Batman: Detective Comics #1090 – Tom Taylor, Writer; Mikel Janin, Artist
Ray – 9.5/10
Ray: Tom Taylor is coming off an epic Nightwing run, so it only makes sense that he’s working on his dad next (right after the most iconic Batman scene in a generation, Bruce trying to fill his son’s tights). But what’s interesting about this first issue is that Bruce doesn’t actually seem to be the main character – Thomas Wayne does. So much of this issue is grounded in the past, showing the Waynes as they face a thorny ethical dilemma. Two people come in after a brutal car crash – a lightly-injured pregnant woman, and her critically injured boyfriend. But it’s clear that the boyfriend was abusive, and Thomas rejects advice to potentially look the other way and let him die. Everyone pulls through, and Martha later helps the mother and child escape while the abuser is hospitalized. It’s a great look at the Waynes as people, and helps to show how Bruce’s father led the foundation for the man he is now.
In the present day, Taylor introduces us to a whole host of new plots, so much that it could feel overly busy in the hands of a less talented writer. A mysterious new killer is in Gotham, seemingly targeting young criminals. A teenage robber who accidentally shoots a man is found dead not long after, despite Batman’s desire to help him. And a flash-forward reveals this is a deeply personal grudge. We’re also introduced to a new power broker in Gotham – a young woman with a surprising link to Bruce’s family who has become the founder of a genetics company that claims to have essentially unlocked the fountain of youth. She wants Bruce to be one of her first subjects, and Bruce is forced to confront the fact that he is slowing down whether he wants to or not – and this could be his way out of the aging process. So much is set up here, with a great new villain, that I’m already hooked on this run.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
