Detective Comics #1051 Review

 

Psycho-Pirate Qu'est-ce Que C'est

Writer: Matthew Rosenberg, Mariko Tamaki

Artist: Fernando Blanco, Max Raynor

Cover Price: $4.99

Release Date: February 1, 2022

I haven't enjoyed this Shadows of the Bat weekly story as much as others, but things can change quickly.  I need the puzzle pieces to start fitting together and see this is something big and vital.  Simply put, I need to see I am not wasting my time and money on a story that talks big but reads small.  Maybe Psycho-Pirate showing up will do just that.  Let's find out...

The issue opens with a flashback that shows how Psycho-Pirate got to Gotham and tied up in Toby Wear's scheme.  Now, Toby mentions he and Roger are long-time friends, possibly pointing to an earlier flashback of a young Toby and his friend, "Robert."I hope that's not the case with the name difference, but who knows right now.

My biggest issue is that this whole story seems to be about a money con pulled by Tobias Wear.  Since he is a new character, we don't know much of his past and whether he is good or shooting too high here.  I mean, the actual setup of the con seems more on the continued idiocy of Mayor Nakano and everyone else involved for allowing the Tower to exist without any real stats on the books.  At first, it seemed like nobody could even find any medical credentials for Wear!  Random thugs and undercover Bat-Family members make up most of the staff we see and mums the word on patients' actual treatment and medication.

Mariko Tamaki tries to fudge all of this by saying Dr. Chase Meridian is on staff to make sure everything is on the up-and-up.  The problem is, we all know it's not, and so Tamaki again changes things up by just having Psycho-Pirate get Nakano so excited he'll sign the fat check.  Is that just going to be a personal check written to Wear?

I want to talk about Dr. Meridian before moving on.  Why is she even in this story?  Hopefully, some development makes her more vital, now that Nakano is writing the check.  Also, why did Wear even set up Psycho-Pirate to be Dr. Ocean?  Maybe it's to chuckle at the Ocean/Pirate connection, but wouldn't it have been better to keep him hidden?  It's not like him being Dr. Ocean helps the con going on at the Tower since Wear isn't letting anyone see Ocean or explaining his treatment.  Hey, I'm not a comic book writer or a con artist, but if I were Tamaki, I'd have Wear claim that he is curing the patients through experimental hypnosis while Psycho-Pirate controlled them from the shadows.  That plan seems like an "Up to the Plate Homerun" to me.

The story continues with Wear trying too many angles of his con and Psycho-Pirate not getting enough Mountain Dew.  After Roger collapses from exhaustion, Arkham Tower explodes in violence.  My favorite part of this is Helena acts all Bourne Identity, kicking ass and staring at her hands afterward.  Luckily, Wear shakes Psycho-Pirate into making everyone go to sleep and possibly erase their memories.  Unfortunately, those are not emotions, making me wonder if Tamaki knows what Psycho-Pirate's powers are.

This issue didn't convince me of anything yet.  The book looks great, but Tamaki is bending the rules and twisting her narrative in ways that feel more reactionary than a well-planned out story should.  Because of that, the pacing feels way off here, though I still hold out hope it will all come together soon.

The House of Wayne backup continues with THE BOY getting everyone's attention and eventually being "adopted" by Penguin.  I am intrigued with who THE BOY is, but I hope it's not Nero XIV.  At this point, however, it seems silly that nobody is calling him by his name.

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Bits and Pieces:

Detective Comics #1051 continues the Shadows of the Bat /  The Tower story by forcing the narrative forward, using Psycho-Pirate to solve the problems having him around has caused.  This issue adds some information, but there isn't much overall progression overall.

5.5/10