Detective Comics #1057 brings both of its stories to the eleventh hour, and things only get better as they fall apart. This DC title is penned by Mariko Tamaki and Matthew Rosenberg. Amancay Nahuelpan and Fernando Blanco handle artwork, with Jordie Bellaire on colors for both tales. Ariana Maher and Rob Leigh provide the words. We left off in ‘Shadows of the Bat’ with the Scarecrow teaching Nightwing how to dive, the hard way. Rendered unconscious, he was good as dead. And then, from out of nowhere…the Batman.
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Catching Nightwing while flying the Batjet sideways may have been a stretch, but it sure was dramatic, and Batman’s presence definitely bolstered a beleaguered Bat-Family trying to quell the various chaotic components in Arkham Tower. At last count we had the Party Crashers invading and shooting, patients such as Ana Vulsion running rampant, and then Scarecrow arrives wanting the Medusa Mask owned by Psycho Pirate. Yes, we’re in a free-for-all. Now, this issue adds two more elements into the mix: Batman, and Penguin’s goons. The deceased Dr. Wear owes him money and he realizes the drugs secured in the Tower could cover his losses, so, you see where this is headed.
Now, one might assume Batman overshadows everyone else, saves the day, and is the star. Technically this is his book (though I would argue not necessarily), Tamaki makes him a good commander but leaves him as a player, not the Alpha. And this removed my sole fear about this storyline. Batman makes great moves, but no more so than Batwoman, Robin, Harley, Huntress, and everyone else. This is a complete ensemble cast issue. I don’t think anyone involved up to now doesn’t get in on the action (well, Nightwing is out, but he stays busy in his title) and/or has a say in the movement of the plot. This also holds true for Koyuki Nakano, and I have to say, Tamaki has become my favorite writer with the juggling she manages plus the way in which this story ends. She tossed in a few surprises along the way, some backstory, explanations, and cinematic fights.
Nahuelpan and Bellaire have somehow turned up their respective notches on this issue. Batman comes in bold, and impressive, and this look, this powerful appeal, runs throughout the story in lines and colors. Bellaire still keeps dominant color to a page theme, but it’s more refined, blended into the scenery and other hues. Maher compresses some of the SFX into the motions, a nice touch, and offers flair introducing characters. This is a perfect penultimate chapter, even flow, crisp dialogue, not a single beat is skipped and I hunger for next week’s finale.
Detective Comics #1057 leans the opposite direction for the eleventh chapter of ‘House of Gotham, but it’s no less enticing. In fact, it’s shocking. The Boy is nowhere to be found this time, and at first, it’s jarring. We seem to have moved into a time just after Gotham is rebuilt post No Man’s Land. Coming back into the story is the Joker, sneaking about the leftovers of the Martha Wayne Home for Boys. So there is a link to the Boy, but the story then moves into a mystery at a power plant. Batman, Red Hood, Nightwing, and a cast of villains revolving around the enigma of what is Joker up to now? Later on, we are offered another link to the Boy, but really this is a Batman issue and I feel it’s setting up for a last-second surprise for Chapter Twelve. Blanco and Bellaire have really been great at setting moods and tones, and this time around they change it yet again. Gone is the dingy dystopia, along with the deep nightshade depression of earlier chapters. Now, Gotham is more open, lines are more detailed and less inked, the sky has clarity. Colors are less diminished. It expresses well Gotham is seeing better days vis a vis the visuals. Leigh never fails to impress with the huge word SFX and solid lettering.
I want both of these teams to stay in this book for years to come. Buy this! It’s too good to miss, y’all.
Detective Comics #1057 is available wherever comic books are sold.
