DETECTIVE COMICS #21 REVIEW: Shadows & Ghosts

Shadows and Ghosts

Well, I have pink eye and a massive sinus infection, so if this review sucks, I blame those two factors.

I’m hoping that even if I suck, the comic will still be high quality. I’ve been very happy with John Layman’s (current writer of Detective Comics and Image’s Chew) run on Detective Comics. There have been a few tiny missteps, but at the end of the day, Layman delivers my favorite current presentation of the Bat. Emperor Penguin was a cool new villain featured in the last arc, and now Layman is introducing a villain I’ve dubbed Purple-Glowy-Armed-Spider-Girl until an official name has been given for her. In the preview, she seemed like an intriguing villain, and we also saw Harper Row making more mischief in the preview. As the first time we see Harper outside of the Batman series, it will be interesting to see how a different writer interprets her. Altogether, there is a lot promising that this will be a great issue.

Does Detective Comics #21 live up to my high expectations or is this a Purple-Glowy-Armed-Spider-Failure?

In this issue, the past is revealed more fully and Batman and Harper take on an assassin.

Purple-Glowy-Armed-Spider-Girl Revealed!

Purple-Glowy-Armed-Spider-Girl is revealed to have a more compact codename, Penumbra. It turns out she is the returning assassin some might remember from Detective Comics’ Zero Issue. Personally, that was by far my least favorite of the Batman Zero Issues and I barely recall any details of it, but thankfully, this issue rehashed the story in the first page (what little of a “story” was present) and showed some more of what transpired to set readers up for this issue. For a character who was completely unmemorable in the Zero Issue, Layman does a good job of making her feel interesting here.

Though not completely uninteresting as a character, most of her attraction comes because of her powerset which is pretty cool. Penumbra is the name of a shadow cast by a semi-transparent object. You know, when you can see a shadow but its not really fully formed? Penumbra can form various weapons out of shadows including extra arms, blades and even a crossbow, and it’s a pretty cool effect. Not surprisingly, this ability also has its drawbacks. Though Penumbra is a credible physical threat and an interesting figure ripe for exploration in future story lines, she’s not really fully formed as a character, so she’s only slightly compelling.

Harper Row, on the other hand, is the emotional center of this story, and like her previous appearances, this one continued to build the case that she does offer something worthwhile to the Bat Family. She has the audacity to look at Batman as almost an equal, yet she does seem to realize that Batman could kick her tail and ruin her life, so it’s a weird balance of healthy cockiness and respect. She has continued to get into trouble, yet Batman has forced her to change her approach. If nothing else, I would find Harper Row to be an interesting character simply because she represents a relatively normal person trying to gain the attention and approval of the Bat, and there has never been a character who has explored this concept for more than a few issues.

It also appears that Bruce and Alfred are considering her for the role of Robin. Whether she will actually end up in that role is still a mystery though for my money, I’d much rather see her take it than Carrie. Still, I think she would be most interesting as a character who is not directly under Bruce’s command.

Bat Droppings

1. The backup feature is also interesting though not amazing. It focuses on Man-Bat who has to confront the possibility that he might have murdered while in his Man-Bat form. It’s certainly the sort of story I’ve seen previously, but it is done fairly well here. There is nothing wrong with it, but it is about what you would expect from the get go. Andy Clarke (former cover artist forBatgirl, artist for Batman Confidential and 2000 AD and current artist of Detective Comics) handles the art, and he does a good job. At least this issue does answer the question of why Man-Bat is sometimes Kirk Langstrom and sometimes Man-Bat. Apparently, the serum naturally gets exercised from a human’s system over time, but Langstrom has become addicted to it. Again, this seems very familiar. I believe Batman: The Animated Series hit on several of these concepts.

2. Scott Eaton (former penciler of Crossgen’s Sigil and current penciler of Detective Comics) does a good job filling Jason Fabok’s (former penciler for Aspen MLT’s Michael Turner’s Soulfire, Superman/Batman and The Dark Knight and cover artist for Batwing and current cover artist ofDetective Comics) shoes, but his work is not nearly as consistent as Fabok’s. People’s faces sometimes look significantly different from panel to panel. For instance on page seven, Harper Row looks like her regular self in one panel and then she looks about fifty pounds heavier in the next. Also, there are some panels with a lot less details than others, but still, it’s a sharp looking issue throughout.

3. I don’t see why Penumbra’s shadows are purple. That doesn’t really track.

4. Penumbra’s outfits, both super and non, are ridiculously immodest. Even when fully covered, her clothes are so tight you can see her belly button.

5. Penumbra’s looks are somewhat reminiscent of the Indian goddess Ganga though Ganga only has four arms.

(Spoilers Until Conclusion)

6. Bruce really tipped Penumbra off to his identity if she were paying any attention.

7. Ra’s is almost certainly the one controlling Penumbra, and this is a bit odd since Ra’s was imprisoned by Talia when last we saw him. I guess this probably takes place after Batman, Incorporated, and Ra’s will most likely regain his kingdom.

Conclusion 9/10

I suppose if I were going to really be picky, I could probably drop this down a little for being too predictable in the backup and leaving too many unanswered questions on the front end, but I’m just not feeling that cynical at the moment. I really enjoyed this issue, and I fully recommend it.