Welcome back, BOFers! It is that time once again. Detective Comics has hit the shelves of comic shops nationwide. Tom Taylor and Mikel Janín are back for their second issue in what I am already hoping is a long, long run. So, let’s cut the small talk and get right into it, shall we?!
It has been over two years since I have felt this way while reading Detective Comics. Taylor starts this issue with the most significant talking point of the last issue, the young boy and the gun. Last month, X went crazy over issue #1090. Taylor has turned that moment from a want-to-be politico’s talking point into a plot point with the right amount of Gotham City to give it the edge that Scott Snyder is searching for in Absolute Batman. Taylor writes a Batman who is very aware and reflects on his actions, as we see in the morgue scene with Bullock. This is a Batman who wants to be a symbol for Gotham but knows he has flaws, as seen in the scene with Superman. For the first time since Alfred’s passing, a writer has taken advantage of that moment to expand upon Batman’s other relationships within the pages of Detective. It should come as no surprise that Taylor delivered. After all, we saw glimpses of this during Taylor’s recent Nightwing run.
Like the debut issue, we see Batman and Robin working the crime scene. However, Taylor’s Batman and Robin feels different from the Batman and Robin you saw in Williamson’s title. This pairing has more weight and is more from Batman’s point of view, establishing some difference between what we have seen and what we are getting now. This is not the father-son love fest we were getting in the Batman and Robin title. You catch glimpses of 90’s A-hole Batman, as shown in the cave scene with Robin, but it is not overpowering.
Taylor does an excellent job of juggling the events of the last issue while setting up and teasing readers along the way. By splitting up the dialogue and the action, the book never feels boring or like it can be flipped through. It’s a perfectly balanced story from page one.
Janín is an artistic wonder. I can’t decide what is more impressive in how he draws or colors the book. Cool colors dominate most of the book and the backdrops, but when Janín wants to kick it up a notch, we see the reds and oranges pop! Janín has an interesting placement of panels that is easy to follow, but each page is its own. I like to think of this as a Tetris-style layout: rectangles, squares, overlapping, sharp angles. It is something to behold and notice when you read the book. Janín’s Batman looks fantastic, stoic with broad shoulders and some of the book’s best facial/cowl expressions. That goes for all the characters; Janín sets the tone visually for what Taylor will deliver on every page.
This is what fans want; this is what fans expect from Detective Comics. Taylor is the best man for the job, and two issues in, he has already saved this legacy title. This gives readers a true vintage Batman in modern DC continuity. Absolute Batman might be getting all the hype these days, but you won’t find a Batman comic that is truer to Batman than Detective Comics #1091. Get ready, BOFers. We are on board for one hell of a ride and have not even sat in the coaster seat yet. – Peter Verra
