Detective Comics #28 –“When Reality Wears Thin.”
Intro
Since the time I’ve been reading Detective Comics it’s been a good Batman series that has a different feel than the others. It has the cool detective espionage feel to it that really works in a comic book world. John Layman has done a really good job with it. He really makes Batman detective skills feel real and work in a comic book world. He even does a great job on exploring the characterization with a number of villains like Man-Bat, Wraith, and the Emperor. He really shows how much of flawed individuals these villains are as well. This is one Batman series that should be at least the second best to check out than the other Batman series that DC has. Right now, Detective Comics is at Gothtopia where the Bat-Family is trapped in an alter reality and they somehow escape. It’s a really cool story in an all new alternate world of utopia discovering how it works saving people in that type of world.
Story
Batman finally wakes up from Gothtopia and realizes that Scarecrow created the altered world he was in. Now he has to rely on another villain to save the people of Gotham from it.
The Good
The Gothtopia storyline is really becoming a great interesting story in this issue. We really get to see Batman finally waking from reality and put his detective skills to work. John Layman continues to do an amazing job and making it believable. I absolutely love it. We also get to see many interesting villains that working with Scarecrow to make this all happen. There is also an interesting dynamic as Batman works with a familiar villain you will love.
The art by Aaron Lopresti looks really great in this issue. The character models are really solid and detailed. You can really see the scary face expressions that show how crazy they really are. The action and the colors (by Blond) look very well done too. You can actually see what’s happening in the action. What’s really great is that none of the panels look incomplete at all.
The Bad
The only problem I had is not knowing more about the world from Batman perspective. There are no flashbacks of him dealing with it. You really have to read the other tie-ins to see what the world looks like. It’s a really bad jumping point for new readers to catch on.
Note: I noticed the editor did a mistake on editor's note about the tie-ins. It's Birds of Prey #28 not #27.
Verdict
I give this issue a 4.5/9.5 out of 5/10 stars. This is a great storyline I suggest turning into. Layman is doing a wonderful job on making the detective skills feeling scientific and really working how the characters can get out of the situation by using it. The art look really amazing, top notch, and one of the best arts I seen in comics. The only problem with this issue is that a lot of new readers will feel lost and not know what the alternate reality world looks like. They really have to follow the other tie-ins to see what’s going on fully. But I strongly suggest you pick this up! It’s one storyline you will love.
