Detective Comics #1000 Preview/Discussion

[uchihafanboy]

I think if it was Jason being sarcastic about it, it would have worked.... But when he comes off as genuinely scared of the prospect, it stops working...

Yeah, I know Jason likes to makes jokes like that which is why I like him. If he had laughed after saying it I would of liked it but.. I know King has something against Jason and that fucking dog.

[Godlike13]

Its a joke. A lampoon on Jason's insecurities.

[kilderkin]

I enjoyed Action 1000 more. King's story was funny for all the wrong reasons.

Gotta say I agree

This had some fun points, and I really liked the opening story

But given the momentus issue, it felt very forgettable really

[Arsenal]

Its a joke. A lampoon on Jason's insecurities.

If that's what it was than King should've skipped straight to the punchline instead of dragging it out for as long as he did

[kilderkin]

If that's what it was than King should've skipped straight to the punchline instead of dragging it out for as long as he did

Well that's what he does

All the time

Imo

[KC]

It felt a bit front-loaded as I think Snyder/Capullo, Smith/Lee and Dini/Nguyen were the best stories. I love that Snyder and Capullo came together again to write Batman and it was a fun detective story. Smith and Lee's story was solid and interesting. Dini and Nyguyen's story was a lot of fun and felt like a great throw-back to Batman: The Animated Series.

Tynion/Alvaro-Martinez's story was a great Dick Grayson tale.

Priest/Adams story felt rushed and all over the place. King, Daniel and Joelle Jones' story looked nice, but King still can't write dialogue to save his life. Johns/Kelly Jones' story looked awful and felt rushed. I don't like what O'Neil was trying to do with his story and the fact that Leslie called him "Bruce" in front of the thugs was dumb. The Bendis/Maleev story has a massive plot-hole as the Penguin could still have killed (or got someone to kill) Bruce in his civilian identity and that would also have got rid of Batman.

[Blue22]

If that's what it was than King should've skipped straight to the punchline instead of dragging it out for as long as he did

You're asking KING not to drag something out?

[Pohzee]

The Bendis/Maleev story has a massive plot-hole as the Penguin could still have killed (or got someone to kill) Bruce in his civilian identity and that would also have got rid of Batman.

Whoosh. 10char

[KC]

Whoosh. 10char

Edit: I misread that part of the story.

[uchihafanboy]

If that's what it was than King should've skipped straight to the punchline instead of dragging it out for as long as he did

because there was no punchline. godlike is just doing damage control, whatever way he can.

[Godlike13]

Damage control? Its not like he shot Jason in the head here so he can now live his life as an unlikable hobo. Hes poking fun with them all. From Dick being annoying with his "I was Batman", to Babs asking how much older Batwoman is. This banter isn't meant to be taken very serious. Its King's attempt at comedy. Not character assassination or what have you.

[Blue22]

Yeah, I didn't really see it as anything more than a joke. Not one that was particularly funny after the first time it was said. But a joke, nonetheless. Definitely not something to be taken seriously in what was meant to be a lighthearted one-shot, set in God only knows when :/

[Nero]

I liked what Smith, Dini, Priest, Bendis, Ellis and Tomasi brought to the table. Shame we couldn't get anything from Grant Morrison and Chuck Dixon.

Didn't care for O' Neil's story because of Leslie's seemingly endless nagging. Conflicted with Snyder's story because while I like the concept of the Detective's Guild, Batman being the last to figure it out didn't jive with me. King's story is...look, it's just not in the cards for me to ever like his style of writing.

Overall, Detective Comics #1000 was worth the price of admission. Definitely looking forward to what's in store with the Arkham Knight a lot more than I did with Rogul Zaar.

[Batman Begins 2005]

Dini's was the standout by far. Smith and Priest I'd like to single out as well. Real shame Morrison was missing.

[K. Jones]

Okay I'm ready to get into it. Nothing too deep, just impressions.

1. Snyder & Capullo.
- I like this story. It wasn't Capullo's best art, and the premise was a little 'cute'. But there's some nice stuff and it overall feels like maybe a coda to Snyder's Batman run while still tying in to his Justice League stuff, Metal stuff, and just overall "Batman Big Picture". I like seeing the purple glove in one panel. I like the shout-outs to just archetypal mystery tropes like invisible ink and cryptograms. I like the selection of the Detective Guild, though admittedly there are plenty of DC ... specifically "Detective Comics" detectives, who could've made the cut that aren't so high profile. But hey, who are the man and the woman behind J'onn? And it's so nice to see Sue.

2. Smith & Lee.
I like the moral of the story, or the premise or whatever. It's not really trying to be clever, just having this back-alley dealer narrate in a way that frames up some chances for Jim Lee to depict Batman battling some classic foes. I'm pretty okay with the puns being the transitions into different villain flashbacks. And I like seeing Matches Malone used for this. So while it's definitely pretty Kevin Smithy ... it might still be one of the stronger things Smith has ever actually written for Batman. Of course you've got your Onomatopoeia cameo in there, and you've got your archetypal Jim Lee art. Not to get too deep on it but Batman having the yellow oval and yellow pouch belt, and inclusion of Bane, Zsasz, and Harley, I kind of place this in the "No Man's Land" time period.

3. Dini & Nguyen.
- First it's just freaking nice to see Dini & Nguyen working in Detective again. They had a run that while maybe not "seminal" was still strong and fondly remembered and continued in Streets of Gotham and was part of the high point of my Batman fandom. There's a lot of great tidbits her. Harley with a sign that says "Coney Island" referencing her own solo. Mad Hatter in Arkham orange with the paper hat. A more classic Riddler depiction. And yet Two-Face in his Rebirth wardrobe. Stuff I like. Condiment King. Past that, the framing devices are all nice and the hook to the whole Knute Brody thing is just good fun Batman Family stuff. Once we get to the Bat-Cave it's just like ... oh man look, Dick and Babs and Damian are there. What's not to like?

4. Ellis & Cloonan.
- Ellis's story is notable only because it's Ellis really, but it's a tight short with a nice ending and resolution. But I think this one is Cloonan's show. Those inky blacks, the movement lines, the style that captures both a noir vibe akin to your Mazzuchellis and such ... as well as a smidge of the animated vibe. And maybe even a dash of Darwyn Cooke - or at least, she's operating out of the same wheelhouse, since he pulled off that Noir / Silver Age / Animated combo style as well. Yeah, Cloonan owns this one.

5. O'Neil & Epting.
- It's probably my least favorite short. It's not because I don't like O'Neil's plotting and scripting, it's just that it features a kind of old school, outdated take on Batman. Purposefully so, yeah. I like the inclusion because I adore O'Neil and can't even imagine doing Detective # 1000 without him. And Epting is just insanely good. So similar to the last story actually, I think this one ends up being more of an artist showcase than a killer Batman story.

6. Priest & Adams.
- The flip! This one is more of a writer showcase. Of course you had to have Neal Adams in here and pairing him with Priest is logical. Neal isn't exactly the Neal of old anymore but there's still some good draftsmanship in there, even if his style has shifted over the years to something that's not my cup of tea. But as an excuse to see Priest write some more Batman and maybe even wink at the notion of him having more to say about the character? Freaking finally, right? His Batman is really good and his Batman when he turns up in Deathstroke has generally been very on-point. I like that the first thing Priest does when he gets his hands on a solo Batman tale is dive into a very O'Neil-style Ra's al Ghul thing. And hey to top it off ... every story in this issue that features a NOT Ric Grayson Dick Grayson helping out boosts it like + 50 points. I hope Priest gets a bat-book one of these days.

7. Bendis & Maleev.
- I'll generally agree with most assessments - this is sort of a jokey riff, the old "Penguin kinda sucks but he's a survivor" scenario. And it's sort of more set in the Batman Beyond time period really. I think Bendis's Penguin dialogue isn't my favorite but I thought his Bruce was okay and on point with the waiting till the last minute one-liner. So I'll say this also ends up being one you enjoy for the art - the opportunity to see Alex Maleev go deep on some Bat Iconography. I'm not opposed to Penguin being generally clever enough to have figured it out, but it'll also never stick as an "In-Continuity" concept.

8. Johns & Jones.
- This one is weird. I don't dislike Johns' concept here or his latest "Future Version" or "Tomorrow". Especially because it's ultimately a figment of Bruce's wishful thinking. And I don't dislike Jones's art because it's Jones and that's what you get when you sign him. And it's fitting for a sort of dream sequence storyline to use Jones. I just think it's kind of an ill fit. Like Johns' scenario would have been depicted better with a more realistic bent - a Jason Fabok would've been the ideal here (proof of concept, "Gothtopia", where Fabok actually did design dreamed up alt-versions of everyone). And of course Jones would've been better suited to a more freaky Gothic Noir thing. But ultimately I don't dislike this story, even if it falls to my like, second-least-favorite. It's just an odd duck.

9. Tynion & Martinez-Bueno.
- The art is solid. And Tynion is solid. While this doesn't feel specifically like an extension of his own Detective run (which barely featured Dick at all but DID feature "more Bat-Family") it's not entirely out of place. But as a single story it's pretty solid, as yet another showcase of Cool Dick Grayson (who deserves as many spotlights in Detective as Batman). And all in FIVE pages. It actually feels like a decent pitch or back-door pilot for Tynion to start writing some Nightwing, which wouldn't upset me too much.

10. King, Daniel & Jones.
- First off, Joelle Jones upstages Daniel at every corner. I dig Daniel and he's pretty intrinsically a part of my favorite Bat-Era. Morrison described him as having a sort of a half-way style between Jim Aparo and Jim Lee, and I can't disagree. But Jones's simple inky panels at the cemetary are just some gorgeous Batmanning, whereas Daniel seems like he didn't have time in his schedule (he is working the main Batman book currently, yeah?). With the right amount of time his work can be pretty darned polished so it's usually pretty easy to spot when it's not. As for King's story beat itself - I liked it a lot, just because it's such a celebration of the Bat Family and Bruce's paradoxical attitude. It's such a goofy concept, but it's so Batman, that he'd "family photo" periodically like this. Oh and hey, DICK "NIGHTWING" GRAYSON. + 50 points. Is this supposed to take place during the course of the King run? It certainly could - Bruce is back in the Hush costume and Babs is rocking the prototype costume, Jason isn't in his crowbar hooded outfit, Duke is full-on Signal, so that sets it definitely after Metal, after the Wedding, after Cold Days, but perhaps before Dick gets shot in the head. Babs' costume would be a debut here, while Jason wouldn't have shifted gears yet. After all, Jay's "after what I did" references could ... well, refer to freaking anything really. He does a lot of janky crap that they all don't approve of, all the time.

11. Janin's page looks like a discarded cover from War of Jokes and Riddles. Except his Riddler didn't rock the Frank Gorshin in that story. I wish he had of course! Actually all three look like they're meant to look pretty Golden Age. I dig it. Fabok's spread is pretty epic. The layout is a little strange, the placements definitely haphazard, but all gorgeously rendered so it ends up working well regardless. Plus it has Dick as Nightwing, so +50. Conner & Mounts' image is kind of strange. I get the symbolism and like the style, it's just kind of weird to see Batman, with astral heavenly Thomas & Martha done in this style. Moreover if you look at the bottom half of the image, the Batman & art deco gargoyle & city, it kind of clashes with the spectral starry night top that takes up so much more of the page. But I'm not sure if that contrast makes it more jarring or kind of more beautiful so I'll roll with it.