Written by: Brian Buccellato
Art by: Francis Manapul
Publisher: DC
This book is truly magnificent. It’s a bold statement I know, but it’s crafted and produced in such a way that I can’t imagine a Detective Comics creative team could ever top Buccellato and Manapul.
I know they have only been on the series for 4 issues, but it’s just so fresh to see Batman going back to his routes of true detective work. It’s not just Batman that impresses in this book, Alfred and especially Harvey Bullock are written so excellently well.
Based on some of the dialogue since they started their run, I am led to assume that this arc takes place around the same time as Eternal due to Commissioner Gordon not being around, and some of the elements of the story which link up to Eternal such as the Penguin Falcone gang war. And it is because of this that Bullock is so at the forefront of this series so far and it is really refreshing to see him as lead detective for GCPD, especially as he is being so well written.
The story itself is not particularly memorable, but it is how it is being told, and the way Batman is trying to figure out more about Icarus that is leading to some excellent moments for Batman as a detective. But this lack of a truly memorable story is intensified by the spectacularly unique art in this book. There are so many pages where I just said WOW that I can’t begin to even tell you what my favourite page of the issue is. The gradients of the colouring and the smooth lines make for a wonderful viewing experience and Manapul really draws an excellent Batman.
The only thing that left me a bit confused in this issue was the last act. I am not really sure what happened between Bullock and Batman and what they are referring to, but I am sure Buccellato with give us the reasoning behind this in the final part of the arc next month.
Detective Comics has sort of become like the current run on Green Arrow, with an excellent crafted story by the writer but it is only once joined with the artwork that make it stand out from the rest of the books on the shelf.
In many ways, Buccellato and Manapul take the best of the detective elements from their run on Flash together and infuse it with the ultimate detective book. And it is this perfect combination of the creative team which they seem so in tune with each other that makes this book one of DCs strongest titles at the moment, well at least from a reader’s perspective.
