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With just three issues to the finale, Detective Comics #1087 once again plunges the Bat-family through the fires on the streets of Gotham as the Orghams and Joker’s Daughter clash.
Detective Comics #1087 Main Cover by Evan Cagle
Title: “Gotham Nocturne: Act 3: Crescendo, Part 4”Writer: Ram VArtists: Christian Duce and Stefano RaffaeleColors: Luis GuerreroMain Cover: Evan CagleVariant Covers: Kelley Jones, Guillem March, Sebastian Fiumara (1:25 incentive)Release Date: July 24, 2024
Batman watches as the new masked Orgham commander, Shadow Angel, marches through the flaming streets of Gotham, collecting people to hang. Nightwing, Azrael, and Cassandra Cain Batgirl intervene.
Ten-Eyed Man points Batman in the right direction for his next strike.
Commissioner Montoya leads her GCPD loyalists to the roof where they light the forgotten Batsignal, and Mr. Freeze causes a massive upwards cold front, slowing down the azmer demons.
Batman arrives at the Batsignal to fight the attacking Orgham werewolf, but the werewolf injects Montoya with something and throws her in a van. Two-Face shoots the werewolf with silver bullets and tells Batman to chase Montoya.
The Orgham Queen looks over her plan to flood reality with Scarecrow’s nightmares. Shavod plans to make a mind control broadcast, and the Queen orders Neang to stop Mr. Freeze.
Batman gives Montoya to Catwoman and says all is going according to plan. She doubts it.
While Shadow Angel makes a broadcast (though possibly it’s Shavod wearing his mask), Joker’s Daughter (Duela Dent) cuts her head off on live TV.
Detective Comics #1087 variant cover by Guillem March. Image: DC Comics
Three issues from the end of Ram V’s Detective Comics opera, the resolution of the conflict between Batman and the Orgham family seems as far away as ever. Though Batman’s plans to counter the azmer demon army and the lower level Orgham commanders seem effective, how he will wrest control from the Orgham Queen and her high-level lackeys, not to mention how the threat of the Joker and Joker’s Daughter will wrap up, seem murkier than ever.
Dashing from scene to scene, unfortunately relying on some of the weaker team-book-type writing, Ram V’s Batman lets Ten-Eyed Man figure out that the Batsignal is the next target, he lets Two-Face take on the werewolf (with perhaps the biggest ass-pull in a story full of ass-pulls, the “reveal” that silver bullets hurt the werewolf three issues from the end, after many, many confrontations with Batman), and he gives the drugged Renee to Catwoman, who’s betrayed him. All in all, messy and frustratingly ineffective.
That being said, Ram V does occasionally drop in a moment that really shows the power he can wield. Two-Face assisting Batman to rescue Renee called back powerfully to No Man’s Land and Gotham Central – the twister relationship between Harvey and Montoya that Greg Rucka so carefully built up references subtly but with great weight. As with Mr. Freeze, Ram V’s writing of these tormented villains and their history with Batman and Gotham City could have been such a powerful, rich story on its own. From the bizarre return of the hanging motif, to the possible swapping of Shadow Angel’s mask onto Shavod who is then beheaded, there’s no rhyme, reason, or endgame to the motiveless Orghams, who suck all plausile character motivation from every scene they visit.
Main arc artist Stefano Raffaele shares the pages in this issue with Christian Duce. Though both artists are excellent, and indeed Duce is one of my favorites from his work on the Batman Eternal series and The Flash with Jeremy Adams, it’s once again extremely frustrating to see Detective Comics, the longest-running and highest-numbered of DC’s books, refusing to make consistent art a priority. Though inconsistent, the artists do work together well without jarring transitions, and the art is high quality throughout.
Detective Comics #1087 Variant Cover by Kelley Jones. Image: DC Comics
Detective Comics #1087 Backup Story
Title: “BONK”Writer: Dan WattersArtist and Colors: Francesco Francavilla
Azrael watches the azmer demons driving cars and crashing into others. He prepares to attack, but Nightwing hits him with an escrima stick, saying he doesn’t trust Azrael’s intentions. Azrael seems content to let the demon-possessed destroy themselves, but Dick and Cassandra Cain Batgirl try to save the azmer victims. Nightwing rages at Azrael, but Cassandra says to trust him. Azrael cuts open a car and reveals a terrified mother and child. He tells Nightwing that he’s the Angel of Mercy now, with a new covenant with God. He also says Nightwing has three chances, one used up by the escrima hit earlier. Nightwing responds by hitting him again.
Dan Watters reaches backwards and forwards with this humorous little scene. His Azrael clearly develops from his Arkham City and Sword of Azrael miniseries, and his Nightwing provides a hint of where he may take the character in his upcoming All-In run on the book. Though the clash between the normally affable Dick Grayson and Jean-Paul Valley is grating, as Dick doesn’t usually judge lethal vigilantes so harshly, his frustration with Azrael makes more sense in the context of the Prodigal arc, where he has to pick up the pieces of a Gotham broken by Az-Bats many decades ago. The formal trick of the repeated “bonk” panel and sound effect provides a humorous stinger and pleasing structural effect as well as strong characterization and thematic exploration. As usual, veteran DC artist Francavilla proves he still knows how to make Gotham look neon-drenched and exciting!
Evan Cagle paints the main cover with Batman looking down on Gotham City in flames – a gorgeous rendering of the interior events. Kelley Jones uses very clever and dramatic composition to have Batman casting a Batsignal shadow from vivid lightning strikes for the first variant. Guillem March shows a thoughtful Batman looking at cyberpunk-style holograms around him – not particularly reflective of the story itself, but a lovely image as usual with DC’s variants. And Sebastian Fiumara’s 1 in 25 incentive variant highlights the absolute creepiness of Ten-Eyed Man’s hand poking through an empty Bat-Cowl.
Editor’s Note: DC Comics provided TBU with an advance copy of this comic for review purposes. You can find this comic and help support TBU in the process by purchasing this issue digitally on Amazon or a physical copy of the title through Things From Another World.
Detective Comics #1087 Comic Book Review
Final Thoughts
With glimmers of the strong writing that we saw in Catwoman, Gotham Nocturne’s Crescendo part 4 only reaches to mezzo forte at most, though strong art pushes the tempo.
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