BATMAN AND ROBIN # 23.1 - TWO FACE Review

Took me awhile before I got my hands on BATMAN AND ROBIN # 23.1 - TWO FACE by Peter Tomasi and Guillem March. But here it is.

Written by:
Peter J. Tomasi
Art by:
Guillem March
Cover by:
Chris Burnham

"Two-Face is approached to join the Secret Society! Which side will his coin land on?"

So what hooked me here is that it's a book that literally surprises readers in a lot of aspects. Let me list down and point out the various two-sidedness of this stand alone issue.

Two-Face always intrigued me, but DC never had great stuff for the character and as such he was always relegated to the sidelines. Jim Lee's Hush gave us a chance to start liking the 'reformed' Harvey Dent and for awhile he really did kick ass both as Gotham's top district attorney (it's a long story) and as a vigilante of sorts. Then DC decided to throw it all out by returning Dent to the Two-Face persona we all know and love to hate.

That was it. Back to being a one-trick pony and a sub villain for major arcs. There were those brief moments when we almost saw Dent as a good guy once again such as during the initial tease for "Batman Reborn" and "Battle for the Cowl' but that was all a ruse and nothing more. Then the New 52 came and cemented Dent once again as a bad guy.

Whew, such a long intro I apologize but all that has a point. You see in this issue, what basically happens is Dent goes on mulling the possibility of joining The Secret Society which leads to that four page spread from FOREVER EVIL # 1. Before that though we see a little of Harvey's noble side. The dude postulates that Gotham needs a protector or a destroyer. As the story progresses we see that Mr. Dent actually has the capacity to do both.

March's panelling here is exquisite much less his art. Around the middle of the issue, we're already being treated to a two-faced panel of sorts with the top focusing on the violence and chaos that the Crime Syndicate has presented to the criminal scum of Gotham. On the bottom panel is the order and justice that Harvey Dent once walked proudly on. Yes it's amazing. 

The last part is the standard denouement for Dent who makes a chilling choice and a stronger case of insanity. His perversion on the fairness of a coin flip and it's play on the Secret Society's mode of communication and teleportation. 

If DC's mission statement for the FOREVER EVIL tie-ins is to let us peer into the mind of a killer I can definitely vouch for Batman and Robin # 23.1 for it's insanity and grit. Go, grab this book. 

GRADE: A