The new creative team of Brian Buccellato and Francis Manapul take DC’s namesake series to new, and wetter, heights in “Detective Comics” #32.
Written by Brian Buccellato & Francis Manapul
Illustrated by Francis ManapulThe next great Batman murder-mystery continues to unfold in “Icarus” part three, brought to you by the acclaimed creative team of THE FLASH! Batman is caught in the clutches of the crime boss known as “The Squid” as he digs deeper into a whodunit for the ages!
In his 75 year history, Batman has traversed the globe numerous times and punched crime in the face everywhere from the tops of mountains to the deep jungle. The one environment that seems to be a hindrance to his dispensing of justice is water. Batman can punch Superman in the face, but he still needs to breath once in a while. If this were a Schumacher film, Batman would just whip out a different colored Bat-suit and dive on in, but the grittier world of “Detective Comics” as told by Brian Buccellato and Francis Manapul demands something a bit more subtle.
Opening up with Batman taking a dip in the grimy waters around the Gotham docs, he’s on the trail of a murder who kills with a new drug called Icarus. Batman is searching through the disposed car of the mysterious killer’s latest victim for clues, and finds something just before the police arrive to drag the vehicle from its watery grave. Detective Harvey Bullock displays some impressive deduction skills, and has the police comb through shipping manifests until the name of a Wayne Enterprises VP keeps popping up. Batman is hot on the case as well, and heads to an abandoned aquarium to face down a dealer known as The Squid — and then it turns out to be an actual giant squid. It’s Batman vs a giant squid. Who ya got?
When Brian Buccellato and Francis Manapul arrived in Gotham city after spending two years working on “The Flash” there was some question as to if their style could translate from the superpowered world of Barry Allen to the grittiness of “Detective Comics”. Fortunately, their first arc is shaping up to be a good old fashioned murder mystery, with a few twists thrown in for the world’s greatest detective, of course. No supervillains with megalomaniacal plans to take over the world, just a simple crime with clues for Batman to follow. It’s a refreshingly back to basics approach to the world of Gotham crime, if only for the closer look at the Gotham police force. This issue features a wonderful scene that uses two pages and four words from the man himself to make Harvey Bullock, the sometimes corrupt detective and long-time punching bag, into an incredibly sympathetic character.
The heart of the issue is a scene when Batman, still dripping water, attempts to comfort the daughter of the murder victim. This young woman even gets her own monologue, which Buccellato and Manapul make quite moving without coming off as trite or emotionally manipulative. They even manage to get in a reference to Batman’s seemingly unending crusade against crime in Gotham while avoiding being some sort of meta-commentary on comics themselves. By including shorter scenes that focus on character development and motivation, Brian Buccellato and Francis Manapul make all the different elements of the issue feel very balanced, even as Batman throws down with a giant squid.
Francis Manapul received critical acclaim for his artwork on “The Flash”, but drawing one character known for bright colors and lightning quick action is a lot different than another who spends a lot of time brooding in the shadows. Fortunately, Manapul nails Batman, and does so without simply copying one of the 18 versions of the character running around in other books. His Batman perhaps most closely resembles Greg Capuallo’s, grounded yet not a slave to realism, but Manapul’s designs still feel visually different than the other Bat-books. The first thing the reader will notice when they open this issue is how bright everything is, as least compared to a typical Batman comic. The first third of the story takes place at dusk, and by adding just a bit of color to the proceedings, it instantly creates a different tone for the book and offers a unique look at Gotham.
Continued belowThere are four big art set pieces in the issues, and each one is beautiful. First there’s a scene on the pier where Batman’s approach is broken up into smaller panels that form one large image, immediately followed by a double page spread of the Dark Knight staring out at the setting sun as water drips off of him. Another double page spread gives the reader an amazing look into the life of Harvey Bullock, and when it’s combined with the answering machine messages as scripted by Buccellato, the scene becomes very poignant. Lastly there’s Batman’s aforementioned fight with a giant squid, which takes what could easily be a gimmick and turns it into something fierce and entertaining. What all these scenes have in common is the high level of detail that Manapul includes to flesh out the world, wether it be a stack of case files in Bullock’s apartment or the coral that swallows up Batman’s utility belt as he fights the squid. Everything about the art indicates that Manapul is just as passionate about Batman as he was about the Flash, and “Detective Comics” will receive just as much acclaim as his previous work.
Final Verdict: 9.0 – Buy. An old fashioned, but not repetitive, detective story and beautiful art ensure that the Buccellato/Manapul run on “Detective Comics” will stand out among the plethora of Bat-books.
And Batman FIGHTS A GIANT SQUID.
