Secrets and LiesWritten by: Bryan Hill
Art by: Miguel Mendonca, Diana Egea, Adriano Lucas and Sal Cipriano
Cover Price: $2.99
Release Date: July 11, 2018
What DC Said:
“On The Outside” part two! Batman wanted Black Lightning involved in the lives of his protégés—but how involved was the Dark Knight thinking? What kind of missions will Jefferson Pierce take them on? And what, exactly, is he whispering in their ears about Batman himself?
We open this week's issue with a little hint at who Karma may be and if you were paying attention last issue, it won't shock you to see Markovia is in the house. I have my theories...
We then get back to the present where Bryan Hill reminds us how kick-ass Cassandra is while also upping the threat level of Karma. The Big Bad is less about telling Cass that she weakens Batman and more into feeling bad for her. It seems like another hint at the man behind the mask, but unlike the Alice Cooper song, I am really enjoying this. I know Eric would kill me if he ever took the time to read my reviews!
We then get Jefferson Pierce landing in Gotham and after a brief hello with Batman, it's off to the fight downtown. Cassandra is still holding her own and as Karma gives her an offer, Black Lightning shows up to end the talks. Unfortunately, he ends up helping Karma not hurting him and the scene ends with the bad guy getting away and the good guys (and gals) pretty beat up.
The issue ends with some secrets revealed, a new team and a new philosophy going forward and a cliffhanger that shows that Batman may be down at the moment, but he's not going to go without a fight!
Two issues into Hill's story and I am loving it! Yea, this issue continues setting up the new status quo of the book, but it also has a cool mystery, some awesome action and a Batman who is being pushed further than he has in a long time. Karma focusing on saving Cassandra also takes the story away from the cliche I thought it was headed towards and Hill even managed to make age-old fan service questions about Batman feel fresh, especially taking into account what came before his story. Back to the new status quo...I love it and I think most people will.
Bits and Pieces:
Detective Comics has jumped to the top of my pile and the only thing upsetting me about the book is that DC doesn't announce Bryan Hill as it's full-time writer. Things are still being set up, but the characters are all spot on, Miguel Mendonca and the art team are doing a great job and the story is a great mix of mystery, action and fan service. If you haven't been reading Detective lately, now is your chance to have some fun! Highly recommended!
9.5/10
This is a good issue but not great. I liked the Batman and Black Lightning dialogue but I'm definitely not feeling this psychic Red Hood. And in truth I don't see how he could have beat Cassandra before he got super charged by black lightning. Even if he can read people's minds Cass has been shown to read her opponents so well that she what there next attack will be. Hope the don't make Cassandra and duke weak just to promote the fact they have a new teacher going forward in this arc. Art is a plus for this title as I've not liked it in the previous run of this series.
ReplyDelete8/10
I'm guessing that Karma is David Kain, which would give him a fighting chance against Cassandra. Even if he's not, Karma is strong enough to break a manhole cover with a stomp, which suggests semi-meta human powers, so combined with mind-reading powers, he might just be faster than Cassandra.
DeleteOn top of that, until we know what was in the letter from Basil, we have to believe that Cassandra still thinks Clayface is dead, so she's not operating at 100%.
I'm 100% in agreement that DC should consider Bryan Hill for Detective Comic's long term writer. His dialogue is fantastic, and if this story maintains its momentum, it's going to go down as my favorite Batman arc of the last 12 months.
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