BATMAN #641
© DC Comics

Mania Grade: B+
Issue: 641
Authors: Judd Winnick, Doug Mahnke, Tom Nguyen
Publisher: DC
Price: $2.50

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BATMAN #641

Admittedly, a few months ago I would've been incensed with this ending. However, DC has thus far proven that it intends to reveal all and we're not likely to be left wondering about Jason's return by the end of the year. Hence, I'm patiently waiting to see Jason's role in the coming INFINITE CRISIS event. Aside from the few answers BATMAN #641 offers, there's a fight a single, issue-long brawl between Bruce and Jason. DC seems to devote entire issues to fights, and I can't say it thrills me. I like violence in comics, but DC favors "exposition brawls" wherein characters explain everything to each other and the readers while they beat the hell out of each other for an entire issue. See TEEN TITANS #22 if this remains unclear.

While Jason and Bruce brutalize each other, we learn that the former plans to "go all the way" and become a hero that kills. Of course, Batman disapproves, though it's difficult to argue with killing the Joker even Frank Miller seemed to agree in THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS when one considers the lives that such an act would save.

Doug Mahnke's pencil-work continues to impress. His gritty, industrial landscapes provide an appropriate background to the brawl in question, and his character designs are stylish without being excessively stylized. Unfortunately, he occasionally resorts to the solid, single-color backgrounds I love so much in an artist. Then again, he probably has more work on his plate than I do, so I'll temper my criticism.

BATMAN #641 concludes this story arc. This issue and those that preceded it merit your attention, if only for their historical significance Jason Todd's back, for God's sake. However, the arc was quite good overall, and it will be interesting to see how it leads in to INFINITE CRISIS.