DC Comics reviews 6/8/21 – Detective Comics #1037, Rorschach #9
Batman Urban Legends #4
The Batman anthology had another eventful installment even if the quality of the stories wasn’t as strong as previous issues.
Chip Zdarsky and artists Eddy Barrows and Marcus To’s Batman/Red Hood story remains the highlight.
This time, Zdarsky revisits the fractured trust that led to Jason Todd getting killed as he’s on the eve of a similar fate against Mr. Freeze. Which path will Batman choose this time? Zdarsky has a good handle on the Batman/Red Hood’s complicated relationship and it plays out well here.
To handles the flashbacks while Barrows takes on the current day sequences. There’s a significant distinction between the artists, but considering the shift in eras at DC, it works. To is a streamlined artist with some anime influences in his work. Barrows goes for all the detail he can work in the page making for captivating imagery.
Next up, Batwoman actor Camrus Johnson writes a story about his character Batwing. After Detective Comics dropped the team format, Batwing has largely vanished from the Gotham landscape. It was good seeing him back in action even if Johnson takes a fairly basic story involving The Riddler. Loyiso Mkize’s art is solid and conveys the Iron Man Batman family member feel of Batwing.
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Meghan Fitzmartin writes a Tim Drake story that plays out a little weird with a Chaos agent kidnapping one of Tim’s friends. Tim Drake has been disrespected since Brian Michael Bendis dragged him into Young Justice. Fitzmartin gets in a great gag about Oracle refusing to call him Drake, but the rest of the issue was lacking and Tim rarely sounded like Tim Drake.
For a classic Tim take, check out the latest issue of Nightwing. Belen Ortega’s art is fine though her art seems like a more natural fit for Justice League Dark or Wonder Woman with their more fantastical elements.
The Grifter story from writer Matthew Rosenberg and artist Ryan Benjamin rolls along with cameos from Deathstroke and Superman. This is an instance where a writer makes Superman incompetent in order to keep the story moving along.
Rosenberg is starting to make the story too convoluted with Grifter’s loyalties and his off-camera conversations with his mysterious ally. Longtime Grifter fans should be thrilled with a reveal. Benjamin’s art is rough in some pages, but overall solid.
Three-fourths of the anthology featured entertaining stories, which is a decent ratio for this kind of book although winner after winner would better justify the price.
Rating: 7 out of 10