A Man Who Is Also A City: Reviewing ‘Detective Comics’ #1069

Beaten. Broken. Bested. Batman has been through a lot over 80 years with the physical, mental, and emotional scars to prove it. Hell, each of those things has happened a couple of times just within the first eight issues of the current run on Detective Comics, where they actually have a ton of weight and meaning. 

Back in the 20th century (so long ago, I know), so many of the comic book-related characters that are known and loved around the world were created through a couple of comic book labels, some long gone, some still powerhouses to this day. In the beginning for many there was no idea about how long these characters/books would last and more chances were taken with characters, either through the much wilder types of stories that were common in the early years or more nuanced major status quo changes that came in the later decades. 

At a certain point though a lot of that changed because these characters that were seen as maybe a short-term moment in time ended up becoming not only iconic characters but so intrinsic to the foundation and money-making process for these companies (ownership of that catalog of characters leading to purchases of these companies numerous times) that any idea of ageing them up or dramatically changing them forever was wiped away. Changes still happen and creatives have wiggle room to do things, but the numerous crises and reboots and relaunches at both major comic companies more often than not restore characters to a relatively standard status quo at least every few years (sometimes after each run, depending on the changes made by creators). 

Why did I go on for these two paragraphs about such things? Well, it’s directly relevant to what Ram V is doing with Detective Comics currently. As I noted, Batman has been around a long time with a lot of miles on his body, determined to keep fighting till he can’t fight anymore, and so rarely do we get some very deep exploration of that topic. This series is not shying away from how utterly worn out and broken Batman is as he is aging, and the same for Gordon and many of the characters around them. I mean, they have a frank conversation through the wall about aging and what it’s doing and how there will come a point where even Batman will crumble from the consistent punishment he’s putting his body through. 

We’ve seen him beaten unconscious, rescued at least three times now, and nursed back to a decently stable level of health twice by Gordon alone. At the same time, we’re getting one of the most significant explorations of Harvey Dent/Two-Face that we’ve ever gotten as it actually moves the characters forward leaps and bounds. Even Mister Freeze is in a space where we’re getting something really new and different with him that also speaks to the traumas and mental/emotional wear and tear that running this wheel called Gotham over and over is having on hero, villain, and civilian alike. 

It doesn’t matter one bit that at some point a new creator or editorial team will come around that pushes to move the character back to a status quo where they pretend he’s younger or fresher or does the most wildly crazy things that no human should survive. What matters is the story that is being told right now and the absolute masterpiece that is being weaved with these characters and their world. Batman as we’ve come to see him (versus his actual original origins) is meant to be a scarred individual fighting a (potentially) losing battle because of childhood trauma, and just a flawed human man with no powers or abilities other than his training and mind taking on massive threats to his city and the world. Ram V recognizes that and gives us that human man just trying his damndest to stick to his mission and protect his city, even if it means it tears him apart in the process. 

This is the Batman I want to see. I don’t need nor want the godlike Batman who is a million steps ahead with a gadget for everything and able to best even massive über-powered characters around the universe. Give me that gritty, in the streets, barely holding on but persevering Batman any day of the week. 

Inherently there is an overall roughness that permeates every bit of this storyline, through each of the acts so far, and it’s reflected within the various artistic hands that have moved through the run to this point. We saw it both with Ivan Reis and Rafael Albuquerque as well as the inking work that Danny Miki brings to the pages. We get a trio of changes with this issue as Dexter Soy, Stefano Raffaele, and Miguel Mendonca take over the artist duties. Mixtures of artists are an interesting thing to behold with comics because there are times when the styles of the involved artists are very in sync and the issue flows where one can tell it apart but maybe just barely, and there are other times where the change is very noticeable which can be the point and help the story or it can mess up the flow just a bit. 

Note: That’s not poking at any particular artistic style, just noting that like most things not all styles of things always work coherently together. 

Speaking about this issue in particular, it’s very much a former type of situation because there is a cohesive energy that runs through the three styles. One can tell them apart when it changes between pages, but the same overall roughness and other qualities are in sync and create such a smooth picture. As I spoke about above this run is very much a deep character exploration as much as it is a superhero-adjacent story and the paneling that all of them employ plays into this so well. Tons of regular and extreme closeups, putting us right there in the midst of all this chaos with the characters as we witness and feel them struggling through what is befalling each of them and this city, as it all ramps up more and more with each issue. 

Blüdhaven meets Gotham City in a way as Adriano Lucas makes the leap from Nightwing to Detective Comics in this issue to bring those solid and spectacular colors over to this neck of the woods. There is a bright almost at times smooth shiny nature to the colors that Lucas uses over in Nightwing’s series, which takes a different turn here to really bring out the nature of Gotham and Batman. Blüdhaven is a city where things are bright and shiny on the surface but dark and corrupt underneath while Gotham is dark and corrupt on the surface and even darker and broken under the surface. 

Fitting the various artist’s styles here, Lucas brings a lot sharper and darker color choices to these pages adding a lot of weight and extra depth. Some of that sort of rough nature is also found within the colors to really hammer home how hard this story is going on in the city, Batman, and so many others. Tons of shadows and sharp bright reds and purples and other colors are bombarding us as we move forward, with pauses for scenes where there is a bit more light (but still plenty of darkness), making sure that just like the paneling and the rest we’re right there in the trenches feeling the hardness of this all with Batman and the others. 

One of the constants that can be found here alongside Ram V would be the tremendous lettering that Ariana Maher brings every single time she’s working on an issue. There is no doubt at all that Maher is one of the best letterers working today, infusing every bit of work on the pages with such powerful and unmistakable energy. Right away we’re struck by some of that energy as we have a back-and-forth between Two-Face and Ten-Eyed Man where both of their speech fonts and bubble shape/styles are dramatically different and speak to their unique personalities and situations as well as speaking styles. With Two-Face’s speaking to his rougher edges and sharper to-the-point style, and Ten-Eyed Man’s is almost lyrical with little eye shapes popping out of the bubble. 

While other bubbles are more ‘normal’ there are still elements of their voice and personality dripping from every single word, whether it’s in dialogue or captions, or other elements. We can feel how weary and broken Batman is at first as his bubbles show that, words trailing off before they move back to a standard as he’s pushing aside the pain and exhaustion to keep moving forward. Because he’s Batman and that’s what he does. 

We get a new set of backup stories, that are actually more of insets from the overall story being told rather than a more standard separate backup story. I really like how elements that Ram V touches on in the main story are further explored in these pieces by Simon Spurrier from Gordon and his new young charge to the excellent ones with Two-Face. Here we get to see what Mister Freeze is up to and get more with Two-Face’s therapist Doctor Mead (who he was meant to kill but instead let run away, though she’s now still not safe). 

Spurrier does wonders with these pieces, using every bit of limited real estate to really show and tell us so much and bolster the overall story being told through this entire run. Casper Wijngaard has such a unique and almost whimsical but also sharp and kinetic style that matches perfectly with a Mister Freeze story and one that taps into some very almost supernatural-like elements with the personification of the song that’s been moving through Gotham coming into play. I love how the colors that Wijngaard puts into play are always so bright and fitting with those blues and pinks dominating alongside other colors creating a very fantastical and cold/frozen sort of feeling. There are bits and pieces that keep the thing grounded to remind us of the danger and the place in the world, but it’s also fully keeping to just how over the top everything to do with Gotham truly is and can be. 

Letters for this part come from Steve Wands again, who captures the cold clinical sort of energy that one would expect from Freeze so perfectly. There is a cold normalness and structure to his dialogue and bubbles, while there is a bit more fluctuation in those from Mead (especially in her captions) centered around her being scared and cold and not as detached as Freeze. Also, I fully love the use of faded gray sort of text that works at a smaller level to show off the moments where both characters are saying things quieter, it instantly makes the mind think of a whisper or mutter and lets us mentally lower the volume at that moment. 

Detective Comics #1069 is now available from DC Comics.