Detective Comics #1062 Review

 

Gothic Knight

Written by: Ram V

Art by: Rafael Albuquerque, Dave Stewart, and Ariana Maher

Cover Price: $5.99

Release Date: July 26, 2022

It's time to welcome Ram V and Rafael Albuquerque onto Detective Comics, and I couldn't be happier.  No, I am not as fond of Mr. V as some are, but he has a huge thing going for him... he isn't Mariko Tamaki!  I am not here to upset the four fans out there that might have liked what Tamaki did on this book, but let's be honest; it was straight-up garbage!  Mariko has her niche (she is an Eisner winner, for Christ's sake), but Batman is not it.     That's fine, though, every writer has their thing, and now that she has freed up some time, she can start working on a sequel to Brush and Hobo or something.  I didn't know I needed to get so much off my chest!  Thank you for giving me the opportunity, like you had any choice, and now let's review Detective Comics #1062.

Detective Comics #1062 has the gothic vibe, from the kick-ass Detective logo on the cover to Albuquerque's dark and brooding art.  But, of course, Ram V gets in on it all as well, starting hiring with a stage play that may remind some of Tom King's, but let's not write this off that soon!  

My problems with Ram V's writing are strictly personal.  I find his stories often lack enough forward momentum to keep me interested, and the man seems to fall in love with narration boxes and the flowery prose he puts in them.  I will be 100% honest, the first couple of pages here threw up multiple red flags, but once we got to Batman, I was enjoying this.

It's been a while since this book had a competent Batman, and I'm sure Ram V has noticed.  Now, that might lead some writers to give readers a taste of the Bat-God to kick things off, but Ram, thankfully, doesn't go that route.  Instead, he gives us a thoughtful, persistent Batman that assesses the whole situation around him and is constantly learning and adjusting to the fight.  He might even be figuring out an advantage to a battle that won't happen until next weekend too!

The story's beginning involves a possible Lazarus-Zombiefied Bruno Maroni, a cliched warning from Talia, and a concerned but still shit-talking Nightwing.  While Bruce's voice is not perfect, it's still pretty good, and I liked V's Dick Grayson a lot.

Things shift a bit by the end, and this is where I started becoming a bit wary.  Recently, Ram V's books have been focusing on side characters at the expense of the main draw, and while I am intrigued by who might be the big bad here, the way they were introduced threw off the focus a bit.  Then there is a surprise villain to wrap it up, and I did not expect that!  I also rolled my eyes and wished we didn't get it, but we will just have to wait and see how it all comes together.  I just hope it doesn't take too long.

I like what Ram V is cooking here and always love Albuquerque's art, especially when it fits the story.  There is a couple of mysteries brewing, but this is Detective Comics, so that shouldn't be so out of the ordinary, but here we are.  I guess the best way to sum all of this up is to say I am glad Ram V and Rafael Albuquerque are on this book and look forward to reading more.

(There is a backup story by Si Spurrier and Dani that was okay and fit the feel of this book.  However,  it didn't affect my score one way or the other, but it might be something Si Spurrier fans would want to check out.

Bits and Pieces:

Detective Comics #1062 kicks off Ram V's and Rafael Albuquerque's run with a story full of mystery and intrigue, which is cool but also challenging to rate.  I am an Albuquerque fan, and he doesn't disappoint.  Ram V's story doesn't either, but unfortunately,  I can't tell if it's because it's really good, or because we only get a tiny bit of it.  I am hoping it's the former!

7.8/10