Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews
Detective Comics #18
DC Comics
Layman & Fabok
Detective comics continues its strong and steady run under Chew creator, John Layman. Though this issue carries the banner as being a Requiem for Robin, thankfully Layman only spends a couple of panels on the topic as he remains focused on building his Penguin versus Emperor Penguin saga. The book is a very solid read and the backup continues to strengthen elements of the current story while tying up some loose ends from the previous crossover. This is worth picking up.
Batman continues to chase down the Penguin, but in the process, he grapples with the death of his son. Layman keeps a good balance of not losing sight of how the character might have some anger about recent events that could preoccupy his thoughts but still minding the task at hand. While Batman is chasing down the Penguin, the Emperor Penguin continues to unfold more of his devious plan where Batman is none the wiser.
The strong point in this comic is the characterizations that Layman establishes. While Batman's dialogue seems in line with the current status quo, it's with the Penguin and the Emperor Penguin where Layman really makes his mark. He's providing terrific dialogue to these characters helping them to stand above the rank and file of the Bat-verse of characters. Sure, there is plenty of action, but the character work that stands out. The creativity that Layman displays in this issue really helps to makes this book entertaining and unique.
The artwork is tremendous. The book looks detailed, shiny and epic in nearly all the facets of the artwork, including the backup. There are plenty of splash pages to help the story move along without getting bogged down with too much dialogue and the artwork is certainly up to the task. This is a wonderful visual comic book.
Detective comics is building with each issue towards something special. This issue is another good read as it pushes along more of the plot and introduces an interesting threat for the next issue. This comic book is quickly becoming one of the more solid reads each month and it is becoming one of DC's strongest titles in their publishing list. I recommend checking this out.
3.5 out of 5 Geek Goggles
