From DC COMICS: "Meet the all-new Ventriloquist! After surviving a near-fatal explosion, Batman discovers the Ventriloquist and Scarface are back — with a vengeance. As the Dark Knight tries to unravel the mystery behind his enemies' resurrection, Scarface unites the most feared names in the Gotham Underworld and introduces them to a surprising new ally in their war against Batman."

If you dig DETECTIVE COMICS because of the “detective” aspect of the title, then you will certainly enjoy DC #827 as there is a lot of detecting going on.

OK, on to the story….

Remember a while back, during that “FACE THE FACE” storyline, Arnold Wesker -- “The Ventriloquist” -- was whacked along with a few other Bat-villains. Consequently, it seemed that 'ol Scarface would no longer be able to operate as a Gotham crime boss.

Did I ever tell y’all that I like whole Ventriloquist/Scarface villian thing? Well, I do. And I think he could be translated rather well into a live-action Bat-flick. Did you ever see that late 70s movie MAGIC with Anthony Hopkins? Anyway….

Stop the presses! Scarface is back, and based on Wesker’s empty grave, so is The Ventriloquist.

As I said, lots of detective work going on as The Batman goes undercover (probably the best aspect of this issue) to find out how the hell Wesker and Scarface returned from the grave. Has the dummy actually managed to come back via supernatural means?

And I can tell you without spoiling anything that Scarface and The Ventriloquist are definitely back. However, there’s something different with one of the two this time around. *wink* *wink*

DETECTIVE #827 continues the one-and-done approach by writer Paul Dini -- meaning that each issue is self-contained and the mystery is solved by the end of the book (This is sort of the case in #827 -- you‘ll see what I‘m talking about when you read it). For the most part it works, although there is a lack of depth to the stories on occasion. It actually reminds one a tad of BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES.

On the art side, Don Kramer continues to do nice work and John Kalisz's colors and Wayne Faucher's inks work well with Kramer’s pencils.

If you haven’t picked up DETECTIVE COMICS of late, you are missing out on one of the best Bat-runs in a while.