Read this last night and am a bit undecided whether I liked it or not - strange! I was disappointed with Kevin Smith's previous effort (Cacophony) and wrote a review on it on Comicvine (I will transfer over to here at some point), but there were flickers of Smith's Green Arrow run 'genius' in Cacophony and I hoped that maybe said 'genius' would appear in Widening Gyre. Walter Flanagan is on art duties and for the most part I like his work (accompanied by the two Arts). It does seem to work with Smiths lengthy script.
What I liked (4 things):
1. I know that some hardcore fans will disagree, but I mostly enjoyed the dialogue between Batman and Nightwing. At first I wasn't convinced as Batman, specifically Bruce Wayne, is painted as someone with the character of a Gnat. However, after some nice writing, the 'disappearing move' that Nightwing pulls is sweet and you feel Batman becoming more comfortable between the pages.
2. The range of characters. Smith does seem to bring past characters into his stories or certainly makes reference to them and in some cases parodies past styles (i.e. the opening Batman and Robin scenes smack of classic 60's style comics). You get Poison Ivy, Demon, Killer Croc, the Joker and a few others. It works, bringing these faces into the backdrop.
3. Poison Ivy- not a character I am massively keen on, (although I did enjoy the two opening issues of Gotham City Sirens) is drawn with a fair bit of seduction and attraction. The character definitely intrigues. The question is, what her part will be going forward - you get the feeling there is more of her to come.
4. The mix of fantasy and horror. There are a couple of scenes that would definitely fall into the horror/violent category and you are not really expecting them, which I liked. I hope this remains a theme throughout. It gave the story a matter of importance.
What I didn't like:
1. The ending. I know it runs for 6 parts, but you need that hook at the end to make you want to read the next issue, and issue one had a hook of sorts, but I felt a little cheated I guess.
2. The name. Just don't like it. What is a Gyre? A round shape formed by a series of concentric circles (as formed by leaves or flower petals) or a spiral oceanic surface current driven primarily by the global wind system?
So more in favour than not. I think however, Smith has a fair bit left to do to prove himself. I hope he nails it.
