[vc_row][vc_column][vc_images_carousel images=”18699,18700″ img_size=”700×538″ speed=”3000″ autoplay=”yes” wrap=”yes”][vc_column_text]This is huge. DC released its latest Detective Comics issue, but this is not your average/standard installment. This is the 1000th edition! Celebrating both the 80th anniversary of Batman and the milestone issue within this franchise, this latest comic book is a whopping 96 pages. A little tidbit for anyone reading, “Detective Comics” is actually where “DC” got its name – so we can see why this series is so important to the comic-book studio. And for any Batman lover, it is a must, because it is just pure Batman.
Forget Sherlock Holmes, Batman is the greatest detective to ever live. And we start this long comic-book with Batman on a mission that involves his longest, unsolved case. It is the perfect noir feel that we all adore about the Caped Crusader. No matter how many variations of this character that we have seen, the best and most beloved is the one that makes us feel like we are transported to another time in storytelling. In a way, the Batman story operates outside of a certain time; no matter if it’s 2019 or 1981, a Batman story should always feel like we just stepped into an old black and white detective film where everyone looks almost airbrushed by the way the camera captures them.
As Batman begins his journey, he is introduced to the Guild. A group of familiar faces that have also dedicated their time to solving opened mysteries. I suppose that is a little bit of a spoiler, but it is worth it to see the look on Batman’s face that there are others out there, people that he knows; who are almost in the same business as he is. It almost is very “secret society” and something we know Batman wasn’t expecting.
From there, we are exploring almost all of Batman’s rogue’s gallery; a trip down memory lane where many familiar villains such as the Joker, Harley Quinn, Penguin, The Riddler, and more reflect on their missions that all went awry due to Batman showing up. The style of comic issue is derived from many different techniques that you can see was influenced by the many people who worked on it. Which, is incredibly playful and fun to read; though this issue is long, there are so many adventures and different viewpoints that it feels like a few stories all in one, which is a perfect way to pay homage to such a massive milestone within this franchise.
Also, be sure to keep an eye for the short that introduces the Arkham Knight, which was introduced in a 2015 video game. This is really cool seeing this character brought to life, which is something that the creators actually went into during a previous interview:
I’m curious: Why is now the time to bring in the Arkham Knight? They’ve existed in video games since 2015, and there was a comic book tie-in to the game, but why now to bring them into the mainstream DC universe — and why this particular version of the character?
Tomasi: It actually came up during a breakfast with me and [DC publisher] Dan DiDio. We were just trying to figure out what could shake up Batman’s rogues gallery and at this point in time so we just started looking at things and I had written a lot of Arkham Knight — I had written a lot of chapters of the comic book prologue leading up to the recent game and, kind of really enjoyed writing the character. But my main thing was I was like, “Look if I do Arkham Knight, I want to just bring someone into the character who is someone different.” They have a whole new origin and just really embraces the Arkham Knight name, and just really kind of run with it. Dan really liked the idea and said, “Let’s go, let’s do it.” We double checked with the guys behind the video game and they were hyped up with this version of the character.
Be sure you pick up your copy of this milestone issue and let me know what you think![/vc_column_text][vc_images_carousel images=”18701,18702,18703,18706,18704,18707,18705,18708,18709,18710″ img_size=”411×631″ speed=”3000″ autoplay=”yes” wrap=”yes”][/vc_column][/vc_row]
A girl with too many fandoms to count.
