Some Thoughts on Batman #4

On the whole I have been enjoying the (ridiculously re-numbered) current Batman series.  

But it's occurred to me that perhaps the entire system for numbering comics should be rethought.  The "old" system, whereby one title would continue to advance numerically forever, was based on the idea that the LARGER the issue number, the more venerable and stable the title seemed; you were buying into a character with legs who wouldn't vanish after you've invested interest in them.  But then venerability became interpreted as stodginess and stagnation, and the defeat switched to re-starting the numbering on a title when it got a new creative team or the hero got a revised chest logo. That habit then necessitated categorizing titles into "volumes", a designation that exists ONLY in online cataloging and is marked nowhere on the comics themselves.  This benefits no one and confuses many.  Why not simply label each issue of a comic with its YEAR and a sequence within that year (#1-12)?  "Batman 2025 #4" is pretty easy to understand and is a unique identifier.  That said...

I have some issues with the current issue.  They aren't really BIG issues, but, somehow, that is what makes them more irksome.  They are minor issues that seem as though they could have been avoided and they mar what is otherwise an interestingly written (and VERY well drawn) run on the Caped Crusader's adventures.  

The issue introduces a new Gotham villain ("The Minotaur"), who is (another) baddie whose shtick is "But THIS time, I will ORGANIZE ALL of Gotham City's crime!"  It is BY NO MEANS an original schtick but it's not unwelcome or unworkable (obviously, since it's a repeated one).  And the Minotaur seems acceptably colorful.

He wears a bull-mask and has seven fingers on his right hand.

The bull-mask and matching suit is all quite sensible (as far as villains go), but ... seven fingers?  I can't think of anything that would make someone EASIER to identify than having seven fingers (given its rarity).  His hook is having made seven crime organizations interdependent. Fortunately for his theming, Gotham has EXACTLY the right now of crime organizations.  

Magic seven? Did Geoff Johns secretly write this?

Once again, the Penguin, a character with a rich 84-year-and-counting history as one of Batman's top five villains (and one who has had his OWN TELEVISION SERIES), is cast as Just Another Crime Lord (albeit one more recognizable and colorful than the others).  I'm done ranting about what an inappropriate waste that is; after all, whether I like it or not, this fact may be part of exactly WHY the Penguin is still around.  It's not a flaw, it's a feature; the Penguin can be SCALED to fit the situation.

The Penguin can fight Firestorm to a standstill, shoulder to shoulder with FREAKING VALIDUS.

Next week, he can get the snot beat out of him by Harvey Bullock.

He can also just BUY a super-robot to kick Superman's patootie in front of all his super friends.

Penguin aside, there are five other crime lords who are distinguished by name, location, style, and speciality. While I might not agree on the specifics of these choices, I appreciate that in one issue Matt Fraction has done more to give us a picture of Gotham and its crime environment than all of Batman's Bronze Age stories combined.  Matt Fraction, gods bless him, does NOT do "decompressed" story-telling.

But it's the sloppiness that Fraction needlessly introduces that irritates me.

Um.... that's not something you can guarantee, Minotaur.
What it is, the Amway of Crime?

You clearly don't know what "internecine" means.  
My version of the Penguin would shoot you for that alone

How miraculously tidy that the losses were distributed exactly evenly among all the crime groups. What are the odds?  The simple insertion of "an average of ... per" would have solved this.

How?  That seems to be the hard part in Gotham.  It's simply stated as a throwaway.
How exactly did you 'bring to heel' a panoply of costumed crazies, off-panel?

That's Lonnie "Anarchy" Machin. You remember him; his schtick was being a TEEN GENIUS. He wants "whatchallit State's Evidence".  I should think a criminal teen genius would not need to "whatchacall" that concept.

Really, now.  This is the name of your Italian crime lord?  What is this, Dick Tracy?  If "Roy G. Bivolo" is supposed to be amusing, don't expect me to take "Lupo Capitolina" seriously.

I love the touch that, while regular crime lords have people they care about, but the only thing The Penguin cares about is a pet penguin. HOWEVER.

The tallest real world penguin is 39 inches tall.  This monster towers over these seated humans, who are A MINIMUM of 48", seated.  If you are going to depict a penguin, don't be so lazy you don't check the internet to see how tall they are. There is no excuse for that.

NO ONE RUNS ON A TREADMILL IN CROCS.
Certainly not a genius like Dr. Zeller.  
Don't use shorthand like "Crocs means she's practical and not girly!" without thinking it through.

Is this sloppiness the fault of Matt Fraction? His artist? Their editor?  I don't know, but it's silly and it's distracting from the good work they are doing.  Get an editor, people.