DETECTIVE COMICS #45

[ SHINE A LIGHT ON MY SALE ] 

Look into my eyes. Look deep, deep, into my eyes, and tell me what you see. Do you see a man, a bat, a cop, a monster, or something else entirely? Something else created in October, 2015, by Peter Tomasi, Marcio Takara, with a little help from DC Comics.

TO QUOTE Gabe Paul: 'There is no such thing as second place. Either you're first or you're nothing'.

THE REVIEW:

For the sake of simplicity I'd like to break down this issue of Detective Comics into the following four sections.

Section one, the introductory scene, is two pages long, and comprises of a sequence where we see a group of Indian business-people, presumably crooked, getting killed by a strange water-based apparition. Now in of itself, this scene is basically a tease, and is put into place merely to show us, the reader, that there is a dilemma, as of yet not fully explained.

Funnily enough, you can also say exactly the same thing about the second section too. Or as I'd like to call it, 'The Justice League goes to Wayne Manor' section! Essentially, what we see next is the League paying Bruce Wayne a visit at Wayne Manor, with the intent of figuring out how bad he is, as well as asking him for some help on a past case. But as we all know, Bruce isn't able to help them out, is he? Especially since his brain has had a thorough spring cleaning! And this point is then substantiated even more so with some help from Wonder Woman's lasso of truth (good job), plus some carefully chosen words by Alfred (bravo!).  

I must admit, there was a small part of me that didn't see the point of including this scene: As all it did, conceptually, was to show that Bruce is still Bruce, the League is still the League, whilst totally disregarding Superman's involvement with him over on the pages of Batman #43 and the Batman / Superman book. That said, however, I did enjoy it's very lively spirit, and the way in which this section touched upon certain aspects of Bruce's back-story. Plus, of course, seeing Bruce with the League is always a blast, no matter how fleeting or superficial it is.

As a matter a fact this scene was so tonally uplifting, as a scene in itself, regardless of its overall intent, the two scenes that then came afterwards felt fairly disappointing in comparison.

You see, scene three was the usual call to arms type of a scene. It started off with Jim Gordon enjoying a children's ball game in the park, watching and seeing and reminiscing as you'd expect. When suddenly, ring-ring, he's called up on the phone, and asked to help out with a couple of airplanes on the loose. Of course, he helps. Biff-Bang-Pow-Obligatory cameo! And in so doing then bumps into, surprise-surprise, the Justice League.

So yes. That is right. A large portion of this book is dedicated to a fairly long-winded plot-revelation we all could have guessed by looking at the cover alone. So Bat-Jim joins the League. Ta-Dah! Joining him with some nicely paced dialogue provided by Peter Tomasi (love the way he makes Jim more of an every-man type character), which is complemented by some simplistic visuals provided by Marcio Takara (simple, yet gritty in tone).

Whatever next? Will Jim quit the League and form a band of Outsiders? Ouch! Let's hope not. Too soon. Too soon. 

THE MUSIC:

If you ever watched the Ben Stiller film, Mystery Men, then you know that this is a comic book movie about a group of heroes trying to replace a fallen one. Sound familiar? Sure it does! Especially if you replace the word 'heroes' with the singular word, 'hero', and the comic book theme to this one sung by Kel Mitchell, who co-starred in the flick.

THE COMPARISON:

For all intense and purposes, Jim Gordon is a substitute for Batman until he gets better again. Or in other words, he is a substitute teacher, Hint-Hint, filling in for someone else until they return.

Comparison made.

THE CONCLUSION:

At the end of this issue the Justice League transports Bat-Jim to a very peculiar location. So -- wait for it, wait for it -- just for fun, can you guess where they all go? Could it be...

1. The Thrift store: To buy some thrift.
2. Karbul: Not a car pool.
3. The land of make believe: As paraphrased in a song sung by the English pop-group, Bucks-Fizz.
4. Funky-Town: Next door to Frigid-Ville.
5. A desolate and barren waste-land: Somewhere way above Jim's pay-grade.
6. Heaven: I hear it's a place on Earth.
7. The Justice League's Orbiting Satellite: Does that still exist?
8. Time Square: So they can tell the time to square people.

Nuff said.