Remember Your Calendar...

Every now in then it is nice to get a pleasant surprise with a comic book. Especially when that book happens to be another Annual issue and isn't being handled by the current writer/artist duo that is working on the main series. I will admit, I've been picking up Batman Detective Comics recently for the incredible artwork by Francis Manapul. By far one of the best looking Batman series in a long time, and with an actual mystery to solve through the issues, it's a welcomed change from the last "Gothtopia" story arc and even the Arkham War arc. So I was a little disappointed when I saw that the current Annual for Batman Detective Comics was not going to be handled by Manapul. But you know what, regardless, I have got to say that this book was handled properly, by giving us an interesting origin story for a classic Batman villain and by adding more depth to the current Icarus story arc. It's a packed house of creators on this book, and I will let you know why it's worth a read...

This book feels like either a good starting point for readers who have yet to read the current run of Batman Detective Comics or as added bonus that gives more backing to the current readers. A great balance done perfectly well here, with a series that is currently competing other Batman titles and the big guns like Superman and Justice League titles, Detective Comics feels like a breath of fresh air from the current super heroes tittles. This book is written by Brian Buccellato and hosting three different artist; Werther Dell'Edera, Jorge Fornes and Scott Hepburn. And while this is a new team to the book, the pace and feel to this world stays in the same pace, the book feels like a lost chapter instead of a new book in general. The art is used to change through the different ongoing stories, but each artist does an incredible job of making sure each page is looks greats and each panel carries the story along. And seeing how they have to live up to the incredible pages from Manapul, these guys do a great job in taking care of the artwork responsibilities. We get more of what we wanted from the pages of Icarus and more, we follow Batman as he is tracking down a drug deal going on in Gotham, we see the danger of this new drug product and we also get to see the origin of a potential and deadly foe for the Dark Knight. It's a really cool surprise, sort of, you can kind of call it already just by the cover and by the title of this blog, which now that I think about it, I am sorry about that, was the best name I could come up with. But it is really cool how we see him become that character, and that I will not spoil. But a very clever process and a great story overall. 

I will say this though, the book is only 50% really if you haven't been reading the current story of Batman Detective Comics, you will be more then a bit confused and all. But even that being said, I think it holds up really well as a stand alone issue. The extra dollar on the price tag feels justified given the size of the comic, and the overall product is definitely worth your money. So if you want to get started on a Batman book that feels like a classic Batman book, with mystery and crime solving and character, then I highly recommend this book to you. With Scott Snyder dominating as far as current Batman goes, it is nice to see some healthy competition. And if DC Comics can keep this kind of consistency with all their titles, we are in for a great era in comics.

Thank you guys for taking the time to read this little review, I would love to hear from you guys though, what did you think about this issue? Are you reading the current run of Detective Comics Batman? And what books would you recommend. Leave a comment below or shoot me a twit over at my Twitter account, @ChileanStorm and on Instagram and all those good pages. Got some long nights ahead of me, but I am going to my best to keep the comic book reviews coming in. Much love and I will see you guys later, keep chasing the storm.