Customer Reviews

Batman: Detective

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Batman: Detective isn't your usual trade paperback. The six issues of Detective Comics collected here don't represent a single story arc but rather, it presents six stand-alone stories that call upon Batman to use the skills that have made him the world's greatest detective. In another twist, the stories feature some of Batman's greatest foes including The Riddler, The Penguin, Poison Ivy, and the Joker, but rather than battling these arch foes, Batman actually has to aid them...with one notable exception we'll get to in a moment.

In the opening tale, members of Gotham's high-society are falling victim to crime by a gang masquerading as blue bloods themselves. A new villain named Façade is in town and Batman needs to track him down before he can commit further crimes. This was the weakest story in the book. A new, uninteresting villain barely caused Batman to break a sweat.

"E. Nigma, Counseling Detective" finds the Riddler going straight by opening his own detective agency. In his first case, he helps to prove that Bruce Wayne did not commit the murder of former girlfriend Karrie Bishop. Just when the Riddler thinks he's nailed the case, Batman ups the ante with his own detective skills.

In "Stalked" Poison Ivy is attacked in her Arkham Asylum cell by a monstrous form of plant, which she cannot control. Batman takes her to the Batcave for safe-keeping but in searching her former hideout, finds a DVD which repulses he and Robin. Ivy developed a new form of carnivorous plant that slowly dissolves its victims. But somehow this plant maintained the souls of its victims and they've come looking for revenge on Ivy and anyone trying to help her. Solid story although it involved little detective work by Batman in keeping with the overall theme of the book.

The Penguin is also attempting to go straight in "Night of the Penguin" but his new venture may be short-lived as he's endanger of being wiped out in a high-stakes poker game. Batman suspects that Mr. Zzz is cheating and enlists the aid of Zatanna to find out how. A light story, filled with a lot of humor...particularly from Bruce Wayne's date for the evening at the Grand Opening of Penguin's new lounge. Lets just say she bears more than a slight resemblance to Paris Hilton...particularly in the dumb blonde department.

The best story in the book is actually the odd story out in terms of the detective motif and Batman barely makes an appearance. In "Slayride" Robin is being pursued by gun-toting thugs and gets a ride from a passing motorist...The Joker! Robin awakes bound and gagged with the Joker at the wheel of a Soccer mom's van (mom and dad are dead in the back seat!). During this maddening ride to Hell, Robin watches helplessly as the Joker runs down innocent pedestrians and shoots a fast food restaurant Manager when they can't get his order right. Can't say as I blame him for that one...

The stories were written by Paul Dini and Royal McGraw, with art by Don Kramer, J.H. Williams III, Joe Benitez, and Marcos Marz. The book is a little uneven and some stories, particularly the Joker story is an odd fit. One gets the sense that it was included only to round the book out with six stories.

REVIEWED BY TIM JANSON

Batman: Detective is a collection of six stories from Detective Comics #821-826, most written by Paul Dini. The first story is called 'The Beautiful People' and is about kidnappers infiltrating Gotham high society. The second story is 'E. Nigma, Consulting Detective' and features The Riddler and Batman teaming up to solve a murder. The third story 'Stalked' centers around Poison Ivy. The fourth story 'Night of the Penguin' is about Penguin's opening night of his new club, the Iceberg Lounge. The fifth story, written by Royal McGraw, is 'The Return of Dr. Phosphorous.' The last story is 'Slayride' and is about Joker taking Robin on a wild ride around Gotham at Christmastime.

This was a fun collection and I liked reading the quick story lines. I think more comics should include a few of the single issue story arcs once in awhile instead of droning on into the next overreaching plot. Again, this was an excellent trade and I would like more of this storytelling from others.

This collection of Batman stories suprised me by how much strength is in each chapter/issue. Mr. Dini carries over his excellent writing style from the animated series and excels at not dragging out a story too long. The only running storyline deals with the Riddler and it doesn't hasten the self contained shorts. Also the art plays well by having each artist's style compliment the story accordingly. This would be a great gift for a fair weather Batman fan or a newcomer to the genre, easily accessible and fun.

This is a collection of stories from the "One Year Later" portion of DC's continuity. The collection contains 6 separate story's from the pages of Detective Comics.
What makes this book special is that you don't need to have read the last 10 years of DC TPBs to fully understand and enjoy the story.
It brings Batman back to his roots, not sulking around rehashing his psyche, but solving crimes in a way which reminds the reader why Ra's al Ghul calls him "The Detective".
All in all a great read, for the casual reader and the enthusiast alike.

It is refreshing and encouraging to see that, in this day and age of the arc, single issue stories, as evidenced by this trade and the monthly Detective Comics from which it was comprised, can still be a viable and entertaining format in the comic industry. Critics will argue that this approach allows for little depth and characterization, and their points are valid. Despite these inherent limitations, they can be an effective way to tell an enjoyable, albeit brief tale, and with that in mind who better to employ for this format than Batman, who can effectively be written in short stories battling antagonists from everyday criminals to brief encounters with his great rogues gallery. To offset the obvious problem that limited pages creates, it is imperative to have a fairly wordy script with a relatively high panel count in order to give some substance to the tale. No decompression allowed here folks. Every word and scene must be able to carry its' own weight and have relevance, which is exactly how any story of any length should be told anyways, but rarely are in these times of extending and padding in order to fill up a graphic novel. This was the bread and butter of DC's heyday during the Silver Age, and while times and methods of storytelling have certainly changed over the years, it is one of the strengths from that era that should be further studied, explored, and emulated. All that is missing is a backup feature starring the Elongated Man. What a blast from the past that would be.

If you like Batman in the "Year One" tradition, or the Dennis O'Neil "Shaman" or Jim Starlin style then get this book. Paul Dini is great. Possibly the best Batman writer of recent times.

I can't say enough good about it. Get this and then get Batman: Death and the City

Despite not having long story arcs (think mini stories within a tradepaper back), it harkens back to the charm and great story telling of Dini's (and Timm's) old Batman animated series. My favorite story would be Riddler's, and his little partnership with Batman. Honestly, it's cute in a manly way without being too cheesey. Only Dini can pull that off and for that, I applaud him.

Despite what other reviews saw, I actually didn't mind and at some times enjoyed the artwork. Now that that's out of the way.
The stories here are varied indeed. I really enjoyed how each issue was a self contained story from start to finish. There were some really enjoyable ones such as Poison Ivys, Penguin's, and especially Joker's. The rest, eh, they were ok and easily forgettable. I had to actually thumb through to book again to remember the stories earlier in the collection prior to this review. I have no reference for Paul Dini's work. This book definitely did not turn me off to getting more from his collection, but it also didn't have me ordering up each and every collection I could find on amazon. Overall I would say that the gems in here were worth the purchase.

With Paul Dini's return to Batman as regular writer of the monthly Detective Comics, readers were promised a back to basic storytelling approach, with one or two part mystery stories of batman confronting his classic foes. Paul Dini delivered the stories, but after a great first issue drawn by J. H. Williams III, the quality of the artwork drops with the switch to Don Kramer as regular artist on the series.
Don Kramer, who is still learning the ropes as an artists, fails to elevate these stories above the average, and lets Dini's scripts and readers down.
A Poison Ivy story featuring art by Joe Benitez, as well as another featuring Dr. Phosphorus drawn by Marcos Marz save the rest of this collection from being a complete wash.
The strength of Dini's writing comes from its simplicity, so the wrong artist impacts the story all the more. Any new readers DC Comics acquired because of Paul Dini's name on the cover were quickly lost after being subjected to the mediocre art that has more often than not been a staple of Batman comics. Will DC please hire an art director!

I liked the stories but I didnt care much for the art. If you need a Batman fix pick this up.