DETECTIVE COMICS #42

[ HANGING FOR A BARGAIN ] 

When I was a young lad, my Mummy and Daddy told me that when I got older I'd be able to do what Brian and Francis did to this story. DC Comics published it in July, 2015. And yes! That's correct. They did stick it somewhere the sun don't shine. It's somewhere in London I think.

To QUOTE any Cop Based Movie or TV Show made in the eighties: 'Don't worry, partner, I got your back'.

THE REVIEW:

Now I know this may sound strange, and I know this may sound weird, plus I should most probably talk about what I'm about to say in another part of this review, but (get on with it), on a narrative level this issue of Detective Comics reminded me of a relay race.

Wait up. Before you start laughing, let me just say, you know how in a relay race, one member of the team passes the baton onto another member of the team, whilst collectively trying their best to reach the finishing line? Well, that's precisely what the basic plot of this story does in practice. It passes on the narrative baton from one plot point to the next.

For instance, in the first scene we discover that Batman is being targeted by a masked cult called La Morte (or 'The Dead' in French). Then in the next scene we discover that La Morte is being investigated by the Gotham City Police Department because they believe they've kidnapped a member of the Powers Corps (the tech company behind Jim's Bat Suit). And a few scenes later, surprise-surprise, we finally find out that the GCPD is also being investigated by Renee Montoya as they may have a corruptive element within their ranks, to the chagrin of Harvey Bullock, who's actually going out with the corruptive element in question, Detective Yip.

There. Do you see what I'm trying to say about how the narrative has a very kinetic and fast paced flow? Batman > La Morte > GCPD > Corruptive Element. A flow that I feel very nicely joined together each plot-thread without making the overall tale seem too contrived or too forced. 

Personally speaking, I loved the way each story-point handed itself to the next one, and this can be clearly seen in the sequence where Harvey tried to put Jim at ease for his bad showing as Batman (Poor fella). Then there were also those other scenes that made each part of the plot more exciting and stylish -- like those very 80s inspired action scenes (Isn't it a shame Jim took a kicking from those crooks), or that not so tender moment between Harvey and Renee (Gay Pride, anyone, hint-hint!), plus lets not forget that one station house scene which I... I... hmm, no. I won't say any more. Nothing except check out my musical section to see what I feel about this part of the plot.

Now on an artistic level, I'd say Fernando Blanco could do no wrong in my eyes. Being a big fan of his simple yet earthy illustrations, I personally felt that his pictures worked very well with Frances' words and Brians' guidelines. And to me, at the moment this newish creative team is starting to shape up as the next successor to Gotham Central. Which is a good thing in my book. In anyone's book really. 

Well done, guys. Please keep up the good work.

THE MUSIC:

As implied previously, I'm going to musically match up this comic book in a similar fashion as it's narrative structure and kinetic pace. So let's see, I'd say Batman's armor is blue > Cops wear a blue uniform > And I'm going to team up this adventure with the theme tune to 'Hill Street Blues'.

THE COMPARISON:

Ops! I think I've answered this question already, haven't I? So yeah, once again, for reasons I talked about up above, I'm now going to compare this comic to a relay race because of it's narrative flow.

  

THE CONCLUSION:

At the very end of this issue Jim Gordon does something strange with the Bat-suit whilst loosing his fight with La Morte. So just for fun -- Merde -- let's see if you can guess what that something is out of the following eight options. Because does he...

1. Use it to tune into a local radio station, before challenging his competitors to a dance off.
2. Polish it with a dead dog as it's gotten a bit messy.
3. Make it into a hammock and have a quick nap.
4. Take it off, and get ready for a fist fight.
5. Sell it on ebay because it's cr*p.
6. Connect with its kinetic flow and devise a narrative structure.
7. Stick it somewhere the sun don't shine (London).
8. Eat off it, because it's just been polished with a dead dog.

Nuff said.