The recent addition of Green Arrow and Black Canary to Detective Comics was one of the more surprising elements of the next stage of DC’s “All In” initiative, and one that didn’t quite land as well as I was hoping it would. Giving Batman someone to bounce off of is always fun, and the curmudgeonly Oliver Queen and his longtime love Dinah Lance seemed like a great fit. But an awkward inclusion of a long ago ally that was new to us made the previous issue feel more convoluted than fun. Luckily Detective Comics #1108 from Tom Taylor and artists Pete Woods and Bruno Abdias continues the ongoing mystery of the Klep Corp and their deceased ally Prion in a way that’s far more to the standards the title has had since Taylor took over.
After visiting the grave of Prion, our trio of vigilantes conducts research on the mysterious young girl that was also there. Thanks to a makeshift Batmobile disguised as a hatchback, they learn that while there’s no record of the girl, the woman with her was Rita Reynoso, a reclusive Gotham elite that hasn’t been seen in a decade. Before they can go any further, the team gets a tip from Oracle about another key witness in the ongoing Klep CEO trial, and with the previous witnesses all dying from mysterious circumstances, Batman, Green Arrow, and Black Canary spring into action to save this latest witness before it’s too late. After a daring rescue, Green Arrow prepares to meet with the heads of Klep Corp as they attempt a takeover of Queen Industries, and after a less than stellar meeting where Queen lets on a little more than he should about their activities, the young girl from Prion’s gravesite arrives again, with her own motives as well, which include shoving Queen off the high rise!
Simply put, this is a MUCH stronger issue than the previous one. I’m not sure what occurred between this issue and the last one, but Tom Taylor’s pacing and plotting is more in line with what he’s been known for. Perhaps there were some narrative issues with setting up all the pieces last month, since he had to set up Green Arrow and Black Canary’s move to Gotham and TWO new mysteries with the Klep Corporation and this Prion business, but now that the setup is out of the way, Detective Comics #1108 is really back to (almost) firing on all cylinders. There’s still the issue of just who this young girl is and what her connections to Prion and the Klep Corporation are, but we’re still early enough in the story that I’m not too concerned about the connections just yet.
While the plotting has improved from last issue, Taylor’s gift for humor in the Dark Knight’s realm also refreshingly stays on track. With the recent Batman & Robin series ending, Batman needs some new people to bounce off of, and there’s no one better than Green Arrow and Black Canary to do so with. The pair feel like the best types of our different Robins split between two people, with Green Arrow willing to poke fun at Batman’s overly serious nature and Canary assisting in the more serious casework that needs to be done. There’s really nothing better than Batman having to constantly reaffirm that a hatchback car that’s also a Batmobile isn’t that absurd while the two rib him for having the “bathatchback”. It’s great character stuff that balances out the seriousness of the story really well.
DC
Pete Woods was the sole artist for the previous issue of Detective Comics, but he’s helped out here by Bruno Abdias for the main chunk of the issue that focuses on the rescue of the Klep Corp witness. It’s a testament to Abdias’ style that I didn’t notice it too much on first read, but in looking back there’s a slight enough difference that I can see the change in styles now that I’ve seen the issue credits. That being said, both artists bring a real fluidity to the action in the issue, with Woods’ flashback opening really selling the physicality of all of the heroes and showing that Prion is still a bit of a rookie in crime fighting in a way that not many artists can convey through their art. While having a second artist on the book only two issues into the run does make me a little concerned for the rest of the story, like the connection of the mystery, it’s still early enough that I’m not too concerned just yet.
I’m really relieved that Detective Comics #1108 has already successfully course-corrected from the previous issue. There’s a market for both a Batman team up book and a Batman detective book, and with any luck Tom Taylor’s new approach to the title will make Detective Comics into the book that fits both of those markets. At the very least, it’s giving us some interesting partners for Batman to team up with, and I’m curious to see how everything comes together in future issues.
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