Detective Comics #994 Review

The Thing Who Laughs

Written by: Peter J. Tomasi
Art by: Doug Mahnke, Jaime Mendoza, David Baron, and Rob Leigh
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: December 12, 2018

Tomasi is finally here!  I wish that DC would have given us an add like they did with Bendis since the reason Tomasi is writing Detective Comics is that Bendis snatched his Superman book from him.  I'm actually glad it worked out this way since it gives Tomasi a chance to rebound from his not so good Detective run at the end of the New 52... a run that was bound to fail with all the crap they put Tomasi through while doing it.  So, how was this brand new start that will lead us to the big 1000 issue?  Let's find out...



After a brief, but an awesome looking recap of Batman's origin, we get right to the matter at hand.  A couple has been murdered just like the Waynes.  Yea, they are in an aquarium, but other than that, they and the murder are pretty exact.

After a very impatient Batman gets them out of the aquarium tank using explosive methods, we get a Gordon who remembers clothing better than most and a Batman who almost slips up big time.  Batman continues being a detective (crazy, right?!?) and figures out these two unfortunate souls died before being made up to look like the Waynes (with some gruesome added details as well) on what is revealed to be the anniversary of their deaths!  Dom Dom Dommmmmm!!!

Alright, a couple pages in and I am already on the trolley!  Detective work, great art and a cool mystery all rolled into one of the best starts we've had on this book in a long time!

We continue with Leslie Tompkins and see that the Bat Signal may have the worst luck of any piece of equipment over the last couple of weeks!  It's being tossed around by a... well, I don't know what the heck it is!  It looks like a symbiote version of the Nemesis from Resident Evil 3 and that means it is scary as hell!

Tomasi continues by giving us a tension-filled awesome bit of action movie goodness that ends with Batman and this thing face to face.  While Batman talks a little shit, this monster says nothing and while Bats does get Leslie away from it, the damage is already done.  The cliffhanger is way cook and I can't see how anybody will not be excited about this opening chapter.

Yep, I loved it!  This issue had what I want from a Batman book...detective work, kickass action, character moments and a cool new villain.  The fact that it ties into the Waynes deaths and also the crazy twist at the end made things even cooler.  As of now, I am 100% onboard!

Doug Mahnke's art doesn't hurt either.  It is awesome and everything looks great.  What's even better is that it is easy to follow even as the action ramps up.  That may sound like a simple thing, but it goes a long way with me and it's been something hard to find nowadays.

Bits and Pieces:

I can't recommend this issue enough.  If you are a Batman fan turned off by what we've been getting lately in this or the solo Bat-title, this may be a ticket back to your favorite character.  It is so nice to like Batman again!

9.0/10