She’s meeting with the heads of organized crime in Gotham City. It’s not exactly easy to get their attention...or even get them all in a room, but she’s got a meeting with them in Punchline: The Gotham Game #4. Writers Tini Howard and Blake Howard continue their journey with a very ambitious criminal. They are aided and abetted by artist Max Raynor and colorist Luis Guerrero. The conflict heats up as Punchline and her gang are launched headlong into a major gang war. Things aren’t going to go Punchline’s way. It might not be a good idea to get her cornered, though: her name IS on the cover of the book after all...

The Black Mask knows that Punchline is a vicious, vicious person who will stop at nothing to reform the Gotham City underworld in her own vision. She might have ambition, but she hasn’t exactly gotten the upper hand, as Black Mask has the contacts, connections, and resources to make things very, very tragically inconvenient for Punchline. Really, it’s only a matter of time before he strikes. He’s just waiting to get her into the right position. He wants her to be there when he lowers the boom. Naturally, she will be a bit upset when his men infiltrate her lair. 

There’s a whole lot going on around the edges of the story that the Howards are telling. Not a whole lot of it is terribly intriguing. Punchline and her conflict with Black Mask is fun. As is a brief moment between Gotham City heroes Nightwing and Bluebird. Given how much other story there is, there’s A LOT of dead weight that has accumulated around the edges of the action. The series might be that much better if it were to focus a little more on its title character. She’s interesting. Her interaction with Black Mask is fascinating. It’s too bad there wasn’t more focus on them. 

Raynor draws heavy shadows over everything. There’s an impressive sense of drama that’s carried straight through the issue. It even manages to bring some style to some of the extraneous drama around the edges of the center. Guerrero’s color adds considerable depth to the drama. The crazy, deep blue of Punchline’s eyes flash out of the page, occasionally accented by the blood spatter of freckles across her face. There’s a chillingly dark feel to the beauty that sometimes manages to feel electrifying.

The series feels like it should be coming to an end soon. Everything is caving in for Punchline, and it’s only a matter of time before things fall in one direction or another. It’s too bad that it’s been such a mess from the beginning. If the Howards had focused on one or two of the main elements of the story, it might have been a much more satisfying run. As it is, the series never really manages to build up enough momentum in any of the supporting ends of the story. 

Grade: C+