Welcome back BOFers!
A new issue of Detective Comics means it’s time to gather around the old Bat-website. Issue #1114 brings Tom Taylor back to play in the “Bad Seeds” sandbox, joined by artist Clayton Henry. Taylor has been up and down in recent arcs. Can a reader get some consistency, please?
Let’s break down this issue!
If I must give credit to “Bad Seeds” for getting Taylor back on track, I totally will. This might be Taylor’s most balanced issue to date and could be his best. Batman is front and center, leading a reluctant mission to stop prehistoric plants from taking over Gotham. This issue has a BTAS vibe as Batman teams up with Mr. and Mrs. Freeze, and it works perfectly. Taylor delivers a wonderful Freeze montage to get you all caught up if you missed Nora in the Tomasi run (go read that!). Taylor packs in plenty of comic book action and fun from first page to the last. Readers get that heroic Dark Knight patrolling Gotham’s streets; he just has a little winter aura now. Batman’s monologues are perfect; he senses the tension between the Freeze’s: “This mission could go sideways fast.” Taylor does a great job giving each character their moments, both in their verbal exchanges and in their heads. Motivations are present, and all accounted for. There are subtle nods to 1997’s Batman & Robin, and I really appreciate them.
Calyton Henry drew the hell out of this book. Mr. Freeze never looked better if you love that classic BTAS feel. Red glasses, globe dome, think boots and gloves, just perfect. The blue Batman looks great in this ice setting early on. Batman without a cape is never really my jam, but I get the mission. At times, Batman looked more like a Ghostbuster than Batman, but he made a deal with the frozen Devil. Then during the vine fight, Henry got really creative and used the vines to break up the panels. There is not enough of that in comics these days; I could have gone for a page or two more. I would welcome back Henry back in Gotham anytime
This is a very over-the-top story even for Batman, but Taylor really uses his nostalgic touch, delivering the most fun book of the week, if not the month. I think Taylor has made a remarkable rebound with his “Bad Seeds” issues. I read this book with a smile on my face, even as it got crazier than normal. In the last arc, it felt like Batman was being disrespected in his own book. Now it feels like Detective Comics is a small part of a fun Batman event. – Peter Verra
GRADE: A
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