DETECTIVE COMICS #46

[ IT'S YOUR MOVE, CREEP. BUY. ]

Shhh!!! Be quiet. Be very-very quiet because I'm hunting Knights. Or to be more precise, the Dark Knight! Like the one seen in the following comic book devised in November, 2015, by both Peter Tomasi and Marcio Takara. Just don't tell DC Comic's what I'm doing, OK? Or they'll be angry. As angry as a dead giant alien.

TO QUOTE Rollo May: 'Life comes from physical survival; but the good life comes from what we care about'.

THE REVIEW:

At the very start of this issue we all get asked one simple question: Who would we call if we ever found the petrified remains of two giant-sized dead aliens, stranded in a barren wasteland, situated in the middle of nowhere? Taking additional note, that one of these two dead aliens has had their head caved in by a broken stalactite, where as the other one seems to have been devoured from the outside in.

Answer: Well, there isn't no precise answer, per say. Yet if we were a member of a major Hollywood movie studio, I'm sure we'd get this answer from the Ghostbuster's, even if some of them are too busy washing their hair to care less about two dead aliens. But of course, hardly any of us are associated with a major Hollywood studio. So, just like the Justice League member we always wished we were, touch wood, fingers crossed, quickly we call in the next best thing. Namely, Bat-Jim Mark Two, who within the first couple of pages meticulously analyzes the crime scene presented to him by the Justice League (seen at the tail end of last issue), and deduces that both of these two dead aliens are, shock-horror, dead, and that they died because someone, or something, drank the fluid at the back of their eye sockets, amongst other grizzly details.  

Now, it's at this stage of the story-line, roughly one-third way through it's telling, where the tempo suddenly seems to shift gear. Not only does Bat-Jim and the League interact with each other in a fairly congenial manner (loved that scene were Gordon and Barry inadvertently swapped notes on policing), but on top of that, the culprit also unveils himself, managing to capture some of the League in the process.

Obviously, I don't want to divulge too much about this finale or else I may spoil it for you. That said, however, what I can say is that this issue did conclude in a very tender and bittersweet fashion. And in my opinion, I felt the ending was the best part of the entire book.

To be honest, up to this stage the basic narrative came across fairly pedestrian for this type of detective styled story-line. Not really having that gravitas needed to uplift this issue to a more memorable status. More importantly, though, I also felt that Marcio Takara's artwork was rushed, incomplete, almost as if he was fighting against a deadline set for him by those on high.

Moving on to a brighter note, and yes, as I said previously, I did enjoy the bittersweet conclusion written by Peter Tomasi. Tonally it was very poetic to read, and I thought was aided immensely by Jim's theorized version of the alien's demise, as well as his maternal approach towards his enemy's situation. Honestly, from my point of view sad and bittersweet endings are always pretty difficult to pull off, especially if the run up to this conclusion felt rushed, or normalized on the page. But thankfully, somehow Peter was able to inject a lot of pathos within the vinegar strokes of his narrative, managing to make it end on a sob, if not a bang.  

THE MUSIC:

Now I know this might sound weird, but over the last couple of months I think that some of the writers who work at DC Comic's have helped me fill in this musical section.

Please! Don't get me wrong. I'm not being paranoid. It's just that I know for a fact that a few of them try to read my reviews whenever they can. For instance, in this comic my theory is epitomized in a lullaby sung by Bat-Jim called...

THE COMPARISON:

Marvin Gaye, the popular soul singer who worked from the early 60s to the early 80s, had a father who was also called Marvin. But unfortunately, the elder of these two Marvin's wasn't as nurturing as some parents should be. And this, regrettably, resulted in him shooting his son dead, because of an argument they both had relating to some financial matters. So to me, for obvious reasons, I'd like to compare this comic book to the inverse of Marvin Gaye senior.

THE CONCLUSION:

Nearing the end of this issue of Detective Comics, Shazam turns to Bat-Jim and says, 'So what do you think my hand's say about me?', referring to a discussion they had previously in the tale. And in turn, Bat-Jim looks back over at Shazam and reply's...

1. 'That you have to stop scratching your ass'.
2. 'That you play too much X-Box'.
3. 'That you like to play with Lego'.
4. 'That you will never get a stable ongoing series'.
5. 'That you have a small penis'.
6. 'That you need to buy gloves'.
7. 'That you like to hit things'.  
8. 'That you're a bit of a wanker'.

Nuff said.