Follow The Trails Of Blood — Reviewing ‘Detective Comics’ #1092

Pieces of a somewhat simplistic puzzle begin to fall into place as Batman’s dalliance with eternal youth hits a snag. Past and present readily collide in Detective Comics #1092 from Tom Taylor, Mikel Janín, and Wes Abbott.

Being of two-minds about this series feels kind of wild.

Comparing runs is never something to do because every creative is different. That being said, coming off the last run with its depth and complexity into this far more by-the-books-almost-transparent one sure is a trip.

Taylor tends to be a pretty straight-forward type of writer. What you see is what sort of thing you get. Sometimes that is really intriguing and has some unexpected beats. Other times, it’s just the very commonly expected thing. There isn’t a lot of middle ground, especially with the baked-in messages which range from well-done to over-blown. His work is the type that has the online fandom (can’t speak to those outside of it much) either on board or not on board.

Yet, here I stand finding that rare middle ground.

I find his writing of Batma to often be some of the best depictions of the man, both here, in Nightwing, and other titles previously. Hitting the mark with the dark vigilante but humanizing him in a way that fits a guy who has multiple children (biological and adopted) and a whole cadre of found family.

At the same time, the overall plot with the killer targeting youths that are clearly being used to create this youth drug is kind of shruggable. It feels like a “mystery” that should have been two-three issues at the most, not stretched out over the next handful of months still to come. Bruce just leaping in to take this drug and only testing it afterward feels very off. Especially for how unalarmed he is when finding blood platelets within that are not his own. Overall the “World’s Greatest Detective” feels ten steps behind in a pretty simple setup.

But boy, oh boy, is this book slick and dynamic.

Janín oozes such powerful energy in every bit of artwork. Solidly built to bring vivid life to superhero books, while also being suited for anything and everything beyond the genre. Over the years of writing these reviews, my appreciation for things like paneling style and plotting has risen greatly. It’s such an art within the overall artform, finding the ways to make things visually distinctive but also hit all the right beats.

Borders, panels of varying shapes and sizes, placements that are somewhat askew. All of it really helps the story flow even more than it would in just standard style panels. Eyes are allowed to move around freely while sticking to a predetermined path. Instead of a straight path that feels typical, this is more a wandering path full of differing sights that still gets you from A to B … just in a very striking and more appealing way.

Gotham, and various set pieces being flashier than others, fits what we’ve seen of the city. I love that this life-like space has so many varying personalities depending on which artist is bringing it to life and what the story calls for. Not to mention, every sector of Gotham is something wholly to itself at times.

Even if Batman is multiple steps behind here, Abbott is never behind on the lettering. I’ve mentioned it before, but the Abbott/Taylor pairing works for a reason. Abbott is able to take the particular style of Taylor and put it in a space where it can flow and work better. Giving it that little kick that takes it up a few notches while making sure it all fits on the page as necessary.

Detective Comics #1092 is now available from DC Comics.