Detective Comics Annual #2 - Face in the Crowd; Contained Multitudes; Harvey Bullock, This is Your Life

I enjoyed this annual very much despite the minor use of wrath. Jane Doe is an interesting character I liked her appearances back during the battle for the cowl story line and Ive always liked bullock. I would at least give it 4 stars

I loved the final Harvey Bullock backup! Overall, the issue was pretty good, and I'd say Layman getting a better feel for writing Batman as we go along.

The projectile thing bugged me too until reasoned that it was a slow motion recall thing since some of the batarangs are in the same spot as others. The thing that bugged me was the fact that batman said he took a guess when could felt a permanent scar on bullocks face if not cut off his ear.

Gregg, I think you need to read the issue a second time.

I don't really understand the problem you have with NotBullock and the new Dr being in Love. The first story in the book is clearly set over a longer period of time, and changes between time periods a few times.

After thew new Dr is introduced, it skips ahead an unspecified period of time (all it says is "Soon") at the top of a panel, and it is after that that they are shown in love. We didn't see it happen, but they obviously started a relationship.

It's even hinted at, with Bullock wearing cologne and Batman saying he knows why Bullock is taking care of his appearance, bullocks hand on her shoulder...

As for the batarangs....we only see one shown in the first story...it doesn't mean multiple are not thrown...

I didn't have a problem with Batman's fighting because it is clearly stated...a few times, that the person he is fighting inherits the abilities of people she impersonates. That wasn't something Batman knew and so it wasn't something he prepared for.

I enjoyed the book a lot. Thew new villain is an excellent addition to Batman's rouges gallery, it was a good story and the art was consistently good.

The only complaint I would have is that the batarangs to the face seemed overly brutal for Batman.

@muyjingo: Do you honestly think I gloss over panels and missed these things when reviewing an issue? Come on. People take their time to create these comics, so paying attention as I review is the least I can do in return. I'm well aware of the leaps in time and the remarks about him focusing on hygiene/wearing cologne, but just because they're conveyed doesn't mean I think it was handled well and clearly they needed the back up to flesh this out. I've already elaborated on why I didn't favor that. You do, and that's perfectly fine, but asking me to read it again won't change my opinion -- especially since I read it twice before reviewing it.

I didn't have a problem with Batman's fighting because it is clearly stated...a few times, that the person he is fighting inherits the abilities of people she impersonates. That wasn't something Batman knew and so it wasn't something he prepared for.

I never said I have a problem with the first fight -- in fact, I said I can chalk that up to Batman underestimating his opponent (did appear to be an elderly woman, after all). My critique is of their SECOND fight (stated "final fight" in review), the one where Batman said he prepped for it and knew what skills she was bringing to the table. Perhaps you should read the review a second time? ;)

Also, Jane Doe is a preexisting villain. Unless by "new villain " you mean "new to the title."

@k4tzm4n: I was only going by what you said in the review. You say it throws you into the middle of something, a scene doesn't make sense and makes you wonder if you missed something. Given how the story jumps around in time and given the exposition, I didn't see that as a problem. i.e., the first story would have stood on it's own fine without the backup.

You're referring to the final fight, the one where she was pretending to be Bullock, right? It doesn't matter what Batman said...he didn't know that his opponent was able to manifest the abilities and skills of different people. He thought she was just a serial killer. Unless I missed something where he was aware of his opponent having that ability?

Otherwise it seems he was under-prepared, because he couldn't reasonable expect Jane Doe to have that ability.

And yes, I mean new to the existing universe. Jane Doe hasn't been seen in the New 52 as far as I know.

@muyjingo: Like I said, I don't believe it was handled well. Jumping from "hey, nice to meet you" to "we're in love!" totally kills the emotional value behind the conflict and the weight of the scene. Yeah, OBVIOUSLY we assume they've developed a relationship and are indeed in love (I don't see how anyone couldn't draw that conclusion based on the dialogue alone), but that doesn't mean I like how it was handled and presented. I obviously try to keep reviews spoiler-free, thus the lack of elaboration.

Look at the post above because he does know and he clearly states it. My edit was probably after you saw it.

@k4tzm4n: Yup, I missed the edit.

I see that just as Batman talking tough.

I was checking the comic as I replied, and nothing indicates he is aware of her ability to manifest the skills and abilities of others.

Re NotBullock being in love, I guess I just don't understand why they would need to show the relationship progression? What would that add to the story?

I apologize for saying you should maybe read the issue again. I really didn't understand your criticisms though. Thankyou for elaborating.

@muyjingo: Nothing indicates it? He may not know she's as efficient in duplicating as someone like Taskmaster, but he absolutely knows those are the skills she uses and this is blatantly spelled out for us. Honestly, I don't know how anyone can read his dialogue and say that's "just Batman talking." He's considered the world's greatest detective for a reason, man. He's able to even identify one of the talents before she says it and the rest, well, it's more than transparent. If you still disagree, then I have absolutely nothing more to say on the matter. The dialogue speaks for itself.

As for the latter, I've already discussed that above. Frankly, I don't think the final back up was even required. I think Layman could have expanded the size of the primary tale by organically including certain elements of that story and still managed to keep the villain a guessing game. Reading it after all is said and done just felt redundant to me and the primary still could have ended with the Lt. in the bar and denying he's who the kid is thinking of.

@k4tzm4n: Like I said, I have the comic open next to me while I'm replying.

Look at the dialog. All he says is that she defines herself through her victims. To me, that reads like he understands her to have identity issues, perhaps a form of MPD. The panel you circled on the left only shows that he knows her previous victims, not that he knows she can manifest his skills. There is absolutely nothing in the comic, especially in any of the lines you circled that indicate he knows of her ability to manifest the abilities of others.

If we disagree on that, that's fine. Unless you can show a panel where he has figured that out however, then it's an assumption/rationalization on your part.

If anything, I would have liked him to have more of a focus on him figuring that out during the fight.

As for the latter, I guess we just disagree. I see the format of the comic as being similar in format to the movie Closer, where it jumps ahead in time randomly without warning, and suddenly characters are in a relationship which is mad obvious, without showing how they got there.

I liked the format and think it served the story well. I agree though, I would have preferred the main story be expanded and had more of a mystery element in place of the backups.

@muyjingo: "I know everything you can do." If that doesn't say Batman knows she's attempting to fight like the people she's posed as, I simply don't know what does. To me, this is blatantly obvious. As I've already said above, he may not know she's as efficient in copying as someone like Taskmaster, but he 100% knows she's attempting to use the advantages of the people she has posed as and the dialogue makes this crystal clear.

Good to know we agree on expanding the primary tale would have been beneficial. I assume you also greatly enjoyed the first back up as well?

@k4tzm4n: Hmm. Honestly, when I read that line, I took it more as him meaning he knows what she is capable off as a serial killer. Not that he knows she can manifest the abilities of the people she impersonates.

It didn't occur to me that it could mean he knew that she is capable of that. We obviously have different interpretations on that front, although for what it's worth I'm now doubting my own.

Since he says that at the end of the fight, it's possible he only figured it during the fight which would allow for your interpretation and also explain him getting caught off guard by the kick, etc.

I thoroughly enjoyed the first back up :) I also was very impressed with the second one, and liked the examination of Bullocks character. There wasn't any new or surprising insight, but I still enjoyed the way it was presented.