Detective Comics #855 Review

Detective Comics #855
Elegy Part 2: Misterioso

Writer: Greg Rucka
Artist: J.H. Williams III
Colors: Dave Stewart
Letters: Todd Klein

This is only the second issue from this creative team, but already it is one of the most beautiful books on the stands today. Each page unfolds better than the last leading to a final panel that leaves Batwoman at the end of a very short rope.

The book opens with Batwoman taking the upper hand and using it to question Alice about the Crime Bible and her connection to it. She doesn’t get many answers before Alice reveals how resourceful and violent she can be. Things only get worse for Kate as Alice and her forces play their trump card.

This issue is pure fluff never giving any answers, while posing almost no new questions. Regardless, the action is well choreographed and the art is as good or better than you’ll find in any book today. I’ve seen Williams’ art before and never have been as impressed. Batwoman’s opening splash page featuring her leaping over villains and snapping necks looks gorgeous with its red hues and kinetic images. Alice is another stand-out character sketched with emotional guile, intensity and lace.

Alice herself is written as well as she’s drawn thanks to Rucka’s tireless efforts to continue to use quotes taken directly from “Alice in Wonderland.” This direction helps to add to her insanity and works to show how truly broken her mind has become. I appreciate that while knowing about the Crime Bible will help you understand the book in a more well-rounded fashion it is never necessary to appreciate it.

Batwoman is, surprisingly, a bit more confusing. In her introduction during the pages of 52 she was presented as a rich almost selfish socialite, but now she comes across like an army brat who never had more than a dollar to her name. This dichotomy almost works, as she needs both money and combat training to be Batwoman, yet they don’t try and make the two halves mesh in any consistent way. Hopefully, down the line they’ll figure out a way for these different parts of her life to work as one, but so far they’re not making any effort.

The eight-page “Question” back-up is decent if not forgettable. This story probably features my favorite representation of the character as played by Renee Montoya, but the story itself is a generic kidnapping case with no twists or cliffhangers. Out of all the back-ups so far “The Manhunter,” is still the one that captures my attention the most.

This title is the longest continuously published book in United States comic history and still remains one its best. An easy recommend for anyone who enjoys, Batman, Gotham or as the title suggests; a good detective story.

A-