Detective Comics #5 – Review

by Tony Salvador Daniel (writing & pencils), Szymon Kudranski (art), Sandu Florea & Rob Hunter (inks), Tomeu Morey (colors), and Jared K. Fletcher (letters)

The Story: Batman has to fight through a mob of Occupy Gotham Joker fans to catch a killer.

The Review: Thus far, I’ve found Tony Daniel’s Detective Comics to be one of the new 52’s biggest surprises in that it’s actually been pretty enjoyable.  Hell, I’ll go as far as saying that Daniel has been doing some of the best work of his career both as a writer and as an artist.

Well, I guess he had to trip up eventually.

To be fair, it’s not entirely Daniel’s fault.  Rather, this victim falls prey to DC’s attempting a creative solution to hitting deadlines.  It’s clear that Daniel couldn’t get an entire 20 page issue drawn in time, so DC ends up publishing a 12 page Batman comic alongside an 8-page Catwoman-related back-up, both written by Daniel.  Sadly, neither story satisfies.

In the case of the main feature, it’s too damned short.  It’s meant to function as a prelude, but Daniel sets so much up, but moves forward so little, that it ends up being a little befuddling and feels almost like a waste of time.  Sadly, the pacing doesn’t help here.  This doesn’t feel like a 12 page prelude.  Instead, it feels like 20 page comic with the last 8 pages ripped out.  It feels as though Daniel accomplish what he wanted to, but running up against that page limit, he and DC just called it quits and sent it to the printers.  The result is a comic that feels terribly incomplete and unfulfilling.

Then there’s the back-up, which is definitely a case of “your mileage may vary.”  I actually rather enjoyed it and found it fairly well-written, but then, I’m a sucker for dirty, gritty noir.  As such, anything in that genre often gets more latitude from me.  Honestly, while technically it’s written fairly well, it’s also unremarkable.  It’s standard fare but, more frustrating, it’s fare that’s completely and utterly unrelated to the main feature and, thus, the upcoming arc.  There’s no Batman or Bat-family in sight, for instance.

While all this can be blamed on the issue’s format, not all this issue’s faults are out of Daniel’s hand.   You see, this month, Daniel attempts to get political, or “current.”  I’m sure that’s going to induce cringing and it rightly should.  Daniel does a completely ridiculous, ham-fisted, and embarrassing parody of Occupy that feels horribly simple-minded and immature.  Bear in mind, I myself am far, far from a fan of Occupy, but “awkward” doesn’t begin to describe this.  At best, it’s completely simple-minded.  At worst, it’s an utterly bizarre and left-field demonization of Occupy that would make Frank Miller proud, I’m sure.  Well, I take that back.  Frank probably would’ve had Batman viciously beat up slews of protesters, all while laughing maniacally.  Nonetheless, this was really, really strange and I hope Daniel doesn’t go back to this well any time soon.

WCBR’s Top Picks

Dean’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Witch Doctor: Resurrection One-Shot – It’s such a shame that the 4-issue Witch Doctor miniseries debuted right as DC was relaunching their whole universe because DC kinda sucked all the air out of the room and it’s allowed the OUTSTANDING new comic series to fly under the radar.  Witch Doctor is fun, well-written, humorous, witty and features all kinds of paranormal themes.  Plus, it has spectacular art that is very Wrightson-esque.  You really cannot go wrong with this comic and this one-shot was a perfect “try it out” issue.

Most Anticipated: Fatale #1 – Sean Phillips plus Ed Brubaker = Gold.  Have these two every collaborated on a mediocre comic?  I can’t think of one as every issue of Criminal and Incognito (and Sleeper before that) has been great.  So, I can’t wait to see how they handle a more paranomal story.

Other Picks: Sweet Tooth #29, Vescell #5, Rachel Rising #4, GI Joe #9, Wolverine and the X-Men: Alpha & Omega #1

DS’ Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Warlord of Mars #14 – No surprise here. Nelson and Salazar totally wowed be with Warlord of Mars #14, their take on the scenes of rising action in Edgar Rice Burroughs’ The Gods of Mars. Lush, evocative art. Tight, action-filled adventure. Swash-buckling pulp under a hot Martian sun!

Most Anticipated: This week, it’s a toss-up. Ahhh! Flash Gordon or Dejah Thoris? I don’t know! The first issue of Flash Gordon was so cool! And yet we’re right in the middle of the Pirate Queen of Mars! Gaaah! Can I pick two? Flash Gordon – Zeitgeist #2 and Warlord of Mars: Dejah Thoris #9. It’s going to be a pulpy week.

Other Picks: Defenders #3, Avengers: X-Sanction #2, Thunderbolts #168, Uncanny X-Men #4, X-Men #23

Alex’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: American Vampire #22 – Another installment of Scott Snyder’s always excellent series.  We get a new decade (1950s) and a completely new protagonist of the non-vampiric sort.  It’s amazing how Snyder’s series manages to have a different feel that accords with each new time period it sets itself in.  The new lead is also a really good idea all around, a grittier and more grassroots approach to the kind of perspective Snyder explored in the excellent Survival of the Fittest miniseries.

Most Anticipated:  Fatale #1 – This is an absolute no-brainer.  Any comic-related collaboration between Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips is a guarantee of a very particular sort of excellence.  Throw in that this one’s got a paranormal/Lovecraftian slant, a female lead, and the fact that it’s the longest miniseries the two have ever tackled together (12 issues), and this is an absolute must-have.

Other Picks: Animal Man #5, Swamp Thing #5, The Punisher #7, Uncanny X-Men #4, Action Comics #5, Stormwatch #5, Detective Comics #5, Defenders #2, Sweet Tooth #29