REVIEW: ‘Batman The Detective,’ Issue #2

Batman The Detective #2 is published by DC Comics, written by Tom Taylor, with art by Andy Kubert, inks by Sandra Hope,  colors by Brad Anderson, and letters by Clem Robins. After learning that a plane full of people he had previously saved was brought down in England, Batman headed to London to pursue the perpetrators. Now, with a limited number of leads, it’s time for the World’s Greatest Detective to get the intel he needs.

Sometimes it’s the smallest details that stand out the most. Due to perfect implementation and delivery, a small detail can make a simple moment into something amazing.  This is doubly so when the moment in question is one that you genuinely believe most people wouldn’t dare do. As you might’ve guessed, Batman The Detective #2 has one such moment. I won’t spoil what this masterful little moment is, but that Taylor put it in the book, and that Kubert so un-ironically captures it, it is a Batman moment I never thought I’d see, but I’m so happy I got to.

Batman continues his hunt for the group murdering the former recipients of his heroics, and Knight and Squire aid him for the first half of this issue. This portion of the book is my favorite from a writing standpoint. Whether Taylor simply thought that creating characters who are equal parts unimpressed and critical of Batman’s overly theatrical style of investigation would be fun or a subtle critique of how seriously some take The Dark Knight and the bizarre lengths he goes to sometimes, I cannot say. But Knight and Squire’s attitudes toward Batman certainly work either way. And as someone who often feels like a large portion of fandom can get a little too uptight when it comes to Batman, I’d like to think it’s at least a smidge of the latter.

Overly theatrical or not, Batman The Detective #2 sees Bruce’s efforts pay off, and he is once more on the hunt. Though it seems he isn’t the only one out hunting. When Bruce runs into an unexpected acquaintance, the situation gains another layer to it.

While there is a bit of levity in this issue,  Taylor does a great job of building up Batman’s newest enemies as well. A brief jump to the villain’s hideout is implemented excellently to inform the reader of just how serious this group is about completing their mission.

The art in Batman The Detective #2 delivers all the above moments fantastically. Kubert is at his best throughout this story, from the playful heckling to the sequence at the villain’s HQ, but most of all, during a truncated action sequence near the end of the book. Of course, telling a full action sequence with only six panels and have it make any sense can be tricky. Yet Kubert delivers this moment amazingly. The fight has a ferocity to it, and the hits feel impactful, even as they rapid-fire past you—a fantastic work of comic book choreography.

Hope’s inks aid Kubert’s lines. With the overly dark nature of Batman in general, I can only imagine there is a real temptation to overwork panels. Happily, this never happens here. Instead, hope applies the ink in a way that always feels fitting for the moment.

Building further onto the art is Anderson’s colors. The color choices here do a great job of enhancing the focus of the scenes and managing to be genuinely surprising a couple of times. One of the most striking panels in this book wouldn’t be nearly as strong as it turns out without Anderson’s superb color choice for the moment.

Rounding out the book’s presentation is an effective lettering performance on the part of Robins. Robins’s letters do a solid job of guiding the reader through the story while never getting in the way of the rest of the book’s superlative presentation.

When all is said and done, Batman The Detective #2 builds its story in some great ways. It delivers a wonderful balance of fun, theatrics, and action. Between the outstanding quality of this book and how personal the plot continues to be for our hero, I find this book moving up in the list of my current favorites.

Batman The Detective #2 is available now wherever comics are sold.