Comic Review: Detective Comics #984

Detective Comics #984

DC Comics

Writer: Bryan Edward Hill

Artist: MIguel Mendonca

“On The Outside” continues with this action-packed issue of Detective Comics. Hill had to do some setting up in the previous issue, but he wastes no time in this one as he pits Cassandra, Black Lightning and Batman against the new enemy – Karma.

Karma is still a huge enigma, but we do learn a bit about him, mostly about his tech and powers. The last issue implied that he might be someone who knows the team on a personal level, but this one leads the reader to believe that he might actually have all that knowledge thanks to its powers. Hill will, hopefully, reveal more about him as the story progresses, instead of leaving us hanging like Tynion IV did with the First Victim.

The issue also offers a glimpse of the team Jefferson is supposed to lead – Duke, Cassandra, and Barbara. The team may seem smaller compared to the previous one, but having a smaller roster allows for better character growth. It also feels as if Hill isn’t really taking any risks like Tynion IV did with Clayface, but it’s not a huge deal considering the proposed teacher-pupils team dynamic. The team members are all young adults and Hill is obviously trying to address the age-old question of the morality of using the youth as soldiers in the war on crime so that will be a really interesting read.

Hill does a good job on writing most of the characters, especially Karma and Cassandra, who has easily become one of my favorite Bat-family characters. I say most because his Bruce Wayne comes a bit off, especially with his last lines of dialogue. This is actually a problem of DC as a whole because Batman is currently featured in at least 3 different books written by 3 different authors who, clearly, have 3 very different ideas of Batman. 

Miguel Mendoca is at the helm of the art department again and they do an okay job. As mentioned, the majority of the issue is action-packed and Mendoca’s (very good) reliance on motion blur keeps it flowing nicely. The backgrounds are a bit lacking in detail which is a bit disappointing, but the character design is exceptional, especially that of Karma. There are two pages I would like to offer praise to – the first one and the last. The first one is a simplistic, moody and dark page presented in a 3 by 3 layout that shows us Karma acquiring his special helmet and sets up the issue in an interesting way, but never quite delivers on it. The last page, on the other hand, is a splash page that features a topless Bruce, basked in sunlight, looking through the window and making a questionable statement about his companions. It’s a shame that the rest of the issue doesn’t really get to the level of quality of these pages. Maybe the timeframe is too tight?

Despite all of these minor problems, the book is a really fun read. Hill’s take on the Bat-family is looking good so far. While I would appreciate a darker, more detective-centric Batman book, this is proving to be a really fun story.