This is I Am Batman: The Right Question. This is the third and final volume of John Ridley’s series, I Am Batman. The Prime Illustrator for this book is Christian Duce. The other Illustrators for this book are Karl Mostert, Tom Derenick, Eduardo Pansica, and Júlio Ferreira. The Coloring is done by Rex Lokus and Romulo Fajardo Jr. The Lettering is done by Troy Peteri. Trigger Warning: This book contains elements that one might find disturbing such as terrorism, racism, and police brutality. Readers discretion is advised. This book follows Jace Fox, as he tries to solve the mystery which has stumped him since the beginning of this series, the murder of Anarky. To solve this crime, he will need all the help he can get, including Renee Montoya, the second Question. Along with that story, a terrorist organization has been specifically targeting members connected with the Fox family. This spree of crimes will open a secret that the Fox family has been trying to hide for decades. Will the secret come out, and what will Jace’s reaction be if it does?
This book was pretty good. I still really like how this book differentiates Jace Fox’s Batman from Bruce Wayne. The easiest way to show that difference is that Jace is Bruce but without all the maturity. Jace has about as much emotional maturity as a teenage boy. He always acts like he has no emotional vulnerability whatsoever. But as soon as he deals with any emotionally difficult situation, he trauma dumps like his life depends on it. This isn’t a criticism of the book. I just really like how this book represents how that mentality pushes everyone away from Jace. It is an fascinating character flaw and Jace has a great arc dealing with it. I also like every member of the Fox family as a whole. Since the beginning of this series, they have been shown to be completely incompatible. But they did start to heal throughout the series. But at the end, the biggest bombshell of a lie gets revealed and it tears the family apart again. It does kind of show that this family will probably never be fully united. Because as soon as they get close, another huge lie will show up and it destroy it again. I like the chaotic mess of the Fox family.
I do have a couple criticisms for this book. Firstly, it felt like the general storyline for Jace Fox’s character was a little rushed. I do not believe that this was the book’s fault due to the fact that it was meant to continue releasing but was cancelled with this volume. So the plot-points had to end a lot faster then it was originally planned. But it is still very apparent within this volume. There are also a couple of plot-points that were not finished at all. Which found to be rather odd since I don’t know if it will be resolved elsewhere in the future. I hope it does because I really like where those plots were going. But I can not be absolutely positive that they will.
Spoiler Alert: There a couple appearances from other comic characters which I really enjoyed. The first one would be Renee Montoya, the second Question. I found this appearance to be surprising because Renee hasn’t been The Question for a couple of years at this point. And when John Ridley writes her, she can be rather skeptical of superheroes in general. But her arc within this book was rather well done because it puts that viewpoint into question (pun intended). I found her story to not just be interesting, but also fun. The second appearance which was also surprising to me was Sinestro. He showed up in a tie-in issue for the event, Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths. Honestly, this issue might be one of my favorite tie-ins for an event in comic books. It is an extremely solid story that really explores Jace’s fears and why he became a Batman in the first place. Sinestro is also his usual self and makes for a entertaining antagonist. I really enjoyed this singular issue for the book.
Another Spoiler Warning: The final arc for this book, named Motherless Child, is absolutely fantastic. It goes through a deep look into each character while still revealing an absolute bombshell to close the series off. The major reveal would be that Jace was the child of an affair with Lucius Fox and another women. I really like this twist because it gives an explanation on why Jace is seen as the black sheep of the family. Another reason is because it keeps a self-fulfilling prophecy of the Fox family, that they will always be broken up by lies. Each members has their own secrets, and if they are revealed, which they will, it will tear up the family. It never changes, which I find to be absolutely fascinating. I also like this story for it’s political commentary on online radicalization which has become an growing problem within the modern day. Overall, this last arc was amazing and a beautiful ending to this series.
The art for this good is pretty good. Christian Duce is a very good illustrator and his style really fits the realistic tone the book requires. I really enjoy how the art represents Jace as Batman. Making him look a little leaner than Bruce but still using shadow to his advantage. I also have to give credit to Rex Lokus for adding to that realistic tone even more. Than there is Karl Mostert, who also fits with the realistic tone, but is slightly more cartoonish in style. Overall, the art for this book is very well done and fits with the tone perfectly.
Overall, even with this books flaws, it is very good. Each arc adds something new to Jace’s character while still keeping it interesting and entertaining. The art fits with the tone the story presents while still having a distinct style with each illustrator. I thoroughly enjoyed this series and hope to see more of Jace Fox in the future.
For the series itself, I don’t really know what else to add which wasn’t mentioned in the review above. I do really appreciate how John Ridley adds political discussion within his stories. I don’t really know any other writer who is so outward with their beliefs through writing as John Ridley. I really hope to see more comic books from John Ridley in the future.