With the exception of Bruce explaining to Barbara why Leslie Thompkins is important to him, Gabrych does a stellar job with the feature.
It’s Batman versus drug dealers, with a Mr. Freeze ice gun thrown in to keep it grounded in Batman-land. Otherwise, it’s just a procedural, which is a great approach. Batman investigates–sure, fights–then follows up clues and so on. Very good plotting and some great side conversations to pad things out.
Gabrych and Woods mesh rather well. Woods’s realism gets a boost from Gabrych opening the comic on Leslie and her staff, not Bruce out as Batman. When Batman does make his appearance, it’s in a great hunter fight sequence.
And then there’s the awful backup. Sadly, Nathan Fox–taking over the art–doesn’t help the bad writing. Most of the story is a bank heist and it’s visually confounding; Fox doesn’t have logical flow.
CREDITS
The Surrogate, Part One: Lost and Found; writer, Andersen Gabrych; penciller, Pete Woods; inker, Cam Smith; colorist, Jason Wright; editors, Michael Wright and Bob Schreck. The Tailor, Part Three; writer, A.J. Lieberman; artist, Nathan Fox; colorist, Giulia Brusco; editor, Matt Idelson. Letterer, Clem Robins; publisher, DC Comics.