This is the one we’ve all been waiting for! Since the 1930’s! Detective issue 1000! And now, does it live up to the hype?
As we all know, DC’s Detective Comics started in the late ’30s, and introduced Batman in issue 27. Since then, Batman has been Detective Comic’s reason-to-be. And so, with these high expectations, let’s see what we do to celebrate this historic occasion!
Well, here’s what we see: on the Jim Lee cover, it’s Batman with the Joker in the Batcave, surrounded by supporting characters. Inside, it’s a recap of Batman’s life, mostly framed around the death of Bruce Wayne’s parents. Over and over again, this painful incident is referred to in story after story, the central idea around Batman’s coming into existence.
It’s a loosely connected series of short stories, similar in shape to other recent DC milestone comic issues. The main character revisiting his past, his friends, colleagues and loved ones paying tribute. Little Slices and Snippets of Bat Adventures. Moments in time. Memories and moments of major memories or minor moments. Circular arguments that lead us along the Battened Down Yellow Brick Road. Unconnected sidebar stories that only reach into true Bat territory by definition or by tangent. It’s all here, and it’s not overly grabbing me.
The potential was there:
We have stories written by Scott Snyder, Kevin Smith, Warren Ellis, Denny O’Neil, Christopher Priest, Brian Michael Bendis, Geoff Johns, James Tynion IV, Tom King, and Peter J. Tomasi.
We have artwork by Greg Capullo, Jim Lee, Becky Cloonan, Steve Epting, Neal Adams, Alex Maleev, Kelley Jones, Alvaro Martinez-Bueno, Tony S. Daniel, Joelle Jones, and Doug Mahnke.
Batman continues. Detective Comics continues. And the last story in this special issue actually continues, in issue 1001. Need I go on?
DC, Detective #1000, $9.99 for 96 pages of content. Assume Teen rating
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