizing what it was - the logo is almost invisible.
And finally, the whole idea of Batman roaming the globe to assemble an international Bat-team just seems... odd. The heroes he's encountered already seem to be friendly - what more does he need?
This issue takes us to Buenos Aires and an adventure with El Gaucho, which features a sloppy Batman - one hero is badly wounded and a small army of bad guys (apparently) killed by a trap - and so is the strange villain (not to mention a weird lead-in vignette to the issue).
Writer Grant Morrison seems to be trying to balance his quirky writing style with a more traditional comic book adventure - so we have Batman and El Gaucho walking into an obvious trap, and faced with a difficult decision.
There's no flaw to the art - Yanick Pauette, Michel Lacombe and Pere Perez turn in some dynamic work here, running the gamut from rough-and-tumble action to a sexy dance sequence.
To be honest, I'm not sure how I feel about this comic. I like the old school touches, but some of the stranger aspects of the story are already wearing thin.
I'm finding it harder to care about international Batman. I think I prefer him prowling the streets of Gotham - surely there's enough work there for his family business.
Grade: A-
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