By Zack Quaintance — Detective Comics #1047 marks the start of a 12-part weekly series that will play out in this title, dubbed Shadows of the Bat. And right from the start, this story has a pair of qualities that I like a lot. The first is featuring the work of Ivan Reis, who is inked here by Danny Miki and colored by Brad Anderson (more on the latter in a second). Reis has long been one of the pillar’s of DC’s in-continuity superhero books, now with about a decade of consistent monthly work for the publisher, tackling books that range from the New 52 Aquaman to the Bendis Superman run to most recently the fantastic Gene Luen Yang-penned Batman and Superman.

The thing about Reis’ artwork is that it as evolved from one title to the next, starting as fairly typical of DC’s usual house style and becoming something elevated, all while also varying its approach to fit the characters and stories it was being asked to tell. In Superman, for example, Reis and his collaborators were illustrating half a dozen intricate, gigantic sci-fi double-page spreads per issue most months, while on Batman and Superman the work took a more experimental tact, setting some of its scenes within the film of old timey cinematic reels (jeez, that book was fantastic).

In this first part of Shadows of the Bat, Reis’ penicilling goes gritty and brooding when the Gotham City scenes call for it (which is often), and it’s all elevated even further by pairing his pencil with inker Danny Miki and, most especially, colorist Brad Anderson, working here with Reis for the first time (as far as I can recall, anyway). Anderson is easily one of my favorite working colorists, taking risks with his vibrant palletes and somehow never ever putting out pages that look jumbled or muddy, not even a little bit. The Reis-Miki-Anderson pairing is a glorious one in this book, assuring readers from the jump that at least the first 1/4 of this 12-part epic will look gorgeous. After that, I think the story is passed off to new artists, possibly Dan Mora, who is also just great.

Anyway! So this book looks amazing, but it also reads interestingly enough, doing one of my favorite things that Detective Comics can do, which is present a clear focus that differentiates it from the Batman flagship title. It’s been a while since the book has done this in a very clear way, dating back to the 2016 Rebirth era, when the title was a team book. The first part of this issue harkens to that a little bit, sidelining Batman, who looms over the story but never appears in it, at least not directly or in any new action (I think there’s mentions of him and a flashback during the back-up story).

Essentially, with the Batman main title following Bruce Wayne out of Gotham City, this book centers us in what’s taking place back in his hometown, using characters like Batwoman and Mayor Nakano at the heart of its plot. It’s a great choice.

The other key plot ingredient here is Arkham Asylum, which as a physical locale has now been destroyed, its legacy being the effector here instead as well as its future, which involves transitioning the whole thing into Arkham Tower. This change of venue has given everyone involved — from city leaders to Gotham’s non-Bruce Wayne vigilantes — occasion to reflect on the role of Arkham Asylum, specifically what it should be versus what it actually is. That’s at least where we find everything at the start of this one. This being a 12-part weekly series, I expect the book to be a bit twistier than most superhero story arcs, probably landing in somewhere very different from where the story starts. Whatever the case, if Detective Comics #1047 is an indication, we should all be excited to follow along as this one unfurls.

The backup story, which is slated to run in all 12-parts of the main book, is also an interesting start, feeling clearly connected and supplementary to the lead feature, which is not always necessary but feels good here, given the big aspirations of a 12-part weekly arc.

Overall: Armed with stunning Gotham City artwork from some of DC’s best regular artists, Detective Comics #1047 is an intriguing start to the publisher’s next big Bat-epic. 8.0/10

REVIEW: Detective Comics #1047

Detective Comics #1047
Writer: Mariko Tamaki (backup story by Matthew Rosenberg)
Artist: Ivan Reis (backup story by Fernando Blanco)
Inker: Danny Miki
Colorist: Brad Anderson (backup story by Jordie Bellaire)
Letterer: Ariana Maher (backup story by Rob Leigh)
Publisher: DC Comics
“The Tower” begins! The 12-part weekly Detective Comics event starts here. Arkham Asylum has fallen, and in its place, Arkham Tower has risen in the heart of the city, a pitch made by the mysterious Dr. Wear. Unlike the Asylum, Dr. Wear promises his methods and drug treatments will heal Gotham’s criminally inclined for good—a claim that skeptics like Deb Donovan and the Bat-Family don’t believe. There’s something wrong with the tower, with Dr. Wear’s methods—and with Batman away from Gotham City, the rest of the Bat-Family is going to find out what…but not before everything explodes. Written by critically acclaimed author Mariko Tamaki, continuing her incredible Detective Comics run, and drawn by DC Comics legend Ivan Reis!
PLUS! “House of Gotham” begins! For a long time two houses have overlooked Gotham City, beckoning its broken: Wayne Manor and Arkham Asylum. In this epic 12-part backup story, writer Matthew Rosenberg and artist Fernando Blanco will explore the impact that Batman and Arkham Asylum have had on the city…through the eyes of a boy whose life was changed forever by The Joker one dreadful night early in the Dark Knight’s career!
Price: $4.99
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Zack Quaintance is a tech reporter by day and freelance writer by night/weekend. He Tweets compulsively about storytelling and comics as Comics Bookcase.