REVIEW: Fall of the Batmen in ‘Detective Comics #969′
Detective Comics #969’s Fall of the Batmen explores the narrative of a dysfunctional vigilante group working together to keep each other sane and in check.
Fall of the Batmen explores the narrative of a dysfunctional vigilante group working together to keep each other sane and in check. Detective Comics #969 is a start of a new story arc which promises tons of surprises which were planted in stories preceding this issue.
The return of Clayface into villainy has been teased for over a year now. His inner struggle between good and evil has been brewing in the past few story arcs. We might finally see Clayface explode and cross the line back to his evil ways. The title of the new arc, Fall of the Batmen, is also a cryptic message on what to expect in this new story. We’re on the verge of a major change in the status quo of Detective Comics and Tim Drake’s return to the team is probably not the biggest development in this story.
James Tynion IV deserves the credit for this book. Through his career, he excelled in stories which involves a lot of B-team heroes and 2nd-tier villains. You can expect the same in Detective Comics #969 in which he brought back some characters that were used in past Detective Comics Rebirth stories.
Joe Bennett’s interior artwork is not the best, but his style definitely sets the tone of the story. However, I would like to see full-page spreads from him as opposed to stingy spreads. He’s actually good that’s why I want to see him go all out with his spreads. With Sal Regala as his inker and Jason Wright as his colorists, he shouldn’t have a problem with full spreads.
Detective Comics #969‘s Belfray Gang is set on a collision course with another group of villains in this book. How it gets there and how things will be developed has definitely got me interested with this title, once again. Definitely looking forward to the Fall of the Batmen!
Review by Paolo Ollero, co-founder of The Dark Knight Philippines, the premier Batman group in the country
