Detective Comics #1030 Review

Writer: Peter J. Tomasi
Art: Bilquis Evely
Colors: Mat Lopes

Letters: Rob Leigh
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: November 10th, 2020

In his dreams, mayoral candidate Nakano is engulfed in flames. His past, what happened to his partner, and how it should have been him, is haunting him. And even the Batman finds him in his sleep. Out of the fire, the dark knight comes, handing Nakano the eye that he lost. "My eye. It's gone." he says, and Batman replies "No it's not. It's right here in the palm of my hand." All of the memories that the eye has seen now belong to Batman and the Joker, and this is what happens when you put yourself between vigilantes and villains.

Nakano wakes up in a cold sweat, and his wife tries to calm him down. But Nakano becomes enraged and doubles down on his stance that vigilantes must be unmasked. It is a fight that he has to win for the future of his unborn child.

From here the issue delves into what happened with Batman and Robin. How Damian said he would never be Robin again, how he gave Bruce an ass-whooping, and how Batman just let him. How Bruce had hoped that Damian could keep his rage in check, how he always felt Damian was always older than he actually was, and how, after he quit, Damian snuck into the Batcave and took Bruce's black book. Bruce is a father filled with regret.

A meeting of the Batfamily is called. Red Hood, Batwoman, Nightwing, Spoiler, The Signal, and Batgirl. They've all been getting attacked by the anti-vigilante group headed by The Mirror, who holds the same belief as Nakano. It starts with a scream for help, and when they go save the victim, they're attacked instead. The Mirror's operation has become a big problem! After the question is asked of who actually called the meeting, a group surrounds them screaming "NO MORE BATS!"

And then, at another location, we get a little glimpse of what Damian is up to...

Bits and Pieces

You get to see what is going on inside two character's heads with everything going on. We see Nakano's drive and fear, and what happened with Damian through his own father's eyes. I like the idea of Nakano wanting to unmask vigilantes, but the extension of that with The Mirror really feels played out. And it's taking away from what should be the focus right now: Damian. The art is pretty damn cool with its sketchy style in some frames, and also pretty bad in others (especially during the Batfamily meeting). 

6/10