Detective Comics #958 - A Review

Jean Paul Valley thought himself free of the Sacred Order of St. Dumas that trained him to be their perfect assassin but a visit from one of his former handlers confirms his worst fears about The Order's ultimate goals. Meanwhile, Bruce Wayne plays a dangerous game trying to infiltrate the casino in The Penguin's new Iceberg Lounge.



While I've always had mixed feelings about Azrael as a character, I must say that James Tynion's handling of him here is masterful. It's still unclear exactly how much of Jean Paul Valley's background from the original Knightfall story arc in the 1990s  has been transplanted into the DC Rebirth reality but the script for this issue does a fine job of explaining the technical aspects of Azrael's history and abilities. And you have to love any story in the modern day that gives a cameo to Funky Flashman of all people at the high-rollers table in The Iceberg Lounge.

The artwork for this issue is equally above par. I'm hard pressed to pick a favorite creative team for this book but Alvaro Martinez, Raul Fernandez and Brad Anderson are one of the best in the business. The pencils, inks and colors for this comic are perfection incarnate. And I want a poster of the final splash page!

The Final Analysis: 10 out of 10. If you haven't been reading Detective Comics, now is the time to start! Easily the best of the Batman books right now.