DETECTIVE COMICS #9

[ GIMME MY COUPONS ] 

Is Jeremiah Arkham mad? Or is he just very-very sad? The Dark Knight does not know. And neither does Donald Rumbelow. The crime historian who went plenty of place's as a lad. Just like the creative team of Tony Sally Ann Daniel and Szymon Kudranski; with Publisher: DC Comics in April 2012.

So what’s the STORY morning glory?

Now this continuation of the 'Night of the Owls' saga, entitled 'The Owls take Arkham' we see everyone's favourite mentally deranged physiatrist, Jeremiah Arkham, like Bill Clinton with extra stains. A marked man.

To elaborate what I mean by this:

• Now you would have though that Jeremiah would be sh*ting himself when he heard that 'the Court of Owls' put him on their hit list. But no. He's more than happy to be surrounded by the nuts of Arkham Asylum, and protected by a couple of security guards as well.
• He was wrong.
• You see, whilst talking to Black Mask, Jeremiah is attacked by two Talons, whom he quickly evades with the sudden arrival of Batman. Then, once secure in an outpost, Jeremiah devises a two phase attack to get out of this jam. Tear gas and Black Mask.
• It works after a fashion. Next stop Jeremiah meets Nightwing.

In the Two-Face back-up feature, good old Harvey Dent is presented with a propositioned by scum of the Earth, Dominic Sterano - 'Find out who is blackmailing me, and I can make you a free-man once again'.

Two-Face agrees. Two-Face hound's flees. Plus Two-face suddenly gets stabbed and drops to his knees.

What is the most memorable SENTENCE OR CONVERSATION spoken in this issue?

Although this sentence wasn't a defining point in this tale, I liked it when Batman said to Nightwing about Jeremiah...

'I'll dump him off on my way'

...as if this Looney head-shrink was a bundle of washing or something.

What was the BEST thing about this issue?

I found Jeremiahs laid back and debonair attitude about the situation he was in, very relevant to the type of man he is - An overconfident pain in the ass.

Moreover, I did get a kick out of the Nocturna cameo (I haven't seen her in ages), plus the way that Clayface and the other nuts came to Batman's rescue (it made me laugh).

What was the WORST thing about this issue?

As much as I did enjoy watching Batman being saved by his enemies, at the same time it did confuse me as to why they did not attack him first. Granted, I knew that Black Mask had some sort of hold over them. But this was just touched upon very briefly within this tale, and not given a more relatable explanation.

What was the most CREATIVE thing about this issue?

STORY: In the back-up feature I was titivated by the concept that Two-Face was trying to win back his freedom by kicking the living sh*t out of the underworld. I also liked the way that the story ended too. Very 'OH MY GOD'.

However, the main part of this Bat-book was very pedestrian, even if it was a marked improvement from last issues wares. More dynamic and focused, whilst giving us an insight into the mind and life of Jeremiah Arkham.

ART: Sally Anne's pencils were a bit more murky on this issue than some of his previous efforts. It was as if he forgot who he was supposed to be channelling at times. Frank Miller or Jim Aparo.

Also, on a certain level I can say the same thing about Szymon Kudranski as well. Not channelling though. But in murkiness. Very dark.

If you had to CAST TWO CHARACTERS in this comic book, who would they be and why?

JEREMIAH ARKHAM: Jeremy Irons could play this cracked-quack in his sleep. For a start, both of their forenames are similar, right? Plus on top of that, they both look intellectual-bananas who are about to split.  

BLACK MASK: 'Heroes' good-guy / bad-guy, Adrian Pasdar, once said that he likes to wear a mask while he is perfuming. Granted, he was referring to a 'make-believe' theatrical mask at the time. Still, if the shoe fits?

Shoe? Hmmmm?

If this issue had a MOVIE TAG LINE, what would it be?

If You Want To Kill Your Physiatrist. Call 1-800 OWL-NOW For A Free Quote.

If this issue were a MOVIE, an OBJECT, or a piece of MUSIC, what would that be and why? 

OK, so the essence of this story was to save a cleaver fruit from bunch of assassins, correct? Therefore, conceptually, this tale reminds me of the Michael Keaton film he made just before 'Tim Burton's' Batman - 'The Dream Team'.

But only if I squint, tilt my head sideways, and take a lot of drugs. 

FINAL thoughts...

Not a bad issue really. I was actually quite pleased with how this one tuned out. Half of me was expecting it to be very mundane and boring in tone. Whereas the other half of me was hoping that Tony could pull something out of the bag.

He did. Only quickly though. And even then without allowing anyone to have a good look at what was in the bag.

So-so. Fair. OK. Above average. Excreta. Excreta. Excreta.

MARKS out of 10? 8