Detective Comics #3 – Review

Written and Drawn by Tony S. Daniel, inks by Sandu Florea, colors by Tomeu Morey

The Story: Batman faces off against the Dollmaker and his twisted family.

The Good: There was a lot of action in this issue. Brutal, Batman-getting-his-ass-kicked action. And we get to see how much balls Batman has–or still has, despite the relaunch. Half paralyzed and realizing he can’t make it out alive, he simply tells the freaks “What the hell are you waiting for? Bring it on!” And that’s the first page. Batman then proceeds to barely escape the fight and go on to solve the mystery. That’s another thing great about this–it is a detective book. We see Batman actually do detective-like things, where in some recent stories (and movies), he’s more of a guy who simply responds. It would make sense that at least in Detective Comics, we see him investigate. And the investigation leads to more clues about the Dollmaker and what form of crazy he came from–and it’s the kind of crazy that only a Gotham City villain could have. This villain is right at home in Batman’s rouge galleries. Pretty soon a doll head will be joining that giant penny and T-Rex. Yet there are still some great mysteries left to solve–like who his “children” are. Who is he working for? What is–and why does he even seem to have–his code of conduct? The Dollmaker is becoming an easy villain to get invested in, and it also helps that Daniel puts most of his artistic talents to this character. He’s the most visually striking (I almost said appealing, but that just feels wrong) character in the issue. And for a comic artist, he’s probably a wonderful character to draw, ink, and color. All that patchwork!