“Third Time’s The Charm”, and “Gotham Girl, Interrupted” – Finale
Writers: Mariko Tamaki, Nadia Shammas and Sina Grace
Artists: Ivan Reis, Danny Miki, and David Lapham
Color Artists: Brad Anderson and Trish Mulvihill
Letterers: Ariana Maher and Rob Leigh
Review by James Attias
One of the most important parts of any journey is the end. Detective Comics #1061 brings us to the swan-song of this particular creative team and ties up as many loose ends as it can. Brilliantly, it also leads us onto a new path of all the exciting things to come.
Shaken Not Storied
All of the clues, the crimes, and deaths have now led us to this point. The world’s greatest detective, in a book with “detective” in the title, finally starts showing us how he got the name.
When reading this book, I did lose myself in the story and didn’t think about how this would be the final issue of Detective Comics for Mariko Tamaki and crew. So, when things started happening, I sensed they were moving a bit fast. Throughout her tenure on this title, Tamaki has notably been a slow-burn storyteller, which always makes the payoff so sweet. In this case, it was like watching a movie in a 30min time slot. Every element, both new and previously set up in the story was thrown in, as if from nowhere.
We’ve been reading the narration of Hipster Riddler Radio with no real understanding of his motive, nor why the citizen crimes were taking place. There must have been a better way to finally have his accomplices, reasoning, and final deathtraps than in one issue that doesn’t even take up the entire book.
This story, and all of the elements that Mariko Tamaki’s been setting up for a long time, had so much potential. Deb Donovan and her daughter, Chase Meridian, and Arkham Tower. Even referencing the latest Batman mini-event “Shadow War”.
The bottom line on this story is… I wanted more. Sadly, as is always the case when an author leaves a book, if anything’s been left unresolved, it will most likely stay that way. For fans, this is torture. I can’t wait to see where this story is taken by the next creative team, led by the wickedly talented Ram V, and I also can’t wait to see what Mariko Tamaki will write next, as I’ve enjoyed reading every Bat-book she’s written!
Gotham Girl Story, Interrupted
As I mentioned above, this issue was a finale for stories, creative teams, and direction, so the backup Gotham Girl tale feels like it was just another creative casualty. This story started wonderfully, and I was glad to see a character who was lost to yet another creative team shake-up (see words of torture above) appearing again in her own mini-story. After the finale, it felt like her story was also cut short too soon.
This little glimpse into her world of loss, massive power, and being a young teenage girl, was great. Tom King’s introduction of this character had so much promise, but sadly this book ran out of pages and everything was finished with a nice little bow. I hope this was just DC testing the waters and they bring her back in another book soon… but with a different mask, please.
Conclusion
Detective Comics #1061 ended a few stories and is the start of many more. I look forward to seeing where this book goes next and what adventures Batman will go on. Or, if the events of “Death of the Justice League” are to be believed, perhaps a new hero will take the mantle of the World’s Greatest Detective.
You’ll just have to stay tuned to Dark Knight News for all the Bat things to come!
Images Courtesy of DC Entertainment
