[Spoilers] Detective Comics Annual 2 - Discussion thread

[Korath]

So...

I kind of like this issue, even if it has one of my triggers in it, that is US writers using US criminal behavior in France. By that, I mean that the bank robbers early in the issue wouldn't have been armed like that. Roberies mostly happen in daylight, really, and most robbers aren't equiped with heavy weapons. Only terrorists are, really.

Other than that... I really like to see Gordon supervising the rookies and talking with Batman casually - it's a nice change of tone compared to the main Batman book ! Bruce and Alfred's interactions are also spot on. I really liked them here, the blasé attitude from Alfred and Bruce genuine but funny way to admit how important his majordome his.

It's also a great way to incorporate former continuity in the present here. I know that's what Morrison did, but I'm always glad to see other writers get their hands on it. It gives a far greater sense of plausability to the whole story, I think.

I'll add to that once I'll re-read the whole thing, but overall, an excellent issue for me.

[scary harpy]

The Eraser had returned.

Updated with interesting look, too.

[Chubistian]

It started strong but ended up pretty bland. The setup and mystery was cool, but once the reaper's identity is revealed, it took a dive. Art was pretty cool

[SixSpeedSamurai]

I enjoyed the first 3/4 of it. The ending was meh. Glad to have the Reaper back. Seemed like a lot of simularities to the Phantasms story to me though.

[PurpleGlovez]

It's long overdue to see the Reaper codified into canon again, though I wonder why Tomasi felt the need to ignore Barr's follow-up tales and have Bruce say he never saw Rachel again. Also, Batman found the Reaper base way too easily. I miss the days when they at least tried to have Batman do some real detective work.

[K. Jones]

I liked this one a lot. I agree the story itself was pretty rote, full of the usual cliches, nothing we haven't seen a dozen times. But I thought inside all that "by-the-books" stuff there were great little easter eggs and tweaks and stuff to keep it fresh. The update of Eraser was solid. Seeing Batman and Alfred in a story like this was a breath of fresh air because it feels like forever since the last time we got one - and this is really about as "classic" a Batman set-up as you can get, with the whole nine yards - the Gotham patrol, the Alfred and Bruce at home banter, the using the "Billionaire Playboy Bruce Wayne" life to get access for a Batman case internationally. Even the "old foe with a new dynamic that's a legacy that's also an organization" angle.

So yeah ... Eraser getting a modern twist is funny. One-off, sure, but funny. He deserves a modern twist and I like that his gimmick remains literal. And kind of horrific!

So hell yeah ... Batman's book shelf. Because I feel like some of those books were easter eggs and nods but some were definitely maybe perhaps teases! RED CASEBOOK?!

And yeah I think making the Reaper into a mastermind running a few Reapers even fixes a few disparities or explains away a few "Reaper Appearances" over the years. There was that issue where Damian was dead and Bruce was using V.R. to flashback to a time when he and Robin fought the Reaper where I was just like "wow Capullo draws a fantastic Reaper ... but wait ... you can't just drop The Reaper into a flashback willy-nilly."

[K. Jones]

It's long overdue to see the Reaper codified into canon again, though I wonder why Tomasi felt the need to ignore Barr's follow-up tales and have Bruce say he never saw Rachel again. Also, Batman found the Reaper base way too easily. I miss the days when they at least tried to have Batman do some real detective work.

I recall Rachel having become a Nun or something ... but the follow-up I'm specifically thinking of is the RetroActive Flashback 1980s one-shot where there were other copycat Reapers. I thought at least Bruce's mention of "I suspect they're copycats" to at least be tangentially referencing that story. What was the other follow-up? (I loved those one-shots - the one where Lucius Fox's son Timothy (two years pre-Luke, but essentially the same character) had been running around in a second-tier young punk Fox/Shark/Vulture Trio was pretty fantastic and want it to be canon in Luke's backstory.)

[kevink31593]

I thought the brief bit about Batman providing Gordon with nicotine gum was a nice Easter egg! I think Tomasi probably stuck that in there intentionally, as a counter to the original Reaper story, Year Two, when Batman gifted Gordon with a new pipe. Times have changed.