I will not deny James Robinson's talent, nor will I deny my admiration for him, and it's stories like Spook that prove just how good he is.
Bruce Wayne and six other heads of large corporations meet in an isolated, snow-bound mansion for a weekend discussion of how to cut back on environmental waste. Soon after their arrival, though, the help goes missing, along with one member of the group. Another member is found dead in their bedroom.
Bruce, suiting up, decides to investigate. He finds in the underground tunnels the bodies of the staff, and an axe weilding brute who is not easily overcome. Soon appears a phenomena that Batman cannot even explain, a figure, intangible, yet able to punch and hold guns. The figure, a spook, is on a mission of revenge.
Over the three issues, we find out that the spook is a real life "spook", a professional killer in the employ of the government. As we all know, the government is run by large corporations who use the elected officials as pawns, and, as it turns out, the head of one of those corporations is responsible for the Spook's death. He has tracked down that person to those individuals in the mansion, but does not know which, and so he shall kill them all for piece of mind.
The story starts off at first as a standard "whodunnit" type murder mystery, but quickly turns into something more, consisting of conspiracy, terror, and plenty of secrets. James has put together a tight little story, introducing a character that we will surely be seeing in the future. The art by Paul Johnson is excellent, containing an almost picture quality in many cases, and high art in others. His cover paintings also show off his artistic talent well, and he draws a very unique variation on the Bat-costume. I look forward to more of his work. The only qualm I have with this 3-parter is it was almost too fast paced, a four issue story might have been better.