Never Trust A White Rabbit — Reviewing ‘Two-Face’ #2

Generally, prenups are about protecting assets. For the King and Queen of the Royal Flush Gang, a prenup is dangerous. Especially since there is a whole clause that allows for death in the case of infidelity.

Good thing the King has Harvey Dent on his side, as Two-Face #2 brings a new treacherous case to the confines of the White Church courtroom. Putting the case pieces together is Christian Ward, Fábio Veras, Ivan Plascencia, and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou.

What a revelation this series has been so far.

In most cases, the various levels of rogues and villains of Gotham are seen in the context of taking on or running from the members of the Bat-family. Every so often they get a story to them, but they’re mostly there to be punched and such. Which you know is kind of fair since many of them are dangerous or murderous villains and such.

At the same time, having this space where we get to see their interactions, connections, squabbles, and other elements outside of the Bat is quite nice. Especially since Ward writes it all so engagingly, by wrapping the whole thing around the eternal battle between Harvey Dent and Two-Face, dipping into the mental struggles they have put one another through. Harvey playing lawyer again while also playing at being Two-Face adds some fun depth, and airs out a concept we’ve only loosely seen tapped at in the past.

All Two-Face’s machinations, including his interactions with memory Salvatore Maroni, are delicious. As is the case with this mysterious Shadow Hand figure that is working against Dent. While I have a guess at who it might be, I’m ready to see what Ward has up his sleeve as the story continues.

I never would have guessed that two of my favorite Gotham related books would star Two-Face and Poison Ivy, but here we are. And I’m quite happy with that fact.

All of it has such an interesting rough and flowing energy thanks to Veras’ artwork. Whether it’s the more street-level gritty stuff or the surreal mindscape stuff, Veras tackles it with the same level. Filled with great depth and detail at every turn, it allows the viewer to feel immersed in the world with ease.

Paneling plays such an important role in these feelings. Knowing when to go bigger or smaller, wider or narrower, and everything in-between. This gives a sense of weight so that every space and figure feels authentic even as they are depicted with a hint of fantastical whimsy that makes comic books so fun.

Vibrancy is present in both sections of worlds we explore here. Mixed with the more foundational neutral colors that include a lot of grays and blacks bringing a lot of shadowy and stark elements into play. Gotham’s underworld tends to be filled with flashy costumed and physically altered figures so the vibrancy is par for the course. Plascencia plays with these elements to give the real world and Harvey’s mind space their own unique yet intertwined color palettes.

Two-Face is the more colorful part of Harvey trapped in a space that is both colorful but also dull at the same time. Because Harvey has created a dull typical style prison setting for his other half. While in the real world, it is Harvey that is trying to claim the more sedate or normal colors in a dark and colorful world. Playing at being a white knight in a world of black and gray.

Harvey and Two-Face having very different voices with a variety of alterations (in bubbles and fonts) alone would be enough to give this series visual lettering juice. Otsmane-Elhaou always goes many steps further though. Really leaning into creating lettering befitting of a crime procedural (of sorts) set within the darkest realms of Gotham. Which is a colorful and dark city with massive personality. We feel all of that from the various characters as well, as their voices and fonts shift and spiral to capture whatever energy or tone or volume is necessary.

Two-Face #2 is now available from DC Comics.