Comics / Comic Reviews / DC Comics

Detective Comics #945

By Avi Weinryb
November 25, 2016 - 00:21

In part three of the “Victim Syndicate” storyline, the Bat-team is splintered. Stephanie Brown has been hospitalized after overdosing on enemy toxins. Batwoman is not pleased with Batwing’s motivation for being a hero and is justifiably angry at her villain father. And Batman is… well, he’s Batman. The hardest working hero in the game, he wants to resolve all the issues at play and put “The First Victim” and crew behind bars.

This issue is light on action and heavy on dialogue. This is not a bad thing. It’s interesting to see how the Bat-crew has a therapist, Leslie Thompkins, to help some team members through their issues. You wouldn’t see that in a Bat-comic from the 90s, but we’re in the 21st century now. Only, rather than getting analyzed, Stephanie Brown goes off on a tear, psychoanalyzing Batman, deducing what she believes to be his true motivations and impulses. This critical analysis leads her to believe he is selfish and self-protective, allying himself with a team of heroes that are all relatives of not-so-saintly people, keeping them close in case they themselves ever turn evil. She also postulates that Batman is only a superhero because it makes him feel good and not because it’s the right thing to do. It’s all about him, essentially.

As these tensions rise, the Victim Syndicate continues to demand that Batman unmask himself. The narrative seems to unfold in spite of this demand and not because of it, fleshing out the various Bat-team characters as they face a growing danger. While some folks are well-featured in this arc, others, like Cassandra Cain, are barely visible. From what has been described elsewhere, the next arc will center on her, so perhaps that’s why she gets such light treatment here.

Beyond the verbal smackdown Batwoman gives to the overeager Batwing, the best part of this issue is Jean-Paul Valley, the 1990s character who has returned to current DC Comics continuity after having died at the end of his Azrael series many moons ago. Seeing him lift his flaming sword again was an unexpected joy. And what wasn’t a joy in this comic? The art. Sadly, it looks like it was a rush job, with disjointed work by different artists. The first eight pages, as well as pages 14-16 were done by Al Barrionuevo, leaving much to be desired. Batman looks especially goofy here. The remaining pages, interspersed throughout, were by the team of Carmen Carnero on pencils and Scott Hanna on inking duties. Their work is consistent, with a highly-defined style that conveys facial expressions far more effectively than the artist with whom they share this issue. Cutting between the two art styles served no purpose other than getting the book out on time. It doesn’t have any other rhyme or reason. If perhaps there had been a dream sequence or otherwise trippy moment in the book, Barrionuevo’s art would have been a fit. Otherwise, I can’t make much sense of why he’s mixed into the proceedings.

All in all, there’s a lot to enjoy here, even if the plot itself was put into motion via the cliched demands of a new villain. Readers should look forward to seeing how James Tynion IV concludes this arc. We’re rooting for him to stick the landing and leave us with something worthy of the time invested in the proceedings. With a salty mix of characters and some solid dialogue, the inconsistent art can be overlooked this time. The next piece of this story arc can’t come soon enough.

Rating: 7.5 /10

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12