Detective Comics #982 - A Review

Trapped in the darkest tunnels under Gotham City, Batman seeks a missing homeless man. What he finds is a conspiracy organized by a frightening new cult and an old enemy... older than Gotham itself.
Detective Comics #982 seems less like a Batman comic and more like a Hellboy story that was hurriedly adapted into something Batman-themed. Doubtlessly this may be because of the artwork by Sebastian Fiumara, best known for his work on Lobster Johnson and Abe Sapien. Yet with a supernatural villain at its heart, this story still seems atypical for the sort of serious, mystery-based tales we usually see in Detective Comics.

That being said, this is far from a bad book. Indeed, this is perhaps the most noteworthy use of Deacon Blackfire I've ever seen in any story, though that is damning with faint praise as I've always found the character less than compelling. Yet Michael Moreci's script makes him compelling and the artwork by Sebaastian Fiumara and Dave Stewart drives the story at full tilt into the deepest, darkest parts of Gotham. There's also some great font work by Clem Robins, who crafts text that seems to cut at the balloons that contain it.

The Final Analysis: 10/10. All in all this is a solid one-shot Batman story. 

The Flash #35 - A Review

Meena Dhawan has escaped from The Speed Force, but this is hardly the blessing both Barry Allen and Wally West thougt it would be. Meena has revealed herself as being in league with The Black Hole - the collective of amoral scientists who seek to harness The Speed Force for their own dark ends.

Meena has also ripped the negative Speed Force energy from Barry's body, leaving him weakened and her newly empowered as The Negative Flash. Even with Wally to help him, can Barry hope to stand against the woman he once loved?


Asked to sum up The Flash #35 in a word, I would have to choose "disappointing." The artwork by Pop Mhan and Ivan Plascencia is some of the best the series has seen to date but that's just pretty paint on an ugly shell. The chief problem is the dialogue, which lacks the usual punch Joshua Williamson puts into his scripts. This leads one to wonder if Williamson merely provided the plot for this issue and Michael Moreci wrote the actual script?

A larger problem, logistically at least, is the book's treatment of its female cast. Here, we see Meena turned into a villain out of nowhere for the sake of quick drama. The end of the issue hints at the death of one of Barry's female co-workers - a revelation which will serve no purpose other than to give Barry further angst about his work-life. It's lazy storytelling and beneath the creators involved.

The Final Analysis: 6 out of 10. Great artwork, but the story leaves a lot to be desired. 

The Flash #34 - A Review

Dr. Meena Dhawan - a.k.a. Fast Track - was once Barry Allen's girlfriend and Wally West's first mentor. She disappeared during a battle with the villain Godspeed, seemingly killed along with two of her students among those granted super-speed by The Speed Force storms that once wrecked Central City.

Now, she's back and Barry and Wally are overjoyed at the news. But Meena has returned with grim news - Barry's new-found connection to the negative charge of The Speed Force is killing him! She offers to help study Barry's new powers and find a cure. Unbeknownst to them, however, Meena is a double agent, working for both STAR Labs and the villainous group of rogue scientists known as The Black Hole...


While I'm displeased to see Meena being turned into a villain (I found her to be a far more interesting love interest than Iris West during her brief time as Barry's girlfriend), at least she's proving to be a competent villain who is giving The Flash a run for his money.  The dialogue is a little flat, however, with a lot of sameness to the characters voices - a problem that may be due to Joshua Williamson co-writing this issue with Michael Moreci.

Whatever reservations I may have about the story, I have none about the artwork. Pop Mhan does his usual fantastic job on the pencils and inks, backed by the always outstanding colors of Ivan Plascencia. This is one of the most consistently well-drawn books on the stands.

The Final Analysis: 8 out of 10. It falters only in the story being inaccessible to new readers.