Though she is indeed back in issue #845 of DETECTIVE COMICS, she's not as "back" as the cover suggests.

She, of course, being Catwoman. The issue is a lot more about The Riddler, which leads to another missed opportunity that we'll discuss a little later.

First, we get a nice rundown from our main man Jim Gordon about the third and most recent in a series of new serial killings in Gotham City. Gordon thinks the murders are random. The Batman's not so sure.

The killer leaves behind a single white lily in the victim's blood, and it's a nice touch when Gordon reveals that they've been asking Pamela "Poison Ivy" Isley for help at Batman's suggestion. I love little touches like that, because they bring a greater sense of unity to Dini's stories and an overall sense of how Batman's villains are just as much a part of the fabric of what makes Gotham tick as Batman is. Well done.

But the crime scene is soon interrupted by the arrival of the Riddler, who has seemingly reformed himself in recent issues of DETECTIVE in a private investigator trying to walk the straight and narrow. We're usually limited to banter between The Riddler and Batman, but I appreciated Gordon getting in on the action:

Riddler: "I thought the police might benefit from a professional detective's assessment."

Gordon: "Wonderful. Here comes the circus."

The circus, of course, being the small army of journalists and camera crews that The Riddler has brought along to try to cash in on the murders. "What we have here is the birth of a gruesomely colorful master criminal, out to strike terror in the hearts of innocents, much like a fledgling Joker or Victor Zsasz," he tells the gathering press. "I look forward to personally bringing this new menace to justice."

One of the cops tells Riddler to get out of the way, that this is a police investigation only. Riddler huffs and puffs and points at Batman. "Really? Then what's he doing here?"

But Batman has seen enough, zipping away on his grapple gun to start putting the pieces together in his head.

And as he ruminates about old foes gone straight, he opens the Batmobile to find one of them draped seductively across its interior: Selina "Catwoman" Kyle. Indeed.

I like how he's all business about it; he wants to talk about the serial killer and she wants to talk about ... other things. Mainly his recent romantic entanglements with Jezebel Jet (currently happening in the pages of Grant Morrison's BATMAN) and Zatanna (for which you should see the previous two issues of DETECTIVE). Selina's being particularly catty toward Bruce and then kind of just leaves in a hurry, and that's it for her in this issue.

Given how well Dini writes Batman and dames, I was a bit disappointed in her early departure from the comic.

Especially given how the working relationship between Catwoman and the Riddler was explored in Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale's CATWOMAN: WHEN IN ROME miniseries, I was fully expecting Selina to aid Batman in the case the second she heard the Riddler was involved. Instead we get one quick, stilted scene that's more concerned with name-checking recent storylines than it is in doing anything new or interesting with the Bruce/Selina dynamic.

Though, with Dini beginning a HUSH follow-up next issue, hopefully we'll see Selina again given how pivotal her role in the original HUSH storyline was. I hope so.

Batman knows she wants him to follow her and considers it, but he's got more pressing matters on his mind. Like finding a killer before another murder happens.

The next few pages employ an interesting plot device as Batman logs into a chat room frequented by amateur mystery junkies who like to trade theories about real cases. What's funny about it is that none of them are amateurs; Batman, The Riddler, Detective Chimp, a Gotham City cop and a pretty criminal justice student (whom I originally thought was Barbara Gordon but changed my mind when I noticed all the piercings) go back and forth about what they think is going on, and the only two who know each other's real identities are Batman and Detective Chimp.

And it makes sense that Batman would use something like this to monitor fresh perspectives, while The Riddler would use it to basically try to get other people to do his work for him when he's stumped. Nice character touches here.

Batman does some typical detective work, or at least as typical as it can be when it involves hacking into a school's computers, and figures out that the culprit is a man whose wife was accidentally killed years ago during a shootout sparked by one of The Riddler's heists. He's been doing all this to lure out The Riddler, and now he's holding him captive and preparing to kill him.

Batman fights off the man's canine guards and breaks in just in time, laying out his case against the killer and saving The Riddler. Even after the man shoots Batman with a shotgun, Batman still wants to find a way to get him help. But the killer turns the gun on himself, claiming his last life ever: his own.

I love the conversation between Riddler and Batman:

Batman: "Riddle me this, Eddie. How many more shattered people are out there who owe their miseries to your antics?"

Riddler: "Look in the mirror and repeat the question, Bats. We'll have coffee sometime and trade answers."

Batman establishes to The Riddler that the bullet that killed the killer's wife came from one of Riddler's goons, and walks away with The Riddler still tied up and the killer's dogs about to awaken from the knockout gas Batman bombed them with. He kicks the killer's knife near The Riddler's hands, but not too near.

Riddler: "How about cutting me loose, partner?"

Batman: "I figure it will take about six minutes to cut yourself free. The dogs will be awake in five. Get busy, partner."

And off he drives into the night.

I liked this issue, but it's also the first Dini issue in a while that I felt needed a bit more to it. Again, I thought that Catwoman was underused, especially given her history with The Riddler and how Dini could have played with that a bit more. As it is, her cover-teased appearance felt very unnecessary and the subsequent story was fine but a bit by-the-numbers in its resolution.

Good stuff, but not as engaging as I've found some of the other recent issues.

And next month...Hush returns. Again. See you then! - John Bierly