Detective Comics #960 Review

It's Magic!

Written by: James Tynion IV
Art by: Alvaro Martinez, Raul Fernandez, Brad Anderson and Sal Cipriano
Cover Price: $2.99
Release Date: July 12, 2017

While Detective Comics is my favorite Batman book in Rebirth, I have to admit I was getting a bit down on the title.  Whether it was because half the team had been yanked off or the fact that James Tynion wasn't able to juggle those remaining enough, I was like I said, down on the title.  Then Zatanna showed up and BANG! Things got better right away.  It wasn't just her, though, it was everyone on the Detective Squad.  It seems like "Z" was a breath of fresh air for everyone including one James Tynion IV.  So, does that new energy keep going in this issue?  Let's find out...


The issue opens like last, with a Batman/Zatanna flashback.  It's all setup to the big, dark magic that Batman wants Zatanna to help him with, but it's also a pretty good reminder that Zatanna is awesome!  The interaction between the two is great and that continues as we head to the present.

Batman and Zatanna are hanging out on the rooftops of Gotham (surprise!) and Zatanna decides the only way to stop Bruce from wanting the unthinkable is to flex her magical muscles a bit.  It may not work, but again...ZATANNA IS SO AWESOME!!!

We then see Ascalon travel back to the Red Cathedral, only to be told to return to Gotham for the knowledge he seeks...that being Azrael.  Conveniently, we see Jean-Paul still struggling after his meditation, now being guided by that awful demon-like monstrosity from last issue's cliffhanger.

Back with Bruce and Zatanna, we finally see what Bruce wanted and find out more about why he wanted it as well.  It is a pretty cool tie-in to the Dark Days books going on right now and made me smile that DC finally got something right when it comes to story synergy!

The issue ends with Luke and Kate getting two guests at Foxtech and I'm not sure which one I'd be more afraid of.  Yea, I'm not spoiling it here, but I can't wait to see what happens next.

I really enjoyed this issue.  Sure, it's all setup, but everything it sets up is what I want to see.  We get a direction for this book going forward as well as a tie-in to the big picture stuff going on at DC right now.  Plus, everything with Batman has been setup in the series so what he is asking Zatanna to do is very personal to him and the readers of this book.  The only downside is the total lack of Clayface and Cass, but I think I'd rather have that then the lame scenes we've gotten with them lately.

Another reason I love this issue is Alvaro Martinez's art.  It is so good and while the spread pages make it a pain in the ass to review, everything looks so damn good.


Bits and Pieces:

This issue may be a bit more setup heavy than the last, but that doesn't stop it from being just as good!  Zatanna is awesome and issue tie into what's going on in the larger DCU was icing on the cake.  If you aren't reading Detective Comics, now is a great time to jump onboard!

9.0/10