Detective Comics #951 Review

Stick Around

Written by: James Tynion IV
Art by: Christian Duce, Alex Sinclair and Sal Cipriano
Cover Price: $2.99
Release Date: February 22, 2017

It's time for the League of Shadows and I...wait a second!  I thought Batman said there was no such thing!  First the Court of the Owls and now this?  I don't want to throw shade at the World's Greatest Detective, but... Of course, we really have no idea what this League of Shadows is and what they are after, but we did see who looks to be the leader...Lady Shiva!  Now that is enough to get me excited on it's own, but add in the fact that this story promises to up the screen time for Cassandra Cain and I am all in.  So, did this beginning up my hype level?  Let's find out...


The issue opens up with a flashback that may not be in Gotham, but certainly shows what's headed Batman's way.  It's downright vicious and shows the type of threat the League of Shadows and it's leader really is.  Believe me, it was only two pages long, but it has me excited and worried for Batman and everyone around him.

We then head to present day Gotham City and see that Batman and Batwoman are a bit concerned with Orphan.  After some odd jokes by Kate, we get an awesome moment where Batman admits that Cass could take him out if she wanted.  She really is that kick ass, but it also leads to Bats worried that the girl under the black mask might need some more attention...like going to the ballet or a baseball game.

That's put on hold for a bit while Batman goes and talks to Mayor Hady.  Unfortunately, Hady is kind of stuck at the moment...to the wall!  It's easy to guess who is to blame, but at the moment, Batman looks guilty to the GCPD and they react accordingly.

After Batman escapes (barely), he heads to yell at Jacob Kane and while Jacob goes against his "only talk to his daughter" policy, Batman still doesn't want to listen.  Jacob says the League of Shadows is on it's way and tells Batman what to do, but it really doesn't look like he will heed the advice.

The issue then takes a crazy turn as Gotham seems to be engulfed in Joker Gas and the Detective Team head out to stop it.  It's a cool setup, but the cliffhanger is actually a jaw dropping moment that shows that Jacob might have been right all this time.

This was a very quick read and one I really enjoyed.  I am getting a little sick of Batman's stubbornness and while the threat may not be what he thinks the League of Shadows really is, it seems like a you like tomato and I like tomahto thing and I don't think Shiva is going to call the whole thing off.  Besides that, though, I found this to be a really good setup issue that shows the threat of the League, puts Batman in the sights of the GCPD and ends with a fucked up cliffhanger.

Christian Duce does a workman-like job on art and gets the job done.  I know that may sound like a backhanded compliment, but it's not meant to be.  There is always something to say for art that keeps the story flowing and never offends to the point of throwing the reader out of the story.

Bits and Pieces:

This issue sets up the League of Shadows as the vicious thing it is.  They may work from the shadows, but blood is already getting spilled and Batman is being blamed.  The art was good and the issue ends with a pretty clever and messed up cliffhanger.

7.5/10