DC Comics reviews for 2/8/17 – Justice League of America, Detective Comics
Detective Comics #950
For the big anniversary issue, Detective Comics is surprisingly understated. Writer James Tynion IV devotes most of the oversized issue to the series’ most overlooked member of Team Batman — Orphan.
By giving readers a unique perspective into Orphan’s thoughts, Tynion explores yet another tragic backstory in Team Batman. There’s a sadness in how she relates to others that really makes Orphan an intriguing character. Her struggles to communicate make it incredibly difficult to open up to her friends and allies. By the end of the story, Tynion successfully illustrates why Orphan is such a vital and key member of Team Batman.
Marco Takara handles the artwork for Orphan’s story. Takara’s layouts and character expressions are solid suggesting a Frank Miller influence, but the thick block-like line work doesn’t fully mesh with a slick character like Orphan.
In another story, Tynion looks at the two newest members to the team — Batwing and Azareal — and their philosophies on faith and science. Their banter was a surprising development and one that Tynion will continue to develop going forward. Alvaro Martinez provides the art in this chapter. Martinez is the best compliment to regular artist Eddy Barrows and it was good to see his work back on the book even in a small dose.
Barrows wraps up the issue with incredible art on a smaller story from months ago with Red Robin having an overdue talk with Batman. Tynion can’t spend too much time here as much of this conversation is foreshadowing events yet to come.
Detective isn’t an overstuffed worthless issue and helps to flesh out the backstories of the underutilized team members. Tynion used the extra space effectively for character development. Next issue kicks off the next big arc, League of Shadows, and there likely won’t be many quiet moments ahead for Team Batman.
Rating: 8 out of 10