Detective Comics #1:
Summary: The Joker is running rampant in Gotham City, murdering people left and right, and Batman wants to put an end to it... How's that for a nice, simple premise! We get started with Joker murdering some guy wearing what seems to be human flesh on his head... That's odd... Batman, who's been tracking Joker, manages to find the crazy clown while he was stabbing the hapless weirdo repeatedly and crashes through the window. Unfortunately, Joker saw Bats coming and tosses some explosives, which starts a fire. Joker runs from the building, and Bats is ready to follow, at least until he realizes there was a terrified young girl trapped in the apartment. As Bats is preparing to take the girl to safety, a few cops crash into the apartment and some of them go after Bats... So I guess Batman Inc never happened then? Bats knocks out the attacking cops before handing the girl over to a detective. With that, Bats makes good his escape, avoiding a police helicopter and returning to the Batcave. As for the cops, they are scolded by Commissioner Gordon(or the man formerly known as Commissioner Gordon, I'm not exactly sure what his rank is here), who finds out it was Mayor Hady who wanted the cops to take Bats down. Later, Bats heads to police headquarters, where Gordon has lit the Bat-signal... You know, I'm really confused as to Batman's standing in Gotham... Gordon tells Bats what the cops gleaned from the little girl Bats rescued earlier, which turns out to be a surprisingly good tip on where the Joker was staying. Bats realizes that the tip was too good to be true and figures that Joker had deliberately revealed the location of his “hideout” for nefarious purposes. Sure enough, just as the cops are rushing into the apartment Joker claimed he'd be hiding out in, a Joker mannequin explodes, killing a mess of cops. It's at that time Bats arrives, and as he checks out the crowd, he notices one person who's behavior didn't match the expected behavior exhibited during a tragedy. Bats chases that figure onto a train, and needless to say, it's Joker. Joker unleashes his deadly Joker gas on the train, which Bats fans away to protect the train's passengers. With that taken care of, Bats pursues the Joker, but is sluggish due to his exposure to the Joker gas. Joker manages to stab Bats twice before Batman's superior fighting skill kicks in and he manages to take the Joker down. With Joker finally defeated, Batman drops the Clown Prince of Crime(am I still allowed to call him that?) off at Arkham Asylum, where Joker is locked up in a padded room. However, some shadowy figure who Joker calls the Dollmaker enters the room and this issue ends with the Dollmaker cutting Joker's face off and hanging it on the wall as per Joker's instructions.
Thoughts: Huh. Before I delve too deeply into this one, allow me to say that I DID enjoy it. I mean it's pretty hard to screw up a comic book that revolves around Batman battling the Joker, and Tony Daniel DID manage to tell a good little Batman/Joker story. Here's the problem though... There was a mess of stuff I was confused about... It was my understanding that the Batman portion of the DCU WASN'T really being rebooted, and that all of the changes(Dick Grayson going back to Nightwing, Barbara Gordon going back to Batgirl) would be explained... That wasn't the case here. Last I knew, Batman was on good terms with the GCPD. I also thought the Batman Inc stuff was still canon, but from what I managed to gather from this issue, it isn't... I guess? The ending of this issue, which some people were lauding as the greatest cliffhanger/swerve EVER before this issue even came out, was okay, but was more confusing than shocking... So some dude named the Dollmaker(which is a REALLY lame name for a villain) cuts off the Joker's face to... I don't know, give him a new face? Why would DC do that? Joker is possibly THE most iconic villain in ALL of comic books... Why change the way his face looks? So yeah, the story was enjoyable, but there were a few things that needed some ironing out...
Score: 8 out of 10.
It's Batman vs the Joker... Of course I enjoyed it!!
What a lovely doctor have in Arkham right?
ReplyDeleteI gratefully enjoy this book, Was Tony Daniel writing it?
You know, sometimes I think the doctors at Arkham are as crazy as the inmates!
ReplyDeleteTony Daniel WAS writing AND doing the art for this book! This was definitely the best Daniel written comic I've ever read.
this i believe is like the action comics and justice league books takes place say 5-6 years ago
ReplyDeleteand so the gcpd hasent gotten used to the whole leting a vigilante do his thing
and batman incorperated hasent happend yet
it will tho = batwing
the batman & robin book with damian takes place in the present
the main batman and batman: the dark knight books probley are in the present also
Ahhh! Thanks for that info, Anonymous, much obliged. I knew about Action and the first arc for JL, but I wasn't sure about Detective, although after reading this issue that does make sense. I just wish DC would actually put somewhere in these books, "5 years ago..." or something along those lines so we can keep things straight!
ReplyDeleteI almost picked this up today, lol, then I remembered "Beware of Tony Daniel" lol. I politely placed it back on the shelf. Maaaaybe I pick it up next week.
ReplyDeleteIt seems that with this reboot, DC decided to start at a place where GCPD and MPD hate Batman and Supes, lol. I wonder who'll hate Wonder Woman and keep her from protecting a city, lol. I wonder if the Amazons will hate her.
Anyways back to the review, lol. This did sound like a good start off issue. I mean it's Joker and Batman, can't go wrong with the classic rival. And Dollmaker? Hmmma almost puts me in the mind of Toyman for some reason. With a name like that, it seems like he would just doll people up or something, lol. I am curious as to where this is going, the face cutting with Joker and this Dollmaker character.
Detective is in the present
ReplyDeleteTony say it at his Blog
http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lr4xtqNY5O1qbwnio.png
http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lr4xtqNY5O1qbwnio.png
ReplyDeleteI was pleasantly surprised by the way this comic turned out, Lisha. But yeah, it was Bats vs Joker. That's not a tough comic to write, especially if you can just disregard all of the past stories and write whatever you want! HA!! You KNOW the Amazons are gonna hate WW! It seems like DC has suddenly turned into the Marvel Universe where the heroes are more demonized by the public.
ReplyDelete"it seems like he would just doll people up" HA!!! That line had me laughing way harder then it probably should have! That is like the least intimidating super-villain ever!
Alien, you are the man! You always seem to have the information I need right at your fingertips like Oracle! So now I'm really confused about when Detective takes place... If Daniel says it takes place now, I have to believe that, but it does make more sense if it took place 5 years ago... Strange.
i thoug the same for the times that Joker stabs Batman, like he is learning how to deal with the Joker..
ReplyDeleteYeah, that's a good point. It just seemed like Bats hadn't dealt with Joker very much from this issue.
ReplyDeleteBut Bats does say early on in this issue that the Joker had been killing people for 6 years, which I'd take as proof that this comic took place in the present. But then if Bats has been dealing with Joker for like 6 years, you'd think Bats would have been more prepared for some of Joker's tactics, especially the gas attack on the train...
Here is something about the Batman timeline
ReplyDeletehttp://www.gothamknightsonline.com/?p=21368
Wait wait wait... YOU actually LIKED a Tony Daniel comic? Well that makes a lot of sense... a lot of nonsense! :P
ReplyDeleteI couldn't get that link to work, Alien... My computer started acting up, so I'll give it another shot later.
ReplyDeleteAh JT. You just made my day with that one quick comment! Using my all-time favorite Dale quote? Brilliant! Nonsense... HA!!!!
Haha, I figured you'd enjoy that. I was watching that episode when I saw your review and it was perfect. But needless to say you've convinced me to look into the first art of Tec and Stormwatch.
ReplyDeleteIf I managed to get you to pick up even one issue of Stormwatch, then this entire day will go down as a win for me! Seriously, Stormwatch, Grifter, you are making some smart choices, JT! I firmly believe that the best stories coming out of this reboot will be about characters like the Authority, Constantine, Grifter and the other WildCATS since the writers can take more liberties with them than say the GL books since Johns the Destroyer is going to control the hell out of them. It's the non-mainstream books that'll be your sleeper hits and tell the most interesting stories.
ReplyDelete"It's the non-mainstream books that'll be your sleeper hits and tell the most interesting stories." That is a good point, and between this, Grifter, Ultimate Hawkeye and Ultimate X-Men, you're like CM Punk or something with your cult like ways.
ReplyDeleteI like that comparison... I like it a lot... Yes. I can deal with that. :P But seriously, most of the time when you give a writer the freedom to just do whatever the hell they want the results are really good. Then again, sometimes too much freedom is a bad thing as evidenced by this blog... I could seriously use an editor to reel me in and/or fire me!
ReplyDeleteFor the record if you're Punk I call dibs on Cabana. That sums us up pretty well doesn't it? And you using this blog as an example of too much freedom is hilarious to me.
ReplyDeleteMan I have to chime in on this. I picked up detective unsure about it because i am really looking forward to batman by scott snyder. I have to say though that after reading everything online and tony daniel's blog itself I just CAN'T be convinced that this story is in present day. The only reason that i say this is simply because the bat books have been said to not lose their continuity. However, with the way that tony daniel said in cuh confidence it does seem like it takes place in the present and we fan boys will have to deal with the fact that snyder and daniel write batman MUCH differently. I am soooo worried about the new 52 though. I know you didn't read flashpoint but i did. It was basically ended on multiple timeline/universe tellings and it has me fearing that we could be putting all this money into the new DCU only to have it met with another CRISIS storyline that merges all the timelines. The thing is, i feel like that would make sense. Because eventually the timelines will have to catch up with each other... right? maybe not?
ReplyDelete-idk with all that being said i loved this issue of detective and tony daniel can draw man that is for sure. The dialogue wasn't very strong but at some points it was pretty solid. I am hoping we will see the dollmaker fit the joker with a new face and then he will go on about his life murdering innocents but no one will know that it is him. Again, idk it could go a number of dufferent ways. Excited for the rest of this arc.
-I give the issue about a 9 myself, because the art was phenominal, but i don't know when it is taking place... so 9! Anyway lookiong forward to your other reviews and i am very curious to see what dc has in store for all of us!
That sounds about right, JT. I am the slightly crazy cult-like figure, while you are the lovable comedian! And it's true! Like I said, if I had an editor at the blog, I'd have been fired long ago! :D
ReplyDeleteThe time period for this comic IS really odd, Cap... I mean the story reads like it was from the past, but in the beginning Bats does mention that Joker had been plaguing Gotham City for 6 years, so yeah. In a weird way it's like Daniel couldn't quite make up his mind WHEN to write this story, so he just wrote it during BOTH time periods!
Hmm, I didn't know that about Flashpoint... Maybe that means this new 52 WILL be a lot like Heroes Reborn in that it'll go on for a year and then they'll go back to the real DCU... That is unless sales are WAY better for the 52 books, then they can just stick with that. I wonder exactly what the long-range plans are here?
As for the rest of this arc, I AM curious to see what happens, but I am a bit dubious about Joker "losing" his face... Like I said, Joker is probably the most recognizable villain in all of comics, Marvel or DC, so I don't like the idea of REALLY changing his look up... But after the first issue I'm willing to see where it goes.
Yeah i agree on the joker thing. I'm hoping for something awesome and i'm sure daniel will deliver as i think he understands the pressure invovled of rebooting a series that began in 1938.
ReplyDelete-Basically in flashpoint there are 3 timelines shown (DCU, wildstorm, and im gueesing vertigo?) t doesn't really explain it very well but there is a sort of time watcher woman that tells of the great threat that is on the way. The worst thing about this is that it could end up being another CRISIS. The best thing about it is that it could end up being another CRISIS. What i mean is that i really think depending on the sales count DC has wisely set it up that if the new 52 succeds they can usher on, if it doesn't another crisis can happen and revert things back to the old DCU or better yet combine them together. The confusion comes in because in flashpoint it kind of seems like they do get combined together. I DONT KNOW AND IT IS SO FRUSTRATING. Darkseid is the new villain in Justice league relaunch and it all could be building up to soemthing huge. It sounds to me honestly like dc wanted to do a hard reboot, but when the fans backlashed they got scared and created whatever the heck this is. I can't help but think that the new DCU will not be new for long...
From one comicbook fan to another... DC is trying soooo hard to out-sell marvel, and thus, this is the result.
Hey X I've been doing some digging here at work and since you havent read flashpoint i was going to post a few things for you... Anyone that has read it feel free.. no wait.. PLEASE chime in with ideas/possibilities.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bleedingcool.com/wp-content/uploads//2011/08/fp6.jpg
That is the splash page of the mysterious woman explaining the new DCU... I don't have action comics or animal man or Justice league but apparently this woman is supposed to appear in all 52 issues. Take out action comics and look for her on page 32! quick! lol
http://www.bleedingcool.com/2011/08/31/52-appearances-of-the-strange-woman-from-flashpoint-5/
Now to me, it looks as if DC wants us to think that the new DCU was supposed to be there all along and they are just throwing it in with continuity. I know i am looking way to into this and regardless i will enjoy the stories, but its nice to know if dc is setting up something big here... or is dc setting this woman up incase the new 52 fails? again i dont know and you'll have to forgive me for bombarding your boards Im just a passionate fan that thinks us consumers deserve some explanation. If that explanation comes through within the new 52 comis then im fine with that too but just give us something! lol anyway man happy comic week to you and all the others. I LOVE COMIC BOOKS!
To help out Cap, here's all of the mysterious woman's appearances in the DC comics this week. http://www.bleedingcool.com/2011/09/07/all-thirteen-appearances-of-the-strange-woman-in-this-weeks-dc-comics/
ReplyDeleteI've got to say, Cap, you are a very knowledgeable comic fan who seems to share many of the same thoughts I've had on the reboot, so it's great to read your thoughts on the matter.
ReplyDelete"It sounds to me honestly like dc wanted to do a hard reboot, but when the fans backlashed they got scared and created whatever the heck this is. I can't help but think that the new DCU will not be new for long..." I have mixed feelings on exactly what the objective of the reboot was... First of all, I HONESTLY don't think the reboot was planned out for very long. I think Didio, Johns and maybe a few other DC bigwigs wanted to figure out a way to get Barry Allen entrenched in the mainstream DCU(like they did with Hal Jordan since the Flash Rebirth mini was a failure) and the only way they could think to do it was by rebooting the Flash books. I'd wager it was from there they decided to then just go all the way and soft reboot the entire company line to see if they could boost sales, and got guys like Jim Lee on board by adding Lee's Wildstorm characters to the mainstream DCU, thus giving them new life. I say that because it seems so many DC writers had no clue about the reboot from the way they rushed the endings to the series they were writing. James Robinson in JLA seemed especially annoyed that his run was cut short if you read between the lines some of the characters were saying.
Now, with that said, Marvel DID do a reboot of sorts with Heroes Reborn, and while it did boost sales to the comics involved, it was critically panned, and the sales numbers dipped as time went on. Now I didn't know anything about this mystery woman until you pointed her out, and that does seem to be DC's ace in the hole in case things do end up falling to pieces, much like Franklin Richards was Marvel's ace in the hole to undo the Heroes Reborn stuff. Like you said, she gives them an out since she knows the "real" DCU has been broken, and if need be, would be the person to fix it.
"DC is trying soooo hard to out-sell marvel, and thus, this is the result." Agreed, agreed, agreed! And the sad thing is I'm not even sure DC is going to top Marvel for the month of September with how well Fear Itself has been selling. Honestly, if Fear Itself #6 ends up as the top selling book of September, DC is in major trouble. They almost HAVE to come away with the top book of Sept, releasing 52 #1's is a great way to boost sales amongst the casual fans who are drawn to #1's anyway, so they should dominate the top of the chart for Sept, but they need that #1 spot to get Marvel's attention. Fear Itself outsold Flashpoint all throughout the summer so the reboot HAS to outsell Fear Itself since Marvel already has a slew of post-Fear Itself mini-series lined up that should sell great. If DC doesn't have a monster September in sales, they're sunk, because by November I'd guess the sales will have cooled down to around the pre-reboot numbers as the new fans who stick around will have replaced the older disgruntled fans who left, which would basically make the reboot a wash. At least that's my long-winded two cents on the matter!
Ah good old JT... Always there in a pinch. Thanks for those images mi amigo! After seeing all of the links and images of that strange woman, I've got to say, THAT looks to be DC's way out if this all falls to pieces...
Thanks for the link Jason! I was just leaving work to go home and look for her in detective lol.
ReplyDelete-and thank you X! I dn't have a vast collection of comics but i am proud of what i have purchased, but from renting/borrowing i have came to love and respect these characters and continuity! Anyway yeah, i just don't get it. It could very well be the case that you stated there, which sounds the most plausible. I will say that regardless i will read the books and enjoy the stories all the same but always in the back of my head will be... "okay, so what going on here?". Which is usually not good because you basically know that you wont get an explanation. I don't need every little thing to be fleshed out.. just a short description from someone saying "well at the end of flashpoint..." thats all I ask for. Instead i will be reading the bat books and thinking okay why are these batman guys so different if they are bruce wayne. Much like when daniel and snyder were writing opposites with snyder on detective and daniel on batman.
-Anyway i know that you have a MASSIVE pull list compared to mine but just wanted to let you know that punisher by rucka and pak on the red skull origin have been great reads so far incase you want to rent the trade or something one day. I usually rent trades on mini's and buy em if they are great. Looking forward to your other reviews!
No problem guys, glad I could help. Speaking of which, I read she's supposed to be more prominent in what is considered to be the sleeper hit comic, Stormwatch, so be on the look out for her there X.
ReplyDelete"i have come to love and respect these characters and continuity!" Agreed 1,000,000%! That's why the idea of the reboot does bother me some. I mean I've been reading Marvel comics since I was 10, and started reading DC only 3-4 years ago, but in those 3-4 years I managed to amass a massive DC comic collection, everything from singles, trades, hardcovers, full runs, encyclopedias, you name it(eBay is awesome for snagging cheap full runs!). When you read 100+ issues about a character, and then all of a sudden DC decides to change up their entire continuity, that really bugs me... It's almost like saying, "Hey, you remember those comics you brought, read and enjoyed? Well they don't matter anymore. Too bad!" I've got to say, it's frustrating to be a fan of DC... I hate to say it, but with every rebooted DC comic I read now I'm almost waiting for the other shoe to drop and the Johns/Didio regime to change everything up... Again!
ReplyDelete“just a short description from someone saying "well at the end of flashpoint..."" I've actually been clamoring for DC to put a recap page in the front of their comics like Marvel does. You know, just something to tell us what happened last issue and/or what story points are important. That's why it's so much easier to jump into a Marvel series as opposed to a DC one. I can pick up practically any Marvel comic, read that first page and have a pretty good idea of what happened last issue. With DC, it's extremely hard to just jump in without those helpful little recap pages.
I was actually kind of intrigued by Punisher, especially since I liked the job Rucka did with Wolverine and figured he could do a similar job with Punisher. Unfortunately with the crazy amount of books I am picking up that's one series I had to pass over. But depending on how many DC books I drop, I may be able to start Punisher up sometime down the road. As for Red Skull, that's a mini I would have picked up in a heartbeat, I mean Red Skull is like the ultimate villain, but I've never been a big fan of Pak's writing... I could definitely be swayed to grab that mini pretty easily though!
Interesting, JT... I wonder if that has to do with the fact that Stormwatch is mainly full of Wildstorm characters... Or maybe it's because Stormwatch is supposed to deal with the weirder stuff going on in the DCU.
Oh, speaking of which, did you read Dream War? If so would you recommend it? Alien showed me a scan of it earlier.
ReplyDeleteI JUST posted about that on Alien's blog! I DID read it, but I had NO idea what was going on, because I read that mini before I read any other comic involving the Wildstorm characters. Now that I know about the Wildstorm characters a bit more I think I'll give that mini a second read. As a matter of fact, I'm gonna see if I can find it right now! I'll start a few more reviews tonight and then start that mini again.
ReplyDeleteHaha I just got the email for that. And yeah, let me know how that is, I may have them put it in my pull box so I can pick it up.
ReplyDeleteI shall do just that. First I have to find it though, and with the insane way I catalog my books, that may take some work...
ReplyDeleteFinished reading it...I think that my best answer is to let Joker talk himself ab
ReplyDelete" As I can see , the Cueball Didiot decided to start with ME to fight Batsy! & Real deal Batty himself to boot! Oh ,how glad was I to hear that. Maybe Snyder will get me a great plan , or Paul DINI HIMSELF would open the 1st issue ... Nope . I had to be drawn & written by Tony Daniel . Now drawn I would not complain, but written ugh...and as for the cliffhanger itself how can I, the clown prince put it politely , .... WHAAAT THE FUCK WERE THEY FUCKING THINKING! I THE MIRTHFUL MENACE & ACE OF KNAVES WILL NEVER LET A 2BIT LEATHER FACE HACK TOUCH MY GODLY PHYSIC! I DO THAT !I AM THE GREATEST CRIMINAL ARTIST EVER ! NOT THEM!& DON'T THINK I FORGOT ABOUT MORONSON, I'LL GIVE THAT DRUG ADDLED LUNATIC A REHAB OF MY OWN FOR SHOOTING MY FOREHEAD & CUTTING MY TONGUE!& thank god for arkham city, at least a video game gets my character RIGHT!!
I'm totally confused as well. In my head while reading the issue, I just assumed, like everyone else, that it's also "five years earlier" like "Justice League." But, if it's not, I just can't figure out why Daniel is treating Bats like he's new to the beat. On one hand, he's making comments about fighting the Joker for six years, on the other hand he's letting the Joker school him like he's a new Robin in a crowbar factory. Bizarre. Looking just at the issue, though, I totally agree that it's the best written Daniel comic I've read. But, then again, I always like the way Daniel starts an arc, so I'm just waiting for it to go downhill at the end like it always does.
ReplyDeleteWell JW, the second issue seemed to take place in the present... Kind of, I guess... I'm still not 100% sold on anything Tony Daniel writes, he's a really good ARTIST, but writer? I'm not sold... But yeah, like you said, this was probably the one of the best Daniel's written comic I've read, although I DID enjoy the Battle for the Cowl mini-series for the most part. There were a few weird things, like 10 yr old Damian going out on a date and Jason Todd(one of my favs) being horribly miswritten, but all in all that's my favorite Daniel written comic to this point.
ReplyDelete