Bruce Wayne is on the run in DC Future State Dark Detective #1, and we are running along with him!

Gotham City is under the control of the paramilitary group known as the Magistrate. And they’re armed, are no fun, they don’t like masks, Batman is bad, things are grim. And Bruce Wayne is thought of as being dead.

Writer Mariko Tamaki plays the time clock backwards and forwards a bit much, which can tick us off after a while. But otherwise, the story is solid, the scenes are Gotham-dark and rainy. It’s all about Bruce being underground, staying under the wire, below the radar. And the artwork (Dan Mora: cover and interior story both) is simply wonderful. Well hewn figures, great dynamic poses, plenty of clever but effective camera angles, and nicely composed scenes. The colour by Jordie Bellaire is spectacular, some of the very best story colouring I have seen. Bellaire lays on the rainy street reflections, the dazzlingly bright interior spaces contrasting with the dark and stormy night. Aditya Bidikar is on letters. A stellar story.

The backup feature is with Grifter. He’s back. Matthew Rosenberg writes, Carmine Di Giandomenico illustrates, Antonio Fabela colours, Andworld Design letters. When Luke Fox shows up, sparks fly, things fly, fights break out, car wheels screech, and the pell-mell action just propels us to the finish, panting and needing a pause. It’s action plus, folks.

DC Future State Dark Detective #1, $5.99 for 45 pages of content, Ages 13+

By Alan Spinney

After a career of graphic design, art direction and copywriting, I still have a passion for words and pictures. I love it when a comic book comes together; the story is tight, and the drawings lead me forward. Art with words... the toughest storytelling technique to get right. Was this comic book worth your money? Let's see!!

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