Two Days 'Till Retirement
Written by: James Tynion IV
Art by: Eddy Barrows, Eber Ferreira, Adriano Lucas, and Marilyn Patrizio
Cover Price: $2.99
Release Date: August 24, 2016
Detective Comics has been one of my favorite books and it's funny because it is the one that I was
wrong about going onto this Rebirth thing. I thought it was going to be non-stop action and hilarity as Clayface and the gang hit the town...with a few days to kill. In reality, James Tynion has been giving readers a pretty great character study focusing on Batwoman and her relationship with her father. Pretty good stuff, right there and it looks to continue this week as Colony ups their deadly game and the team tries to stop them in their tracks. Who will win and will it make for exciting reading? Let's find out...
The issue begins with a look back at a very familiar scene...the death of Thomas and Martha Wayne. Actually, this is the not so familiar look at the immediate aftermath of the funeral and it shows the reactions of three important characters to this book...Jacob, Kate and Bruce. There are no real twists here (Jacob is pissed, Bruce is devastated and Kate is awesome), but it was nice to see the establishment of the Bruce/Kate relationship during such a trying time.
We jump to "now" and the Bat crew has taken back the Belfry and Tim Drake gets to show off his big brain once again. The kid has more gadgets and props than Carrot Top and I'm really starting to fall in love with him. I've explained this before and I will again...when I start falling in love with a character, that is bad news for said character!
It doesn't take long for Tim to tell Steph that he has decided to go to college and leave all this superhero work behind. Of course, he's going to wait to tell Batman until after this whole Colony thing is taken care of and I immediatley thought that this will be leading to a "two days 'till retirement" type of situation sometime soon.
Meanwhile, Kate is pretty pissed at Batman and calls him out on it. She realizes that Batman knew that her father was involved the whole time and makes him promise never to keep the truth from her again. Maybe if he would have been more open with her, she wouldn't have invited her dad into their secret superhero base! Just saying. With everyone back on the same page, Batman calls up the President of the United States and snitches on Jacob and the Colony. Watch out Batman, we all know what snitches get!
Things pick up when Tim discovers that Ulysses' drones are on their way to Gotham and a whole lot of innocent people are going to die. The team heads out and after a funny Clayface moment, we again see that Tim has a big brain and it just might be the death of him. He hacks into Ulysses' computer and changes the targets to just a singular target and wait to you see who it is.
The issue ends with Batman rushing to help take down the drones as Kate goes off to have a little talk with her father. It really feels like something big is about to happen which makes the wait until next issue that much harder to take.
It also makes this issue feel more like setup than just about any issues of this book since Rebirth. Don't get me wrong, I loved the stuff with Tim this issue, but it came at the expense of getting much else from the team and Tynion has shown he can incorporate the whole team in his best issues. This issue does set up some cool things, we just have to wait for the payoff of every one of them.
I really liked Eddy Barrow's earlier art on this book, but this issue felt off. Certain characters (Tim and Ulysses mainly) just didn't look good at all and even a Dark knight Returns homage didn't wow me. I'm sure he will step things up, but this was a down issue art wise.
Bits and Pieces:
This was a down issue of Detective Comics. It is full out setup and while it sets up some pretty good stuff, we are forced to wait until at least next issue for any sort of payoff. Throw in some of the worst art this series has seen so far and this is the first issue of Rebirth Detective Comics that I can't outright recommend.
7.0/10
Why not like... make the drones target Clayface... you know, someone who isn't flesh and blood?
ReplyDeleteI know...poor Clayface
DeleteI think a 7 out of 10 is an accurate score. I'm definitely excited about what this issue sets up, but this issue doesn't move the story along at all. I really liked the opening, where we got chapter two of the death of Bruce's parents. But that was the high point and the book went downhill from there. I thought it If anything it just rehashes bits and pieces from previous issues. I thought the Dark Knight Returns homage was a huge let down because of the lackluster art and I didn't like the bat version of a helicarrier. I think the conclusion of this arc will be great. but this was a pretty average book.
ReplyDeletegreat minds think alike! It really seemed like it wanted to be bigger than it was and it just was mediocre. I loved the beginning as well. What happened to Eddy Barrows? This issue seemed rushed art wise after starting the series so strong and with a couple of issues off, I expected a lot better.
DeleteYeah. Hopefully this issue is just an outlier and will get back to form.
DeleteGood depiction of Tim Drake this issue, But I don't share your fear of Tim Dying Jim. I actually think this college thing is going to work out. Many have been saying the bat family has become to big, and I have to agree. I think have Tim go of on his own and training is a great way for his character to grow as well as a way lighten the load of how big the bat crew has become. I think Luke Fox is doing the same thing.
ReplyDeleteAnd the ruining of Jacob Kane continues. If, as Batman put it, Jacob needed an enemy for his war, why not the Religion of Crime? After all, they were the group most likely responsible for the death of his wife and for turning Beth into Alice. They were definitely responsible for kidnapping Kate and stabbing her through the heart. Where was the Colony during that? During Medusa? It just doesn't make sense.
ReplyDeletei fully agree...he's chasing "Shadows" while his family is being picked apart by real bad guys
DeleteLove the set up from this issue. Tim "Snow" in Battle of the Bastards/Nerds?!?! Anyone? I know, bad joke. Ready for the next issue and hope for some better art.
ReplyDeletelol!!! Yea, the art was just not great which threw me off
DeleteMaybe while Tim is taking care of business at the ol' UNIVERSITY he can become an Oracle type character for the team ... it feels like a logical way to keep him around IMO
ReplyDeleteI looked back at the issue again, and it seems the the art is rushed, or unfinished. The only exception is the art during the flashback; I think that looks pretty solid.
ReplyDeleteI don't mind that this issue is more setup. Sometimes we need those issues to set up the big bangup issues. And it was moving the action along. I also like that this Tim Drake isn't constantly getting his ass kicked like in Batman Beyond. I would probably go a little higher, like an 8.
I just can't wait for Kate to confront Jake, and say... "Hello, Father!"
Please make that happen! I did love the flashback art
DeleteI really liked this issue. The farther this arc goes and looking at future arcs I'm really thinking Tim is a goner.
ReplyDeleteI'm guessing this is Tim's plan to fake his death (to his enemies at least) so he can attend college in peace.
ReplyDeleteGood issue but the art was off. Looked like some mid 90s computer art or something.
Even Clayface can see that Tim needs to be doing something more than “the superhero business.” I liked seeing how Tim smiled when talking about the things he built.
ReplyDeleteI thought Clayface showing up as Batman and realizing it wasn’t as effective as scaring them was funny. For a smart guy, that seems like a rather dumb move to have the drones target himself. I’m really excited for the next issue.