Three issues in, I now feel comfortable saying that DC’s flagship title --
DETECTIVE COMICS -- is the BEST Batman comic going right now!
Well, out of all the ones I’m reading (I’m actually reading all of them, FYI -- DIGITALLY!) and excluding the Scott Snyder-written BATMAN. Snyder’s stuff kicks ass, quite frankly, and is probably entering “classic” status soon. HOWEVER...
Tony Daniel’s work on DETECTIVE COMICS -- which he is both writing and penciling -- ain’t too far off.
Really.
As this title’s first storyline continues, Daniel has crafted one hell of “detective story,” if you will, that not only nails what The Batman is, but Jim Gordon too (I do dig the new red/brown/Gary Oldman-looking Gordon, BTW). In issue #3, we get both answers to what TD set up in the previous two installments, as well as a lots of new questions…questions that I can not wait to see finally resolved.
By the way, this new Batman rogue, “The Dollmaker.” I like him! In that love-to-hate sort of way, of course. I’m thinking that this character may quickly move up the ranks and become one of the most popular, and deadly, foes.
Speaking of this The Dollmaker, I'm thinking that Mr. Dainel and DC’s Batman editorial team have took a page THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE and have given us the “Leatherface” of the DCU. Sick stuff, but cool and interesting nonetheless.
While we now know the identity of The Dollmaker and his motives, it’s now quite apparent that someone else is pulling his strings.
Who would that be? Well, all I’ll say is I’m betting that the individual we think is behind it all (His name starts with “J” and ends with “oker”), will prove to be nothing more than a red herring…or a reverse red herring perhaps? Anyway…
A riveting story and great art (I love Batman’s new costume and how Daniel draws him and the world of DETECTIVE) has got this old Batman fan hooked.
SYNOPSIS: He makes dolls out of his victims – and he's tired of being referred to in the media as the Gotham Strangler. His moniker is the Dollmaker, and he and his insane family are going to hunt down Gotham City's public figures and turn them into the ultimate collectables. As the Dollmaker ups the stakes, Batman finds himself in a race against time – because one of his allies is The Dollmaker's next target!
