Detective Comics #872

Review: We get started this issue with Batman(Dick Grayson this time)still trying to track down the Dealer and prevent him from selling anymore super-villain gimmick weapons. After some help from Oracle and Tim Drake, Dick learns that the Dealer runs an organization called Mirror House, which was basically an underground auction for the rich and famous to bid on criminal items. After one of the invitees of Mirror House meets an unfortunate demise by crashing his car into a wall, Dick takes the dead man's identity and walks into Mirror House. Upon arriving, he is given a gas mask and led down to an old, abandoned banquet hall. The room is full of rich people wearing gas mask, and on the stage is an older man in a mask, the Dealer himself. The Dealer explains that the room was being pumped full of a deadly gas, which was why the gas masks were handed out. From there, the Dealer reveals his first item for sale, the crowbar used to beat the second Robin near to death by the Joker. Before the Dealer puts the item up for sale though, he reveals that he knew that Dick had stolen the identity of the dead man, and that his gas mask was the only one not functioning properly, meaning Dick had been inhaling the gas the whole time. This issue ends with Dick beginning to pass out, with the Dealer telling his customers to tear Dick apart.

Thoughts: I actually liked this story. Much like Batman: Dark Knight #1, it wasn't simply a smash-'em-up comic, it was a slightly more cerebral issue. It didn't contain a single super-villain, instead it dealt with Dick trying to infiltrate Mirror House, succeeding and then getting stuck in a trap. The Dealer seems like an interesting character, the story was solid, and I really had no complaints.

Score: 8 out of 10.That's actually an interesting point of view.