The first part of this story opened with a fire that by the end of issue #4 was left unexplained. In issue #6, part 2 of the “Observations” story arc, we finally find out what that explosion in the middle of Gotham City is all about. We also get Batman brawl. A lot. If you enjoy stories in which Batman has to take down entire swat teams then you’re sure to get a thrill out of the Arkham Unhinged series because that sort of action happens rather frequently. And if you’re a fan of Batman’s Arkham video game gadgets, then you’re in luck too because this issue has a particularly cool, yet “How are those guys not dead?” moment involving the explosive gel.
I have more problems with it than I did the previous installment. For instance, Batman takes refuge in an foreclosed electronics store (conveniently named after the comic’s author, but that was actually artist Brian Ching’s doing) in dilapidated part of town. That’s all fine and dandy, except the store is absolutely overstocked with televisions and electronics still. How…how has nobody stolen those TVs? Why would the TVs be left on the shelves after the business failed, anyway? And how the hell did Hugo Strange beam in his live message to Batman on one of the TVs? I guess you could argue that he strategically had his Tyger guards drive Batman into the building and he set up the video conference ahead of time, but…ah well. The art is also not as sharp at it was in the last issue. It really feels like Ching had to rush to get this one out whereas he took his time in issue #4 to add more fine details that really made the comic sing. My only other problem with the issue was that Vicki Vale was colored as brunette when in the Arkham City video game she is a blonde. I bring that nitpick up to author Derek Fridolfs in an upcoming interview, by the way.
Overall this is a fun, fast paced issue that does a good job answering the questions left over from the previous episode and I enjoyed it.
Worth a Buck or Not?
Definitely worth the buck. Especially if you read issue #4. This 3-part story is shaping up to be a solid little story in the Arkhamverse.
Batman: Arkham Unhinged can be purchased at comiXology
