Story & Art by
Tony Salvador Daniel
Inks by
Ryan Winn
Colors by
Tomeu Morey
Letters by
Jared K. Fletcher
Cover by
Tony Salvador Daniel
Publisher
DC Comics
The Joker is on a murderous rampage, and only the Batman can bring him to justice. But something much more sinister than the Clown Prince of Crime lurks just beyond the Dark Knight’s focus.
This week The New 52 kicks off in earnest and we’re treated to a better idea of how the publisher-wide revamp will take shape with the launch of 13 of its 52 titles. Today fans are being re-introduced to some old favorites like Green Arrow, Swamp Thing, and Animal Man while some new titles take the stage such as Batwing, Stormwatch, and OMAC. This week the Dark Knight gets to shine a little brighter without sharing the spotlight with Green Lantern or Superman in Detective Comics #1. This debut issue by Tony S. Daniel and Ryan Winn doesn’t pull any punches, and kicks off just as any good revamp should: with Batman chasing the Joker through the streets of Gotham.
First and foremost what grabbed me in this issue was the art. Tony Daniel‘s art with Ryan Winn‘s inks and Tomeu Morey‘s colors have created a comic that is crisp with a chewy-noir center. Part of what has made Detective Comics one of my favorite books in recent years is that the writers and artists tell stories that are in the spirit of the book’s hard-boiled origins. These three honor that reputation, working really well together to provide an experience where the colors and composition hold their own and share the load of storytelling from scene to scene.
This book feels less like a culture shock than JL #1, but still manages to feel somehow different from the Detective Comics of yore. The writing can be accused of some campy moments, but they seem to fit in with The New 52‘s Batman whose intensity borders on melodramatic. But as a character he sells it well. If a 6 foot bat tells me he owns the night, it’s good enough for me. If I had a gripe about some of the dialogue however, I’d have to say that Batman wouldn’t be caught dead using banal maxims like, “This is your stop,” when catching the Joker on a train. C’mon, Daniel, you’re better than that. We left that Adam West stuff in the 60’s where it belongs.
The book continues on the course set in Justice League #1 where Batman isn’t liked very well by the police and constantly finds himself in conflict with them while trying to apprehend the psychopathic Joker. It’s a dynamic that makes the book more interesting, and kinda makes it feel like Batman: Year One all over again. The pacing is reasonable, touching on Bruce Wayne’s playboy lifestyle, Batman’s quasi-outlaw status, and the cat-and-mouse chases we know and love the Dark Knight for. The book even manages a pretty gnarly twist at the end that hopefully will set the tone for the entire book.
Detective Comics #1 was a fun and promising read. There were a couple of eye-roll worthy moments of dialogue, but overall things flowed nicely and the twist makes me eager to read more.
I give Detective Comics #1 Four out of Five Stars.
Grab a copy of Detective Comics #1 from Amazon today!
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