This amazing milestone issue of Detective Comics celebrates the heart behind the Dark Knight like never before. In four major stories, readers get a glimpse of the compassion and heroic intentions driving the character. One story after another, Tec’ #1100 unites several creative teams to deliver a supersized snapshot of the famous hero. Let’s discuss each storyline below!
Tom Taylor’s Lost And Found
Mikel Janin is the true star of this issue’s standout storyline. Mainly, this is due to telling the entire story without any dialogue. In a nutshell, through Janin’s amazing artwork, Taylor tells a story about a Batman helping a deaf kid looking for his dog. There are several nice touches, such as Batman or the kid only speaking in ASL without caption nor sound effects. The first leg of the story primarily takes place in the daytime, curiously putting Batman in an awkward position. By the end, the story takes on a masterful tonal fluctuation with the shift to night, without using any words whatsoever.
While seeming suspiciously like a Nightwing story, Lost and Found is easily the best tale in the anthology. Powerful imagery of the deaf kid drawing a Bat-symbol in chalk in a half-page spread or the half-page image of Batman in the end will find a home in my mind forever. Taylor’s careful pacing in the climax gives the issue an earned suspense and grimness, while simultaneously remaining wordlessly heartfelt. Even if deaf kids and animals are easy ways to tug on the heartstrings, it is still a worthy recommendation.
Score: 9.5/10
Mariko Tamaki’s Your Role In the Community
This story takes place during a Gotham City Gala while Batman violently hunts down the Joker. Intercut between panels of the gala host, Mr. Marks, Batman literally fights to make it to the charity. Regardless, Bruce Wayne arrives late, fresh off a stabbing, motorcycle chase, and harrowing water rescue. The remaining half of the story follows Bruce at the gala, unexpectedly fielding a roundtable of journalists who question his intentions for the city. Amancay Nahuelpan’s artwork isn’t the best for this kind of story, but Bruce’s dilemma opens fascinating possibilities. Still, Tamaki leaves a lot of story on the table, prefering to simply bask in the irony of Bruce Wayne’s silent contributions as only money.
Score: 6/10
Greg Rucka’s The Knife And Gun Club
Rucka channels Gotham Central in a new story set within a Gotham City hospital on a busy night for The Batman. The plot remains relatively down to earth, surrounding a one on one conversation between two doctors near the end of the shift. In a mature conversation, one doctor worries that one day, Batman may hurt someone they can’t save. On the other hand, the elder statesman named Evans argues that deaths are down because of his interference. In spite of the brutality they must fix every night, Batman is making a difference. Again, in combination with the dark visuals, this story delivers an atmospheric but heartfelt story about the war in Gotham.
Score: 8/10
Dan Watters’ The Fall
Stop me if you’ve heard this one: Batman and a psychopath approach a ledge, the nutcase jumps, and then Batman dives after him. The rest of the story surrounds the thrilling descent and the urgent questions rattling in the mind of our hero on the way down. Watters takes on Batman’s analytical mind, while Bill Sienkiewicz depicts the fall as inky, experimental, and rough. As it goes on, panels begin to thin, rotate, and blur, imitating the throttle of terminal velocity. The text focuses on the thrill of the victim, and whether Batman should follow the psycho at all. Of course, readers know that Batman will go the extra mile, but the implications of the victim’s deadly satisfaction makes it creepy.
Score: 7/10
Recommended If…
- You’ve got love for Batman anthologies.
- You love tough as nails Batman stories.
- You’ve got a soft spot for kids and animals.
Overall
This is a fantastic comic book. Taylor and Janin especially brought a sense of sincerity to Batman that I very much need right now. In addition, Greg Rucka chose the right setting and subject matter that works to his strengths. Tamaki may have been a slightly weaker link, but her story has genuine potential if Connor McMannnor shows up again to give Bruce a hard time. Lastly, Watters swung for the fences with his darker story, but managed to land in a pretty neat place. Overall, this is a must read for Batman fans, if I say so myself.
Score: 8/10
DC Comics have provided advance copies of books for review.