DC Comics reviews 10/26/21 – DC vs Vampires #1, Checkmate #5

Detective Comics #1044

The lack of cohesion with Fear State’s respective Batman and Detective Comics chapters is impressive. It reads more like two completely separate events playing out at the exact same time in Gotham. In Batman, the Dark Knight is teaming with the Unsanity Collective against The Magistrate. Over in Detective, writer Mariko Tamaki has Batman trapped underground trying to rescue Mayor Nakano from a new villain called Nero XIX while echoes of Vile are still running about.

This isn’t the most compelling story, but at least Tamaki keeps Batman as the focal point in her series compared to the sidelined approach in Batman. Vile isn’t the best villain and revisiting his threat so soon seems like a misstep. Nero doesn’t last long as a possible contender thanks to the timely arrival of an underutilized Bat Family member.

As always, the selling point in Detective is Dan Mora’s art. Tamaki consistently gives Mora plenty of exciting scenarios and Mora gives it an additional level of excitement. Jordie Bellaire’s color work is another appreciated constant and she plays up the sense of confinement in the Gotham sewer tunnels.

Detective’s Fear State issues have felt detached from its sister title, but at least it feels more personal and less messy.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10