Batman - Streets of Gotham #12 - DC

I actually liked the approach that Paul Dini took to the story this issue. This time we see Gotham, and life in it's underworld from Jenna Duffy's point of view . . the Carpenter. She's the one that helped the girls refurbish their lair over in Gotham City Sirens. We get a little bit of her history. It turns out that she's always been a bit of a hustler, but . . she's also had a penchant for woodworking, and fixing things. So with all the traffic in Gotham, as far as the comings and goings of it's criminal underworld, there's always a need for new 'hide-outs'. Which is how the Broker found his niche. Neither one of them are criminals, per se, but . . they also don't question where the money comes from when they get paid. They're both, actually, pretty shrewd business-people. They found a gap, and they filled it. This appears to be the first time they've worked together though. The Broker has recently sold the old Monarch Theatre to the Director . . we've seen him before. And he's offered a large amount of money to fix it up. You know . . aesthetically, and 'death-trap' wise. However, being a criminal, he's not planning on following through with Duffy upon completion. In fact he sees her more of as a loose end. One that he has to eliminate. Which is how the story ends. We also see this issue that Damian has come to check on Colin. He appreciates him saving his life, although he'll never admit that, and in return has given him a form of transportation and a garage to work out of. 'It doesn't hurt having the loyalty . . and fists . . of someone like Abuse. Nice to have that option in case things ever get to the point where I need him in my corner. Someone other than Grayson.' No matter what his intentions or motivations look like . . Damian's always got an agenda. Like I said, I thought it was a good story. And as always, Dustin Nguyen's art was terrific. In the ManHunter story back-up, Kate is still trying to find her son. He's been running around Gotham . . lost. But at least he's got Thor, his robot dog with him. And, Iron Munro has finally told Kate that Ramsey has started to develop powers. It doesn't help her feel any better about the situation, but at least she knows. At the end of the story, Ramsey finally finds his way home. But the 'mom' who answers the door isn't his. It's actually Jane Doe dressing in a 'skin-suit'. I hate to see what Kate's going to do to her when she finds out about this. As always, Marc Andreyko does the story. But this issue we get some amazing art by Szyman Kudranski. Which serves to cap off a very good issue.