Detective Comics #1000 Review

Written by: Various (See Below)
Art by: Various (See Below)
Cover Price: $9.99
Release Date: March 27, 2019

Here it is! Finally, Detective Comics #1000! We've all been looking forward to this for so long, and I was really looking forward to doing a complete review of the whole thing, but the week of its release was just not a good one when it came to family and writing for my own blog. So Jim is reviewing most of the stories while I'm only reviewing 3 of them. Let's dig into the one-thousandth issue of Detective Comics!

Writer: Scott Snyder
Art: Greg Capullo, Jonathan Glapion, FCO Placencia, and Tom Napolitano

I'm sure that by the time Detective Comics #2000 comes out, DC will have either developed cloning technology or will have gone the Futurama route and have Snyder and Capullo's heads in jars ready to tell another Bat story.  They certainly have earned that right and this little diddy shows just that.  If you were a fan of the duo's Batman during the New 52, this one will make you yearn for those days to be back as we see Batman working one of his oldest cases.  There are the usual twists and turns that may be a bit too clever for the room at times, but when it all ends with a room full of the greatest detectives ever (one of which is an awesome early Detective Comics shout out!), I had a huge smile on my face.  The art is great throughout, but what I loved most of all is that Snyder gives readers a story celebrating the World's Greatest Detective and everything he's done while also showing us all that the journey has only just begun.  These are the types of stories I look for in these celebration issues and this one sets the right tone for the rest of the book.

9.0/10

Writer: Kevin Smith

Art: Jim Lee, Scott Williams, Alex Sinclair, and Todd Klein

I was really excited to see that Kevin Smith was going to be included in this huge issue and having Jim Lee with him is just icing on the cake.  Right off the bat, I was glad there was no pissing of any pants in this issue and while a story was a bit cliched, the dialogue and art made it a quick and cool read.  The story had a bit of familiarity throughout that I couldn't quite put my finger on (though a similar thing did happen in the New 52 Nightwing book), but that actually made it a bit more enjoyable.  I'll admit that anything with Matches Malone ad a snarky Alfred in it is tops in my book and this had both...double trouble!  Plus, the whole thing ended in a twist that wasn't shocking but was cool all the same.  In other words, I liked it and would love for Kevin Smith to get off his duff and write an ongoing at DC again!

8.0/10

Writer: Paul Dini
Art: Dustin Nguyen, Derek Fridolfs, John Kalisz, and Steve Wands

In a twist to his awesome Batman: TAS story "Almost Got 'Im", Paul Dini gives us the history of one of Gotham's worst henchman, Knute Brody.  Seems as if old Brody has messed up quite a few of the Rogue's big plans through the years and here we get to see them vent about it.  Mad Hatter, Riddler, Harley, and Ivy tell their stories and by the end, we get a twist and a nice Bat Family moment.  I don't know if this is classic Detective Comics, but fans of the Animated Series will get a kick out of it I'm sure.

7.5/10

Writer: Warren Ellis

Art: Becky Cloonan. Jordie Bellaire, and Simon Bowland

This one is pretty violent as it shows the Batman that is always prepared, the master tactician and also the Batman who has nothing to lose.  Warren Ellis goes full out with his Batman...a Batman who hurts criminals and may even enjoy doing it.  Sure, he doesn't kill (take that Zach Snyder!), but he doesn't mind getting really close.  Becky Cloonan's art is great and it may be the fanboy speaking, but it may be my favorite art in the whole book.  Ellis and Cloonan don't waste any space here and give readers some kickass action!

9.0/10

Writer: Denny O'Neil

Art: Steve Epting, Elizabeth Breitweiser, and Andworld Designs

This was another story I was looking forward to when the list of creative teams was announced.  Unfortunately, it was only okay as we go back to what makes Batman tick and is it good for him and Gotham City.  I liked seeing Leslie Thompkins involved, but the whole thing is pretty generic and Leslie seemingly outs Bruce Wayne in the middle of it all.  I liked the art, but the only reason it's here is to get an O'Neil story in the book...I Just wish it was a better one.

6.0/10

Writer: Christopher Priest

Art: Neal Adams, Dave Stewart, and Willie Shubert

I am a Neal Adams fanboy so this was another story I was looking forward to.  Preist writes a story that is full of revenge and redemption and while it says at the end that it's only the beginning, I think I had enough of it already.  It had a classic vibe to it and overall, it wasn't horrible, just boring and forgettable.  I did like Neal Adams art, but not much else here got me charged up.

5.0/10

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artists: Alex Maleev, Josh Reed
Story Review by Joey Casco of TheWineStalker.net

This is a story told by the Penguin about how he knows that Batman's secret identity is Bruce Wayne and, in my opinion, it's the best work by Bendis since he came over to DC a year ago. I loved everything about it. The art is awesome, especially when it comes to Penguin's expressions. The dialogue was great and words are not wasted. The story overall was just really well done. And I thought the surprise twist of who he was telling the story to was well executed. It's a perfectly wrapped Penguin story in 8 pages.

9.5/10

Writer: Geoff Johns

Art: Kelley Jones, Michelle Madsen, and Rob Leigh

This is a crazy one.  Geoff Johns gives us a cool future (Jason?  Really???) and a possible ending for the Dark Knight.  There is a cool shoutout to Long Holloween and while there isn't really that much going on, Kelley Jones' art is great as always.  I have this odd deal where I liked this story and can't really put my finger on why.  

7.0/10

Writer: Peter J. Tomasi

Art: Alvaro Martinez-Bueno, Raul Fernandez, Brad Anderson, and Sal Cipriano

While I was hoping we were going to get the answer to the First Victim mystery that Tynion left from his run on Detective Comics, what we got was yet another look at Dick Grayson becoming Robin.  Now, Dick Grayson is my favorite character of all-time and I love any time we get to see him in the old Robin suit, but this just felt off.  The art was great, but the story was just another retelling and felt like lazy...instead of a celebration, it came off as a rerun.  If you go with the "If you haven't seen it...", I guess some may get something out of this.  I did not.

5.0/10

Writer: Tom King
Artists: Tony S. Daniel, Joelle Jones
Story Review by Joey Casco of TheWineStalker.net

Everybody in the Batfamily, and I mean everybody, get together on a rooftop and says ridiculously stupid things while Bruce visits the grave of his parents in the rain while we still have to read them saying ridiculously stupid things. And then Batman shows up and they take a picture together. Then he leaves the picture at the gravesite in the rain. I cannot justify saying any more about this. It's bad.

2/10

Writer: Peter J. Tomasi
Artists: Doug Mahnke, Jaime Mendoza, David Baron, Rob Leigh
Story Review by Joey Casco of TheWineStalker.net

Just like in Action Comics #1000 when Bendis got to set up where he'd be going with his upcoming Action Comics run, we get Tomasi doing the same for Detective Comics here.

The focus on art is the real brilliance of this story, as it's all single pages of art instead of frames. There's somebody telling us about Batman and how he's the real villain. Batman, he says, is a broken man that preys on the weak. It shows Batman defeating the Joker, riding Killer Crock and using a chain as reins, breaking Mister Freeze's glass dome with his fists. "The Batman is a purveyor of pain. He leaps without looking." as he battles Man-bat in mid-air, and then he's shirtless in the dessert sword fighting Talia and Ra's in the desert. "Is the Batman immortal? Or is he only human? I intend to find out." Poison Ivy, Catwoman, Bane, a Talon, Morgan, all while this mystery narrator dissects Batman's character.

And then, on the final page, we see what looks to be an armored Batman from medieval times holding a sword with a burning modern city behind him. "Batman. Say it fast. Really fast. As fast as you can. Over and over. So, what do you hear? Badman. Bad. Man. Batman. Badman. To me... now and forever... one and the same."

I wasn't all that excited about this Arkham Knight character that's going to be the protagonist in Detective Comics for a bit but now I'm really intrigued. Bring it, Pete!

8/10

Bits and Pieces:

As a celebration of Detective Comics and of Batman himself, this is a good read.  The art is outstanding throughout and while not every story hits its mark, most get pretty darned close.  I think that everyone will be able to find something they love here and if that's enough for you, go grab a copy.

7.5/10