REVIEW | Batman: White Knight #4

By Hythum Rahman, The Geekery Contributor

Batman: White Knight #4

Written by Sean Murphy

Art by Sean Murphy

Colours by Matt Hollingsworth

Letters by Todd Klein

So with Batman: White Knight #4 we’re halfway through this mesmerising and unpredictable roller-coaster of a mini series. The situation so far is far from simple, mainly because everything that has been established so far could go tits up any moment and that’s the kind of feeling you have the whole time reading this book. At the back of the reader’s mind it’s always going to be a question of not who or how but when.

Getting down with business we start with Napier’s campaign speech to the people of Backport. His speech is thought provoking and inspiring. It does what a good speech coming from a sly politician with a silver tongue does, it hijacks the people’s attention - even the ignorant ones. Sean Murphy with both his dialogue and art, illustrates the beauty in the tug-of-war between our gut - that tells us may be it is true, may be Napier has changed, and the doubt in our minds - that tells us to wait for the inevitable return of the Clown Prince of Crime. Even then, it’s too soon to speculate on Napier’s true identity/intentions as we’re only half way through the story. But the constant back and forth in our minds is what makes this such an intense read. That’s just how well Murphy delivers on his writing - it’s very real and raw.

Although I do have a problem in swallowing Batman’s actions and reactions to Napier’s campaign. Now I don’t mean to sound like I’m an authority on Bats but the man is known to keep his cool. That is what he does. Hell, he is the epitome of cool. Unfortunately, his portrayal here shows otherwise but for the moment and for the sake of the ride - I’ll buy it (for now).  

The moments between Gordon and Batman is filled with tragic emotions. The rise of doubts due to cir-cumstances and the questioning of decades old partnership really brings out the intensity and crisis of the situation. Will things ever be the same again? It’s brilliant, I’ll tell ya.

The fact that Murphy has been able to create doubt in our minds in such an unpredictable way is what makes this series and specific issue so special and outstanding. I can imagine after all the years of Bat-man Stories we’ve come across it must be really difficult for any writer to come up with something that truly does make us question every thing we read in this book.

Art wise - the fact that it’s Sean Murphy and Matt Hollingsworth on the helm needs absolutely no further explanation. The amount of details these guys throw in to every character expressions in every page makes you turn back after reading a page just so you can take in the beauty of their work. I don’t expect any less from this dynamic duo to be honest.

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