Heretical Jargon

Written by TONY S. DANIEL
Art by TONY S. DANIEL
Inked by SANDU FLOREA
Colored by TOMEU MOREY
Lettered by JARED K. FLETCHER
Cover by TONY S. DANIEL
Variant cover by TONY S. DANIEL
Edited by KATIE KUBERT, HARVEY RICHARDS, AND MIKE MARTS

I’ve ranted and raved about Tony Daniel’s Batman so often in the past, both literally and artistically – everything about it is exciting and angsty.  For five issues, Daniel has given us the best Batman possible in Detective Comics, full of the best noir and gothic story telling that’s come around in DC Comics for a long time.  But now we have issue #6 that’s hit the stands, and it’s a bit clunky in comparison to the previous five issues.

We still have a lot of those same Batman elements that we all love to see in a Dark Knight comic; Batman scaring the crap out of some baddies and causing some to blast off their own appendages, not to mention a silent montage of Batman hunting down thug after thug, slowly yet progressively coming to the answers he needs and wants.  The dialog, however, seemed to take a slippery slope into clunkiness and corn – so much so that I had to go back and reread parts of the book because I dozed off even though my eyes were still following the words.  Yes, I’ll say it, I was bored with a Batman comic written by Tony S. Daniel! (Say it ain’t so!!!)

On to what made this book great!  Daniel may have faltered with the literary side of things, but his artistic prowess should not go unnoticed.  His dark and gothic vision is perfect for the overall feel of the Batman universe.  Not only that, but Detective Comics looks CREEPY!  Daniel has always been able to make the already scary villains and heroes in the Batman universe even creepier than originally intended.  Now with the new villain, Snakeskin, the creep keeps getting bigger and better!

Oh, and is it just me, or does the Penguin look a lot like the Joker on the cover?  Pure coincidence, I’m sure, (and possibly my eyes playing tricks on me) but very interesting none-the-less.

Back to the story…it’s still a good plot, even if the dialog within fails to show it.  There’s so much murder, betrayal, lies, and deceit that this is bound to be a great arc in the end!  I think the problem lies in the mere fact that there are way too many players fumbling around trying to solve the same mystery.  Not everyone is a Brad Meltzer or a Geoff Johns, so my hope is that Daniel will kick it back a bit in the future and not involve so many different characters in different places

As stated, the potential is still there and #6 is a sight to see.  No doubt, however, this is the weakest issue of Detective since the reboot.

And when is the freaking Joker gonna come back?!?!?!?

6 out of 10 stars

Written By: Tony Daniel
Drawn By: Tony Daniel
Inked By: Sandu Florea
Colors By: Tomeu Morey
Letters By: Jared K. Fletcher
Cover By: Daniel & Morey

I’m wondering if, somewhere along the line, Daniel forgot what the heck he was supposed to do with Batman.  The story seems to have more depth and amazingly epic narration, but the point of “Night of the Dollmaker” is lost to me.  Much of what happens in Detective Comics #3 seems to come out of nowhere and defies everything we know about Batman.  If this issue is another one of the Riddler’s deviously inquisitive plots, then I’m certainly a victim.

I wondered how Batman, the world’s greatest detective, somehow missed the fact that Jack-in-the-box was missing his tongue?  Maybe I’m being a little overly critical – certainly when someone is on the verge of being kidnapped, cut open and ripped apart, even the most cunning can miss a few details here and there while escaping.  However, I have seen Batman’s ability to NOT MISS the smallest detail, even on the verge of being cut open by multiple foes…it’s hard for me to grasp that he somehow missed this one minor detail.  Of course, he may not have had many options to begin with right?

But then again, somehow he was able to use his detective skills in the way we’re familiar with…by somehow figuring out who the villain is by simply looking at photographs of people faces?  No explanation was given as to HOW he figured this out, but somehow he did.  So Bats is able to deduce things that make no sense, but the obvious mysteries are difficult for him?  Very hard to buy into, wouldn’t you agree?

It’s still a fun read despite all of the inconsistencies and mindless violence…that’s what The Dark Knight series was for I thought! The Dollmaker is quite an interesting villain and certainly has the potential of reeking havoc and dementia in future Batman comics.  It’s also fun to see Batman fight through impossible odds, even if his detective nature left his mind for a brief moment.  It’s still dark and gothic, just the way I like my Batman comics to be!  The demented aura of Detective Comics is just getting better and better, and it’s only been three issues!  As long as Daniel keeps going with this gothic motif, I will continue to pick up this title.

And Daniel deserves even more praise with his art.  I will always maintain my position that Tony Daniel is THE BEST Batman artist in history.  There isn’t an inconsistent page in #3 and it all suits the dark story Daniel has concocted.  I loved the dirty and grotesque look and feel of the Dollmaker’s surgical surroundings as well as how powerful the action sequences are.  Keep up the good work Tony!

As for the ending…Does it feel like something’s not quite right?  I’m sure the whole story is supposed to feel that way, but the hanging Joker’s felt out of place.  I understand the Joker’s involved to some degree, but what’s the purpose of the current situation?  Maybe I should give it more time, but there seems to be a little bit of uncertainty in Daniel’s story, especially with this ending.

I love Tony Daniel and his work on Batman.  In fact, this is the only Batman comic I’ve ever read by Daniel that I didn’t love to death…in fact it felt mediocre.  I trust Daniel though and will continue to follow Detective Comics, assured in the fact that he is a great writer and will bring everything together to make this a great first arc.

6 out of 10 stars