Well, this is the last time I’ll get to take the easy way out with my Li’l Gotham Reviews. When the series first came out digitally I was reviewing each and every one but when it was announced that it would go to print I put the kibosh on all that and decided to wait it out for the version that actually went on sale in comic shops. So as you can imagine, I’ve basically just been linking to my old reviews in these first three Print Edition articles, but this is the final time I’ll have that luxury. Issue #3 features the Valentine’s Day and Lunar New Year specials, both of which were kind of underwhelming.
In the Valentine’s Day special, Joker spills a little of Poison Ivy’s love potion on himself and becomes the most desirable man in Gotham. It’s a funny concept, but it’s not executed all too well because the Joker never feels like the Joker. Not even in a PG or “if Joker was a kid” sort of way, he’s simply a little boy who doesn’t want to play with girls. The girls, however, are characterized very well and even Batman and the rest of the Justice League make an appearance. Nothing is ever all that funny and for the most part it gets pretty repetitive with the same scene of Joker running into an adoring villainess over and over again. For a more in-depth review, check out my review of the digital version: Li’l Gotham #5 review
The Lunar New Year special pays little attention at all to the actual holiday and instead focuses on giving us an entertaining team-up between Damian and Katana as they try to solve the mystery of the Blade of the Jade Serpent. The most enjoyable feature, however, isn’t the shinanigans of Damian and Katana, but Alfred, who dons a Kato-esque mask in this adventure. It’s a better story than the Valentine’s Day episode, but neither of these two tales has a particularly high re-read value. For a more in-depth review, check out my review of Li’l Gotham #6.
Overall
The Valentine’s Day episode is cute, but repetitive and the Lunar New Year episode is fun but doesn’t pay much mind to its holiday. Neither one is bad, but neither is all that memorable or has anywhere near the re-read value of the previous two issues. However, the beautiful water colors by Dustin Nguyen might just be worth the price of this book alone.
SCORE: 6.5/10
