Comic Review: Detective Comics #1002

Detective Comics #1002

DC Comics

Writer: Peter J Tomasi

Artist: Brad Walker

I still can’t believe that they’re bringing the Arkham Knight to comics.  It’s not that it’s unreasonable or even impossible for that matter.  It just feels a little strange.  The Arkham Knight from the video game was Jason Todd.  And it’s certainly not him considering he’s off running a casino now.  But why would they create another character and name him the Arkham Knight?  Why not just give him a new identity?

One of my big problems with the Arkham Knight in the video game was that his whole character was based around the mystery of who he was.  It was tease after tease until an anti-climactic reveal.  But I’m glad Tomasi isn’t drawing it out here.  As long as we’re not getting clickbaited, we should know who the Arkham Knight is by next issue.  I’m really glad they’re not dragging it out for the sake of suspense.

We’re only two issues into this arc and Tomasi already introduced plenty of interesting ideas into this story.  I really liked the sun bomb in this issue.  You never stop and think about it, but nighttime is such an essential part of the Batman.  I also loved that Tomasi is going with a medieval knight motif for the Arkham Knight.  It’s a really cool difference from the character in the game.

But this issue feels pretty decompressed.  The fight with the Arkham Knight at the beginning wasn’t all that special.  Considering he’s such a well-known presence, you’d think his introduction would be a little more climactic.  If this wasn’t the introduction of such a high-stakes character, I probably wouldn’t think anything of it.  But for a character teased in the 1000th issue of Detective Comics, I expect something special.

I really love all the side characters in this book.  Tomasi’s Alfred is chopped full of dry-wit.  He’s ripped straight out of the animated series.  I also love Tomasi’s use of Damien.  It feels like most writers lock the Bat Family in the Batcave until they feel like killing them.  But Tomasi’s Detective Comics is full of Batman’s supporting cast.  It was great to see Damien in this issue.  I love seeing him evolve throughout Tomasi’s books all the way from Batman and Robin to Super Sons.

I really don’t care for Brad Walker on art.  He gets the job done, but his characters feel so sloppy and generic.  It would work for most books, but in Gotham, the flaws really show.  Again, for such a big-name character, I’m expecting more from everything on this book.  I really would have liked Mahnke on the art for this arc.

Overall, this is a solid addition to the Arkham Knight arc.  There’s a lot to like about this story.  But at the same time, it’s nothing groundbreaking so far.  I do wonder who the Arkham Knight is this time around.  I literally can’t think of any character from Batman’s past who it would be.  This is the Arkham Knight’s second chance, and hopefully, they get it right.