DETECTIVE COMICS #858 is yet another magnificent example of why I think this could very well be the best comic book on the market right now. Last issue -- the title's best so far, until this one came along -- ended the first story arc on a note that naturally and seamlessly blossoms into this issue's origin tale, all while posing exciting (and troubling) new questions.
For example, why did Kate's dad look at Alice and say, "Beth?" We get our answer almost immediately in this issue, and it's a revelation that turns everything about this title upside down in such a beautifully strange way that you'll want to pull out all the previous issues and read them again with this diabolical new knowledge in mind. What was previously seen as raw sensuality was actually intimate familiarity. You can find out the rest for yourself.
I've always loved Greg Rucka's writing, but he's working on a whole other level of amazing here. And the artwork by J.H. Williams III and colorist Dave Stewart is beautiful to behold -- Stewart takes on an entirely different art style for flashbacks that begin in black and white and slowly blossom into the warm but slightly muted colors of memory.
Back in the present, as Batwoman spies on the investigation of Alice's apparent demise, you'll find your eyes drawn to the shapes of the panels across the mesmerizing two-page spread. Amazing. The amount of thought and planning that must go into this artwork is staggering, and all the more appreciated because of it.
I want this as a hardcover on my bookshelf. Now. But in the meantime, I'll savor these incredible individual issues and drive myself crazy waiting for the next one. I think you will, too. - John Bierly
