DC Comics and Detective Comics #1058 Spoilers and Review follows.
Shadows Of The Bat Finale, But What Is Riddler Now Up To?!
Who Does Boy In House Of Gotham Grow Up To Be After Capturing BOTH Joker and Batman?
Upcoming Riddler arc, teased in this issue, also includes a Gotham Girl back-up feature.
The promise of Detective Comics #1058, with a Batman returned to Gotham City, can be gleaned from its solicitation.
DETECTIVE COMICS #1058
Written by MARIKO TAMAKI
Art by AMANCAY NAHUELPAN
Backup written by MATTHEW ROSENBERG
Backup art by FERNANDO BLANCO
Cover by IRVIN RODRIGUEZ
Variant cover by LEE BERMEJO
1:25 variant cover by JORGE FORNÉS
$4.99 US | 40 pages | Variant $5.99 US (card stock)
ON SALE 3/22/22The Tower crashes to a close! In the epic finale to this weekly tale of terror, alliances are forged amongst unlikely allies, and the Bat-Family reassess their strategy in their war on crime in Gotham City. Will Psycho-Pirate be Batman’s newest eyes and ears on the streets? Can Koyuki Nakano ever recover from the traumatic events she witnessed? How much fun will the Batgirls have beating the snot out of Penguin’s goons at a seedy motel? The answers await you and much, much more in this cataclysmic culmination! (Except for the Batgirls, I’ll tell you right now that answer is “a lot.”)
As if one dramatic conclusion wasn’t enough, the finale of “House of Gotham” will leave you breathless as Batman is faced with an impossible decision: kill a monster of his own creation…or let others be killed in the process. “Save the patient in front of you” was the advice from Thomas Wayne…
The chronicling of the fallout of this Arkham Tower arc begins with a media article by reporter Deb Donavan with a returned Batman as well as Batwoman giving her some of the information minus Psycho-Pirate’s as part of a pre-arranged deal; Donavan knows the Scarecrow was not behind it all and just took advantage of the situation in the end to complicate things.
Then we have the Penguin’s henchmen hunting the Psycho-Pirate who…
…turns out to be a disguised Batman.
An enraged Penguin still craves the Psycho-Pirate as the Batman Family get a new larger Batcave.
At the funeral for the grifter who assumed the identity of Dr. Wear, we learn that Oracle still owes reporter Deb Donavan a favor as…
…Gotham City Mayor Nakano does not want to give up on the promise of Arkham Tower and decides to keep in running, but with Dr. Meridian as its head a role she accepts.
Batman tracks down the real Psycho-Pirate and seems to offer him…
…a shot a redemption which is teased, based on the page its noted on, a role at Arkham Tower perhaps along with Mayor Nakano’s wife who was a hostage during the siege of Arkham Tower.
The main story ends with the next issue’s Riddler arc beginning early with Riddler “Radio” blaring through Gotham City.
The back-up feature “House of Gotham” opens with Joker and Batman who captured by the boy, now a man, this story has been following; he wants the Joker dead for killing his parents, but Batman convinces him that is not the answer.
Ready to turn over a new leaf, our lead seeks guidance from a one-time mentor in the Penguin which leads to the revelation of the unexpected yet impactful fate of this man in modern day Gotham City.
Next up is that Riddler centric arc…
…, with a Gotham Girl back-up, as…
the series go back to monthly from weekly in Detective Comics #1059 on shelves on April 26, 2022.
Solicitation follows.
DETECTIVE COMICS #1059
Written by MARIKO TAMAKI and NADIA SHAMMAS
Art and cover by IVAN REIS and DANNY MIKI
Backup written by SINA GRACE
Backup art by DAVID LAPHAM
Variant cover by LEE BERMEJO
1:25 variant cover by RODOLFO MIGLIARI
$4.99 US | 40 pages | Variant $5.99 US (card stock)
ON SALE 4/26/22Riddle me this…when is a criminal not a criminal? The answer awaits you in the start of a brand-new Detective Comics story arc from writer Mariko Tamaki, guest co-writer Nadia Shammas, and legendary artist Ivan Reis! The Riddler is back in Gotham City in a big way, becoming a media personality and using his newfound influence to wreak havoc on the Dark Knight. As Batman chases down clues to put an end to Riddler’s machinations, the clock ticks away for the citizens of Gotham whom Edward Nygma has placed in the line of fire…
Then, in “Gotham Girl: Interrupted” part one, the super-powered Claire Clover returns to the city that helped ruin her life…to get psychiatric treatment at the new Arkham Tower. But when Gotham Girl’s newfound semblance of normalcy is rocked by a murder mystery, she finds someone unexpected at the heart of the crime…herself.
The Pulse:
This finale was a slower paced issue, in the continuing era of decompressed storytelling, but with flashes of action that made the issue satisfying for readers that have been invested in this weekly arc’s 12 issue run over 3 months. So, a year’s worth of comics in a quarter of a year. The story has been its strength with the first 10 issues being with out Batman in the present day elements of the story. The Batman Family is a rich cast that was able to carry the story even without their Dark Knight patron.
This last issue ties up some main story points, teases the future, as well as kicks of Riddler’s scheming in the conclusion of the main story. The back-up feature has been more of a mixed and uneven run for me. However, I was invested and curious who this boy now a man would be in the Gotham City of tomorrow.
The ending of that back-up was tragic, poignant and genuinely impactful. It may also be frustrating, in a good way, for readers who were invested in his 12 issue journey.
Overall, a satisfying and entertaining read on both stories with a jarring dissonance in styles by the art teams, but that was carried by the strength of both stories. 8 out of 10.
