It Took Too Many Pages To Get To the Co-Feature
This issue is worth reading for the Question co-feature alone.
Not that the main feature is bad. David Hine does an amazing job detailing Dr. Arkham's descent into madness. His journey and the stops along the way to his insanity are all really interesting and compelling. The problem is that the result isn't. The villainous Dr. Arkham/Black Mask is a terribly generic villain. He's evil for the sake of being evil, and this issue presses that further with forced scenes of him being bad just to try to build up his evil credibility. One scene in particular where he humiliates Zsasz just fails horribly to work and blows away any sense of believability. Also, the change in management of Arkham Asylum strains to make sense and seems forced along to provide an ominous ending that leaves me feeling more apathy than dread.
However, the Question co-feature fires on all cylinders. I've never been a big fan of the choice of art style for it, but that never holds back how brilliant the stories are. This concludes the Question's and Huntress' confrontation with Vandal Savage and brings closure to a story that started all the way back in Final Crisis: Revelations. The two heroines have to decide not only between the lesser of two evils available to them but which of them will take responsibility for it in the end. The chemistry between the two characters is great, and it's impressive how easily it is to see them as good friends when they really haven't been partners-in-crime all that long. Vandal Savage comes off great as well. Even when he's being civil, he sounds more like a monster. The last page is the best part of the story, but it's also bittersweet knowing that Greg Rucka has now moved on from DC Comics.
This issue of Detective Comics has an underwhelming main feature with some good moments, but the prize of the issue is the Question co-feature.
