Batman: The Detective
Artists: Andy Kubert and Sandra Hope
Color Artist: Brad Anderson
Letterer: Clem Roberts
Review by Tony Farina
Special thanks to Net Galley and DC comics for my review copy.
Batman is a hero. Full stop. Tom Taylor isn’t breaking new ground. The Dark Knight is good. He saves people. He tries his hardest. He is flawed. He is broken. He tries his hardest. Yes, I know, I mentioned it twice, but that is because it was that important. Batman is so focused on the past and the present that he rarely thinks about the future. Taylor and company focus on this one minor chink in Batman’s armor.
To be frank, before I read this, I never really thought much about it myself. Sure, I’ve spent time thinking about time and how the things I do affect the future, but I don’t really follow that down into infinity and I don’t think about fictional characters that way at all. Tom Taylor though, clearly has thought a lot about it.
What happens if Batman saves a person who goes on to be a monster? Whose responsibility is that? Is Bruce at fault? Surely, he couldn’t know that some person would drive drunk if five years and kill someone else. When he stopped a crime wave, he didn’t know that he was saving a criminal who might rob people blind. Is it Batman’s fault?
Lots to take in isn’t it. Mind blown.
Look, I’m not going to spoil this book for you. I am just going to implore you to buy it and read it. Andy freaking Kubert, pencils this thing. Yes. That Andy Kubert. This is beautiful. I love every single image. Inked by Sandra Hope, and colored within an inch of its life by Brad Anderson, this book is a visual feast. Getting Bruce out of Gotham allows the creative team a lot to work with. I like seeing him in the “real world.” It adds an extra layer of amazing.
Conclusion
Batman: The Detective is, simply put, a work of philosophy hidden inside a six-issue comic series. I can’t recommend it enough. For people who can't get enough of the Dark Knight, this is for you. For people who've never read a Batman comic, this is for you. For people who have Batman fatigue, this is the shot of adrenaline your heart needs.
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