A Story Of Two Dolls — Reviewing ‘Two-Face’ #3

Doubt is a powerful thing. It can cloud the mind and make people do things they might not otherwise. Creating a little wiggling feeling, pushing folks the way only our own mind can.

Imagine, though, if someone else has that power. To whisper little things into your brain centered around the idea of doubt. Now that would be kind of scary in a lot of ways and could cause a lot of chaos.

Gotham City is born and bred for chaos, and the Shadow Hand creeping across it makes a big play in Two-Face #3. An illuminating addition to the new series, peeling back a few layers, from Christian Ward, Fabio Veras, Ivan Plascencia, and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou.

One thing always standing out here is just how damn fun this series looks. Veras and Plascencia are leaning hard into the neon-vivid sharp uniqueness that the story necessitates.

Harvey’s mindscape and the real world provide such stark contrasts. Each has their particular taste with connective tissue found between them. All the reality scenes have that crime story gritty denseness to them. Giving plenty of depth and heftiness to everything so that we’re feeling every movement. Action scenes have plenty of kinetic energy as the more talkative scenes have a richness.

Mindscape scenes are sketchier and really show off the harder dimensions of that space and Bad Harvey’s influence there.

Similarly, the color palette of Plascencia dabbles in differences. The aforementioned more neon vibrant colors of the mindscape stand against the denser, more streamlined colors of the real world. Shadows make their presence felt in both worlds. Part of that comes from a heavier feeling that is baked into the overall series as a whole.

As always, Otsmane-Elhaou really hits it out of the park. He lets the two spaces have their own unique textual feelings across the page and gives character’s voices such rich qualities so that they remain personified and authentic-feeling. He also takes what could be simple bubbles with font to higher levels, showcasing the art that is lettering.

We’re three issues in and the new part of Gotham that Ward is building is just so fun and interesting. From the White Church to the Shadow Hand and everything in-between. Even throwing in a seeming reveal about the two Harveys and who is behind the Shadow Hand works. It fits where the story has been and keeps sowing more doubt into everything. At its core, the story is about the power play between the two Harveys, as the Good Harvey tries to walk a delicate line.

I love the inclusion of Baby Doll here, one of the more intriguing villains that originated from Batman: The Animated Series. She fits well within the story because of her split mindset and inability to really connect with reality. It is something Harvey is struggling with, even if he doesn’t fully realize it.

Everything about this series just clicks into place as it really broadens the Gotham underworld. It also gives us a way to explore more about Two-Face than we often get in his appearances.

Two-Face #3 is now available from DC Comics.