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Writers/Artists: Various
Publisher: DC/Titan Books (ISBN 1-84023-735-X)
One big problem that bugged me throughout the Bruce Wayne: Murderer/Fugitive storyline was how Bruce abandoned Sasha Bordeaux to her fate. To recap - Bruce and Sasha were done for the murder of Vesper Fairchild, she was sent down first - life imprisonment - he escaped from jail, resumed his role as Bats, decided to abandon Bruce Wayne entirely. A crisis of conscience brought on by an old copper saw him finally decide to investigate, and he found the real murderer was Cain - father figure of Batgirl - on orders from President Lex. Bats accepts Bruce back again, and everyone is happy...except Sasha, who is banged up in Blackgate and no-one seems to give a damn about.
Despite Cain admitting the murder, Sasha is still locked up - jeez, the US system sure works slowly, over here she'd've been released tout bloody suite, bit of compensation to shut her up, job's a good'un - and just before Bruce's lawyers can do much to spring her, she's killed in prison. Or is she? Bats isn't convinced, too much points the other way, and Greg Rucka's last Batman storyline deals with what really happened to her, why it happened, and how the unfulfilled love affair between Bruce and Sasha is resolved. A nice three-parter to open the book.
Devin Grayson contributes the next tale in the book, a look at Bruce back in the saddle - twenty-four hours in the life of Bruce Wayne, taking charge of his company again, showing how he can make just as big an impact to the lives of Gothamites as he does as Batman. In fact, he makes more impact to more people as Bruce Wayne, such that you might expect he should stay Bruce all the time... Oh, and the story only spans 21 hours, I feel robbed of three hours! It's a great story, thoroughly enjoyed this.
Ed Brubaker and Geoff Johns then deliver an action-packed two-parter detailing the attempt to have Cain stand trial...there's a price on his head (from Luthor no less) and Deadshot takes a crack at him. It doesn't help that Cain wants to die, so doesn't really do anything to keep himself alive until...well, that would be telling. A fine tale, but not as good as the proceeding two, the frenetic pace seems out of sorts, you're in the mood for another introspective piece not an action fest.
Kelley Puckett rounds the book off with Batgirl visiting her erstwhile "dad" in prison, whilst building a relationship with her new "dad" on the outside - it's a nice story to close the book off, with an unexpected ending: she goes to the prison disguised as a reporter to find some information out about "Alpha", some criminal grouping, but instead...again, I won't spoil it.
Overall, a good book, a fitting capstone to the series, and, strangely enough, maybe because it is fairly disassociated from the main plot of Bruce being done up for murder, probably the best of the bunch.
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