Will Nevin: One week, I think we’ll hit on a book that we both like, that we can both praise and feel good about. This ain’t that week.
Matt Lazorwitz: This is a very … meh week. “Detective” was inoffensive water treading, and “Black and White” was hit or miss, as most anthologies are.
Detective Comics #1,032
Hush villainsplains his plan to the mute the Batfamily while Batman and Damian work out their problems the only way they know how — by punching — in Detective Comics #1,032 by Peter J. Tomasi, Brad Walker, Andrew Hennessy, Dave McCaig and Rob Leigh.
WN: Wasn’t this issue a bundle of laughs? This thing aspires to be filler. In one story, we’ve got Hush droning on about his B-movie plot to sell the Batfam’s organs, and in the other, Batman and Damian are fighting each other for reasons in what looks like a sun-faded poster the local comic shop forgot to take down. Doesn’t Hush have a ton of money? Why does he have a tidy-looking spandex outfit with a monogrammed “H”? Why is anything, Matt?
ML: Yeah, this issue feels like a lot of filler before the conclusion later this month. The fight scenes and Hush’s monologue go on for pages, when one or two would have sufficed to get the point across. The issue moves the pieces around without actually sending them anywhere we didn’t see coming. And without going into detail, Hush’s monetary situation is very story-specific; he has as much money as the story requires, although since jealousy is his main motivator, I see what Tomasi was doing: Hey, might as well make some more cash and be richer than Bruce in addition to killing everyone he loves.
What bugged me was that, after three Mirror-centric issues, we barely get a mention of the villain who has been the engine of this arc. Hush’s comments about being an opportunist make me think he isn’t even directly connected with Mirror. It might work better for the story if we’re to believe he decided to make his move because Damian was targeting his aunt, the cop in the previous issues, as opposed to this being a coincidence, but that feels like me trying to find connections rather than there being anything textual to back them up. And he never mentions Damian, so it doesn’t seem likely.
WN: Being a random, shitty coincidence makes for a much better story; that was the thing I loved about “Batman Eternal.” Sometimes it’s not this detailed and intricate plot expertly crafted by genius-level criminals — sometimes, it’s just a real bad day in Gotham. (Or is that every day?) I hadn’t thought much about Mirror until you mentioned him — probably because my lizard brain still thinks Hush IS Mirror, even though you convinced me otherwise last time. But that’s a definite hole in this issue.
ML: That’s a very fair point. Gotham is often a hole where happiness comes to die, and in that case? Yeah, a couple villains can have plans going on at once that don’t have anything to do with each other.
I am a little bothered by the fact that Bruce seems shocked that Alfred’s death is affecting Damian as much as it is. I mean, this is coming from the guy who has built his whole life around the death of his parents in front of him. Damian seeing the one truly empathetic father figure he’s ever known brutally killed by a murder luchador and his alternate universe grandpa (and we know Damian already has granddaddy issues from his mother’s side) is logically going to be a major trigger for him. You don’t need to be the world’s greatest detective to put two and two together on this one.
WN: There is not much — if anything — I like about Damian, as I’ve always said he’s Wesley Crusher with a bad attitude, saddled with unrelatable dialogue and a tiny tot body that makes me want to punch him. Truly, he’s the Nate Silver of comics. But I can agree with you here that Bruce — being capable of at least a modicum of emotional intelligence unlike the boy — should know Alfred’s death would hurt him.
I also want to emphasize again how much I hated the coloring in these scenes. I get that it’s supposed to be night and they’re working out their emotional fisticuffs awash in the blue light of computer monitors, but come the hell on. This was washed out, bland and bad coloring.
And let’s talk about the only other thing that happened in this issue: Officer/mayoral candidate Nakano rejecting his prosthetic eye because he learned Bruce was paying for it. Was that really a thing we had to pay off in a couple of pages? And we’re still chugging right along the track to Supervillain Town with him since he can’t seem to cope with this.
ML: I am now wondering if this is more playing for time. Mariko Tamaki, who will be taking over Detective Comics after Future State, wrote the story that created Nakano, and I think these might be seeds Tomasi was asked to plant to set up her stories.
I am interested in Nakano as a character, which is good, but these little doses of him in each issue aren’t giving me much to latch onto. I would have rather spent more time with him, not just with the eye thing (and credit to you for calling how that was going to come back around in our last review), but more with his mayoral campaign or his relationship with his wife. I absolutely see where you’re coming from with the Nakano-as-a-supervillain thing, but I continue to hope it’s not where we’re going. It’s such an old chestnut at this point: “Oh, I suffered a grievous injury to my eye; I will become The Cyclops and take my revenge on the world.” Please note: The article in his name makes him a distinct character from the Marvel character. I think there’s a lot more to the story if he remains a legal antagonist rather than a costumed one.
WN: I think this guy could be an interesting character, but so much of him has been focused specifically on his eye that he’s getting defined down as a singular story beat. Why did he decide to run for mayor? How exactly does a beat cop actually run for office? Did he resign? How is he at campaigning? What’s his platform other than being anti-vigilante? Those are interesting questions (maybe some of them only interesting to me), but we’re not getting any of that. Exploring his trauma in other ways would be good and character-building, don’t get me wrong, but this is simply repetitive at this point.
ML: OK, all true. I also want to call it, despite not liking the idea: Mirror is Tyler Durden to Nakano’s unnamed narrator. That one scene of them together was just in his head.
WN: I would buy that and love it. Maybe not love it since it’s just a flavor of Two-Face, but I would at least enjoy it.
Batman: Black and White (Vol. 3) #1
An all-star roster kicks off a new volume of short black and white Batman stories that include Ninja Man-Bats, regular ninja, masks and Killer Croc in “Batman: Black and White” Vol. 3 #1, featuring:
“The Demon’s Fist” by James Tynion IV, Tradd Moore and Clayton Cowles.
“Weight” by J.H. Williams III and Todd Klein
“Metamorphosis” by G. Willow Wilson, Greg Smallwood and Clem Robins
“Sisyphus” by Emma Rios and Steve Wands
“First Flight” by Paul Dini, Andy Kubert and Rob Leigh
WN: Like every anthology ever made — from “Treehouse of Horror” episodes to “The Twilight Zone” in its various iterations to (more appropriate here) “Legends of the Dark Knight” — this first installment of the “Batman: Black and White” reboot has both something for everyone and quality that varies greatly. There was storytelling I liked, and some that showed a failure of imagination (Really, another brooding monologue?). Some art was great; some — like the first story — wasn’t a good fit for the black and white format. Even the lettering had some pretty big dips in quality. As a whole, I’m not going to complain about it, and I feel like I got my money’s worth, but is there minutiae to dislike? Oh yeah.
ML: I have a real soft spot for “Batman: Black and White” as a franchise. The first volume came out when I was 15, and so these edgier, more adult, denser Batman stories appealed to me because they were “serious.” And going back and re-reading them, they’re still great; these aren’t edgy ’90s stories that are there to be edgy; these are actually high-quality stories. It’s the first time I remember taking note of names like Neil Gaiman and Matt Wagner, creators who are now in my personal pantheon.
But not every one was a hit in that original anthology, and not every one is going to be a hit here. So, let’s start with a little brightness: What was your favorite story in the anthology? For me, it’s “First Flight.” It’s actually the most traditional story in the book, not all fancy and full of portent, but it’s fun, breezy and features Ninja Man-Bats. While your mileage may vary on how cool you think those are, I always thought they were cool, and it was fun to see them again. Artwise, though, “Weigh” stands out for me. J.H. Williams III is hypnotic, and him homaging so many classic Batman artists? That’s right up my alley.
WN: If you’re going to make me pick a favorite, it was probably “Metamorphosis” given its straightforward, zippy story — although if it was not written by a woman, I’d say it was weirdly anti-feminist. “First Flight” was up there too, and seeing what Williams did in “Weight” made me want to find some of his other stuff.
ML: I mean, what have you read by Williams? I can recommend stuff.
WN: Way to put me on the spot, brother. I think … nothing?
ML: Sorry, but you know I love recommending comics! Promethea written by Alan Moore is generally good but can get pedantic when Moore starts talking about magic. Definitely “Batwoman: Elegy,” the Detective Comics run written by Greg Rucka, is excellent. And Sandman: Overture is excellent, but if you haven’t read Sandman, you’ll be a bit lost.
The story that left me the coldest was “Sisyphus,” but that’s really on me. Portentous and poetic writing like that isn’t my bag.
WN: Hated the lettering for “Sisyphus.” Didn’t even read it. Sorry/not sorry.
ML: And that leaves us with “The Demon’s Fist.” Decent story, and I usually like Tradd Moore (Silver Surfer: Black was one of the best-looking books of last year), but I agree, the black and white didn’t help his art here.
WN: Visually, it reminded me of psychedelics — I’m not sure if there was a single straight line in the piece. And when there’s so many waves and visual poetry (as it were), I think you really need some color in there — the brighter the better.
ML: That is Moore’s style to a tee — all soft lines and weird shapes, and I think you’re right: The color helps define the art.
Bat-miscellany
- Batman is not an expert on Stockholm syndrome. Just putting that out there.
- If Batman had wanted to keep his black casebook a secret, perhaps he shouldn’t have labeled it “Black Casebook” with a bat logo.
- The creator bios in “Batman: Black and White” were a nice touch — even if they were a bit aggrandizing — *cough* Tynion *cough* — and broke up the narrative flow.
- I do wish the order of the stories in the table of contents was the same as the order in the book. It bugged me a little.
Matt Lazorwitz read his first comic at the age of five. It was Who's Who in the DC Universe #2, featuring characters whose names begin with B, which explains so much about his Batman obsession. He writes about comics he loves, and co-hosts the creator interview podcast WMQ&A with Dan Grote.
Will Nevin loves bourbon and AP style and gets paid to teach one of those things. He is on Twitter far too often.
