SYNOPSIS: Detective Jim Corrigan has been shot on the streets of Gotham City—and the Spectre must reach out to Batman to help him find the secret assassin!
It has been an up and down ride with Peter J. Tomasi’s run on Detective as some stories start off guns blazing only to fizzle out at the conclusion.
Tomasi seems to enjoy the supernatural in his run as now Batman will be partnering up with the king of tit for tat, The Spectre. Bringing up the age-old debate between heroes and fans, justice or vengeance?
Last review I had questioned Tomasi’s approach. Wondering if his reinventing of characters was his ultimate downfall. That maybe he should take a more classic approach. I just wasn’t thinking a classic team up. This issue will bring back-issue enthusiasts to the heyday of the Brave and the Bold from the 70’s. The book has that classic back issue feel and this is a detective story at its core, we all love detective Batman.
We get a great introduction to The Spectre and his world of spookiness. Two GCPD detectives are on the scene of a gang style assassination. The detectives are following through with their investigation then in the blink of an eye ghosts, gun fire, and one dead cop.
It’s never a dull night in Gotham is it?
This chain of events leads the Spectre looking for the World’s Greatest detective and it was an interesting confrontation. The most enjoyable part of the book is this odd coupling.
One is in search for truth and justice while the other has no compassion and wants an eye for an eye. Batman doesn’t normally play well with others and most certainly not on their terms.
Detective seems to have a rotating door of artists these days. As we begin a new arc we are introduced to a new artist, Kyle Hotz. Kyle let me be the first to welcome you to Gotham. While I’m not too familiar with Holt’s previous work, this story feels like it’s right in Hotz’s wheelhouse. Hotz is giving me vibes of a toned-down Kelly Jones mixed in with some Don Kramer. Like Jones with panel simple backgrounds, lots of shadows and use of black and a wonderful knack for the paranormal. The art work is still clean and sharp like Kramer well balanced between style and heavy detail.
Holt’s Batman jumping off roof tops and fighting criminals is entertaining as you flip pages but his Spectre steals the show. From popping out of a body like he was Deadman to being as tall as Godzilla, Spectre is force that cannot go unnoticed. Holt seems to be just the right artist to tackle this issue as the ghostly elements are a sight to behold. I loved the face to face introduction of the main characters, a stunning splash page that is begging to be a poster. Holt’s cowl at times reminds me of Bob Kane’s cowl.
Detective Comics #1006 is a fun pairing that you never knew you wanted. Just the idea of Batman having to interact with The Spectre is fascinating. How different they are and how they go about their craft creates for an interesting dynamic.
We have seen Batman recently mix it up with Swamp Thing in King’s Batman run and Zatanna in Tynion’s Detective run but The Spectre is a different kind of supernatural. This is a different kind of odd couple than Priest’s Batman vs Deathstroke. This story feels like a combination of all three.
This first issue has me wanting more, much more. This could turn out to be one of the more interesting tales we have read in a while. Murder, mystery, justice or vengeance, ghosts and goblins just thinking about all this has me pumped for #1007!
GRADE: A-