Monday, August 14, 2017

Detective Comics #962 - A Review

With the Artificial Intelligence created by The Order of St. Dumas poised to take over every computer network in Gotham City, the only hope may lie within the brainwashed mind of Jean Paul Valley - the man who would have been Azrael. Will a change in program save the day? Or will Zatanna's magic have to work a solo act?


The final chapter of Intelligence continues the larger problem that the storyline as a whole possessed. While I appreciate the effort to restore Azrael's place in The Bat Family in the wake of Rebirth, it has proven difficult for the reader to develop any sense of attachment to Jean Paul as most of the story has focused on other characters telling us about Jean Paul rather than letting us learn about him through his actions. Another problem is the much more riveting subplot focused on Zatanna and Batman, which only distracts away from the main story.

The artwork, at least, remains phenomenal.  Messrs. Martinez, Fernandez and Anderson are one of the greatest artistic teams working in comics today and every page of this book looks fantastic throughout. Would that they had a stronger story to illustrate this time around!

The Final Analysis: 6 out of 10. Great artwork, but despite being nominally focused on Azrael, the story makes him seem like a supporting player and Zatanna's presence only distracts further from his story.

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