Welcome back, BOFers!
It is time for our monthly Detective Comics therapy session. Tom Taylor is back once again, but he is not alone. Following the unfulfilling conclusion to last month’s arc, we have an oversized celebratory issue. Taylor leads off the book as the headliner with former Detective scribe Mariko Tamaki on deck, all-time great Greg Rucka is in the hole with Dark Patters’ very own Dan Watters closing the book out. Let’s break down this bad boy!
Celebratory/anthology issues can sometimes have their own set of problems. Some stories can feel rushed and underdeveloped. Now, when you have a team of writers such as these who have each taken their turn with the Dark Knight, both past and present, you should expect the best. Well, BOFers, I am happy to report that #1100 is an ace. This is one of the finer anthologies that I have read recently. Each writer brings something different to the table. Each tale feels unique and very faithful to the mythology of Batman.
Tom Taylor’s Lost and Found is a heartwarming tale of a deaf boy and his lost dog. Not too long ago, you might remember The Batman Book club covering Batman Urban Legends, and the excellent Ace the Bat-hound tale. Well, Lost and Found is just as good. Taylor takes the Dark Knight out of the shadows, revealing a softer side to our hero while maintaining the stoic, heroic detective. I am not one for taking the dark out of the Dark Knight, but what Taylor does here is masterful. Coming off Krypto’s appearance in Superman, this is a comic book dog lovers’ dream, and you can’t tell me you didn’t have a tear in your eye on that last page. Artist Mikel Janin continues to bring the heat, and this splash page deserves to be a poster!
It’s been a while since we saw Mariko Tamaki’s name on the pages of Detective. While it was a great run, I still have not recovered from her weekly Shadows of the Bat miniseries. That was a chore! That said, it’s just wonderful to have this talented writer on board once again for a new story, Your Role in the Community. I’m sure you have at one point seen that horrible Kowalski-like take on Twitter, “If Bruce Wayne really wanted to help Gotham, he would use his wealth to blah, blah, blah.” Well, Tamaki took that horrible take and wrote an entire story about it in this issue. Bruce Wayne one-on-one with some dweeb councilman who thinks he’s “an idealist.” I’ve been waiting for a writer to try and tackle this topic, and Tamaki does it with flying colors. Tamaki is welcome back in Gotham whenever she wants to visit. This was one hell of a comeback. Let’s hope we get more from her very soon. Illustrating this tale is Amancay Nahuelpan. I am not familiar with their previous work. Here, Nahuelpan’s is a bit inconsistent. Characters appear to change their appearance as readers transition from one panel to the next. I enjoy the layouts and action, but the inconsistencies leave much more to be desired. This does not ruin the tale at all, but you cannot help but notice them. Especially the Joker’s haircut, is that a buzz cut on the sides or a bald fade? Memo to colorist Arif Prianto.
Greg Rucka is a writer I grew up on, No Man’s Land, Detective Comics, Shadow of the Bat, and Gotham Central, to name a few. The guy has written Batman in what seems like every possible way in every title. Please make sure to check out his latest DC book, “Cheetah and Cheshire Rob the Justice League.” It’s pure gold. Here, Rucka is back in the mix with The Knife and Gun Club. And this does not disappoint. There are a lot of similarities here between this tale and what you have read in Gotham Central. It’s a heavy book, as only Rucka could write. The story is centered around Batman, even though he is not the star; this tale is more about the spirit of Gotham and the people who help make it work. Rucka writes some of the most fluid conversations to read—real people, talking about real things in their made-up DC world. I don’t say that as a joke, but this feels like a conversation two people would have if we lived in the DCU. Rucka can make absolute fantasy seem like it is reality with ease. Artist Alvaro Martinez Bueno understood the assignment. This tale even looks like it belongs in Gotham Central with a tad bit of Alex Ross sprinkled on top. AMB did wonders on this story!
Dan Watters closes out the book with “The Fall.” This is a short and sweet tale that has Watters teamed up with Bill Sinekiewicz. Batman has his culprit, but he is on the edge literally, and then he goes over the edge. Batman flies in action; his monologue is incredible, and readers will feel like they are part of the action. This is a cute tale about what goes on in Batman’s mind; all this happens in the blink of an eye, but to the reader, it will feel like it is forever. Then there is that ending. Is it crystal clear how this one ends? Or did Watters leave that up to each one of us to decide? How do you think this one finished? Sinekiewicz can be jarring at times if you don’t like his style, but you should know what to expect from him at this point. I enjoy most of his work, but I can see the complaints if you have any. This one is always going to be up to each reader if you want to call it “good” or not.
Overall, Detective Comics #1100 is one of the best anthologies I’ve read in a good while. None of the typical issues arose in this book; each story felt like it had more than enough time to play out. Each tale was so different from the last, and it goes to show you how malleable a character Batman is. The one constant throughout the book is that each tale did its best to one-up the previous story on the last page. The pairings of artists and writers did a fantastic job from cover to cover. What was your favorite tale? Mine, well, to be fair, it’s going to change each time I read this book. Even with the hefty price tag for an oversized issue, this is one you should have on your pull list this week. Enjoy this one, BOFers, it’s a gem! – Peter Verra
GRADE: A