Review: BATMAN: CURSE OF THE WHITE KNIGHT #5 
[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]
Writer: Sean Murphy
Artist: Sean Murphy
Letters: AndWorld Design
Colors: Matt Hollingsworth
Reviewed by: Carl Bryan
Summary
“I’m Batman!” – Azrael
This is the fifth installment of Batman: Curse of the White Knight!
Positives
Sean Murphy continues weaving in and out of canon with a tapestry that will certainly influence Batman canon for years to come.
Murphy, again, takes influences from the comics, movies, and television shows and displays that all of these universes can exist. It’s his kitchen to cook in and he is not apologetic!
Montoya makes a perfect commissioner and displays the toughness that is needed when Bruce and company are not getting along. Gordon’s death has shook them all, and while Bruce cares for Dick and Barbara, he is more Emmanuel Kant now than anyone!
The Greater Good… Sacrifice one for the good of the whole…Bruce is down a lonely path and Harley seems to be the only one to reach him. Or is she a pawn as well in his path to defeat the Joker?
Remember how we felt about the Court of Owls and how that fired the first shot in reshaping Gotham. Sean Murphy does that here as we delve further (pun intended for those that read the comic) in the history of Edmund Wayne and St. Dumas.
How can Batman place Harley and her kids in danger? Whew…is he brilliant or as bad as the Joker in his obsessions? At any rate, Harley’s interrogation of the Joker/Jack Napier results in Jack making an appearance. This triangle/quadrangle is getting complicated between Harley, Bruce and Jack/Joker.
Azrael and Bane…. yeah…I forgot about this confrontation from years ago, but it just got a rewrite in a big way! No spoilers here, but you need to buy this comic and read it several times…hover over this battle! Whew!
Positives (Artwork)
Murphy draws a funeral march worthy of the movies. Remember how you felt when Gordon “died” in the Christopher Nolan movie? Murphy draws some scene influences directly from cinema.
What he does in his artistic role allows him to borrow from Keaton’s Batman, Conroy’s Batman, and realistically every Batman incarnation.
And I still think Bruce needs a shave and has admantium in his body, as he is closely akin to Wolverine in Murphy’s renderings.
These are updated/classic looks for all the characters, I’m particularly drawn to Azrael and his look, and the last frame of this issue….AWESOME!
Negatives
We lost Gordon and Barbara is in a wheel chair. Homages to other takes in the Batman Universe, but I can’t stand for Babs to be in the chair! But a tragedy written such as this is going to have some casualties!
Verdict
Again…Batman: White Knight was special. And this sequel is really really special. You should go to your local comic store, ask for the White Knight and ask for every issue thus far of Curse of the White Knight. You can’t drink this story in fast enough (pun intended when you look at the graphics included in the review). This is a pivotal issue, so buy immediately. This series is going into some reprints fast!
