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Copyright © 1998-2011 Roger A. Lee and History Guy Media; Last Modified: 08.15.11.
This copyright notice covers the written text and written analysis and historical descriptions on this page.
"Batman" and all fictional characters mentioned on this page are the property of DC Comics.
"The History Guy" is a Registered Trademark.
New 52: Detective Comics #1
The Cover of Detective Comics #1
Detective Comics#1 is the first solo Batman tale in DC Comics' New 52 reboot of the DC Universe.
Featured Characters in this Detective Comics Batman Story:
Batman
Supporting Characters:
Commissioner GordonAlfred Pennyworth
Gotham City Police (GCPD)
Dr. Arkham
Villains:
JokerDollmaker's Son (1st appearance and Death)
Dollmaker (1st appearance)
Other Named Characters:
Olivia CarrDetective Barnes of the GCPD
Detective Bullock of the GCPD
Locations:
Gotham CityBat-Cave
Arkham Asylum
Story Summary:
Batman is chasing after the Joker, while also attempting to evade the Gotham Police. Batman eventually captures the Joker and places him in Arkham Asylum, where a new villain, the Dollmaker, appears and begins working on (I mean with) the Joker. To be continued.
ComicsHistory Detective Comics Review:
DC Comics relaunch of the entire DC universe's superhero lineup hold the potential for major shakeups in superhero and supervillain histories and personae, but after reading Detective Comics #1, I am pleased to report that the Batman and his insanely murderous arch-nemesis come through the relaunch more or less intact. At least until the last panel of this book (Ho, Hooo, Heh, Heh, Heee! To quote the Joker), More on that later…
As with the opening of Justice League #1, this story opens with Batman again (still?), hounded by, and being shot at by, the Gotham City Police. As with many other storylines in Batman's storied history, he is tracking down the Joker, who is identified in Batman's thought balloons as having killed over one-hundred and fourteen people over the past six year in various gruesome manners. I won't go over the details of the story itself, save to say that it is, in many ways, a typical Batman-chasing-down-the-Joker tale, complete with morbid and dangerous Joker-clues left behind and a trail of dead bodies.
What I will discuss is my disappointment at the seeming familiarity that this story had for me. With the highly-publicized reboot/relaunch of the DCU, and after reading both new books, Justice League #1 and Action Comics #1, which both featured new twists on old characters and the relationships between them, I expected something different in a Batman solo tale. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the story, and the sick-minded Joker is as perfidious as ever in how he can mess with the cops and with Bats. As with any story in a book called Detective Comics, there are several good mysteries here, involving the Joker, a new menace called the Dollmaker, and the question of who the little girl named Olivia Carr really is and her connection to the other characters. And, I wonder, was her name chosen writer/artist Tony Salvador Daniel with a hidden purpose? Is the old Justice League sidekick Snapper Carr going to appear as a relative of this mysterious little girl? And what is the deal with Alfred and the hologram thing? I look forward to learning the answers to these mysteries.
Tony Salvador Daniel is both wrote and drew this story (as well as creating the cover art), and I am very impressed by both his writing and his art. Batman looks tough, kicks butt, gets fooled, cops get wasted by Joker, and, to top it all off, the end of this story is awesomely gruesome! Now, I would not expect, nor would I want, "gruesome" in a Superman or Justice League or even a Green Lantern book, but in a Batman tale, considering all of the insane and sick Batman villains running around Gotham, it is rather expected as well as desired. The ending of Detective Comics #1 is truly cut from a different cloth as it were, from the other "New 52" books I have thus far read and reviewed.
Other than the basic similarity to the general Batman genre of DC's pre-New 52 comics, I really enjoyed this comic, and am looking forward to reading more of the Joker, his apparently new buddy the Dollmaker, and the mysteries presented herein. Oh, and I want to see more of Batman pummeling Joker. That was fun. Till next time…
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