Batman: Detective Comics #1064 – Ram V, Simon Spurrier, Writers; Rafael Albuquerque, Dani, Artists; Dave Stewart, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: Ram V continues parceling out the secrets of his new Batman run slowly, relying much more on gothic moodiness than extreme action. While he does have a unique take on Batman—portraying him much more as a human, vulnerable figure than other runs do—there is almost a mythic tone to things. That’s made clear when we see the opening segment, as a young Damian trains with his mother and Talia tells him a folk story of a powerful warrior who clashed with the Gods. With the current villains in this series possibly even older and more powerful than the Al Ghuls, it’s a good way to bring everything together. This is also the most nuanced that Talia has been portrayed in a while, as she plays her own game with Batman and Gotham.
Bruce Wayne has been settling into life as a humble millionaire for a while, and that includes an awkward visit to the doctors’ about the bizarre symptoms he’s been experiencing. The doctors don’t find anything—except all the wild evidence of years of being beaten to a pulp—and that leaves him angry and looking for a fight. He finds it in an ad-hoc interrogation of a villain he foiled last issue, just as the main architects of Gotham’s trouble bear down on it for a royal visit. This run manages to build the tension sky-high while still leaving most things to the imagination. It doesn’t have quite the high-octane energy of Zdarsky’s run, but it seems to be doing something completely different and I’m here for it.
The Spurrier/Dani Jim Gordon backup styles itself as a classic noir comic, with Jim mired in the ugliness of Gotham and narrating it in his classic detective style, but it also has some supernatural elements worked in. A mysterious little girl, a supernatural and possessed opponent, and a bloody mystery all drive Jim to his breaking point. The gritty art style is very effective, but the abrupt ending doesn’t quite bring things to a close in a satisfying manner. It’s really just more an intriguing side story to the main run.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
