This week’s issue of Urban Legends wraps up all of our ongoing stories so far. This series has been a little rocky since its inception, but I think this particular issue is an extremely satisfying one considering the amount of middle-of-the-story fragments we’ve had so far.
Batman and Zatanna in “Bound to Our Will: Part 6”
Vita Ayala’s 6-part miniseries ends with an explosive final confrontation between Batman, Zatanna, and the dark forces coming out of the magical rift between them (quite literally!). This issue finally gives us the closure these two so desperately deserve. Constantine remains as the breakout star of this little story (his banter with Batman will forever be my favorite), and Ayala really captures the character in his limited screentime.
Nikola Cizmesija and Hayden Sherman work extremely well together here! The two artists blend seamlessly and maintain a visual style that works incredibly in the book’s favor. Coupled with the astonishing colors of Nick Filardi, all of the cool magic scenes explode right off the page, while the quiet moments are calm and subdued. The visuals here alone make this worth a read.
Special bonus shoutout for the surprisingly wholesome ending that was way cuter than it had any right to be.
Score: 7/10
Alfred Pennyworth and Batman (give him the top billing he deserves you cowards) in “Some Things Remain”
Seriously. The absolute nerve. If you’re gonna keep him dead at least give him some respect.
Josh Trujillo’s one-shot starring Gotham’s Best Dad is a wonderfully charming treat that follows Alfred on his investigation into a close friend’s disappearance. It’s always lovely to see Alfred doing his own thing, and this issue does not disappoint. “Some Things Remain” is a fun romp, a detective thriller, and a touching ponderation on death, and what happens after you’re gone.
Rosi Kampe and Marissa Louise deliver great visuals as well. The story looks and feels like a classic comic I read as a kid (I absolutely cannot tell you what it was, but I can tell you that the feeling of nostalgia was oddly fitting for this story), and they have a way of creating very emotional moments between the characters that really engross you in their thoughts, pain, and joy.
Score: 8/10 bring back Alfred
The Birds of Prey in “Memory Lane : Part 3”
Unfortuately for me, Che Grayson didn’t include that many weird memory shenanigans in the finale to the BoP’s 3-parter, but fortunately for all you normal people, he included a pretty damn interesting conclusion!
The story instead focuses on the adverse affects of the titular Memory Lane app as it causes chaos in the Gotham streets. I won’t spoil much else, but the story ends on a kind of lackluster “what will happen next?” note that I don’t really think an anthology was the place for, ESPECIALLY at the end of a 3 part story. As interesting as the hook at the end is, to end leave things open ended just feels a little weird. I was pretty underwhelmed, I gotta say.
The art team of Acuna and Plascencia, on the other hand, never cease to impress. The action in this book is incredible and dynamic, and the character art makes those emotional beats hit all the harder. Fantastic work.
Score: 6/10
Ace the Bat-hound in “Hounded: Part 6: The Drum”
Once again, this is the best story in this book. Mark Russell is an absolute genius. This is such an incredible, heartfelt story about Ace and his new animal friends. Something about animals really just tugs at the heartstrings. I almost cried at the end of this, if we’re being totally honest.
Of course, no comic would be possible without its visual team. The way that Karl Mostert and Trish Mulvihill bring these cute lil critters to life is so adorable, real, tragic, all of the words you could possibly say. It’s insanely lame for me to be geeking out about comic book animals the way I am, but I just love them SO MUCH, okay?
There’s really not much to say about this story other than how amazing it is, and if they released this as its own story I’d buy it 100 times over.
Score: 10/10
Recommended if…
- You’ve been keeping up so far.
- Alfred and Ace have your heart.
- Those are really the only ones I can think of but they’re pretty decent reasons.
Overall
I’m still not really sure how I feel about the majority of this series (3/4 of this issue!!!) being multi-parters and backdoor pilots for other ideas. That’s not to say that the stories are bad by any means, but something to keep in mind with this series is definitely the committment you need to put in to get a complete story.
Overall Score: 7/10
DISCLAIMER: DC Comics provided Batman News with a copy of this comic for the purpose of this review.
