Detective Comics #1000

I didn't like this issue as much as I hoped I would.

SPOILERS AHEAD

I don't go into issues with multiple short stories expecting too much but at the same time this was extremely disappointing. I think that the Nuclear Winter Special was far more impressive than the #1000 issue of Detective Comics.

Batman's Longest Case

While I appreciate the concept of focusing on Batmans' detective skills and the appearance of certain characters I couldn't stand the writing here. It droned on way too long trying to break down the clues that lead Batman on to show how smart he is. Even when the reveal is shown I found most of the dialogue to be dull and dire need of editing. And this was a short story. I shouldn't have a problem with how much text there was but this was just tedious. As with many of these stories I find myself asking what the point was.

Batman wasn't as smart as the others and was the last one invited to an exclusive detective group. He finds out there still so much to discover. And? What's the punch or twist at the end ? That Batman doesn't know as much as he thinks he does? I'm not going to say it can't be an interesting idea but that's not really all that compelling in the way it was presented.


Manufacture For Use

Maybe it was partly because this one came after Snyder's but I just really enjoyed this. Yeah the bits with Batman fighting all his foes while the narrative goes on does seem exessive and the gun is overused in the mythos. But the difference is that Kevin Smith has Batman do something productive and meaningful. Batman takes a symbol of his pain to repurpose it into something positive. It's inspirational and speaks to who Batman should be instead of the jerk that different series have been writing about that needs his pain to be a crime fighter.


The Legend of Knute Brody

This was another one of the better stories with a tale that would have fitted perfectly on the animated series. Not surprising since Dini wrote this one. Other than the odd voice he had for Damian for his small part (I thought it was Tim before I caught the word bubble) this was a solid read.


The Batman's Design

Ellis writes a Batman that is able to scare his foes with his words by being able to use his knowledge of their lives against them. Which was the most memorable part of this tale since I had to look this up again to be reminded of the rest. This is one of the meaner takes as he seems to delight in what he does. It's not bad by any means I just don't find it to be all that compelling.


Return to Crime Alley

This is basically a retelling of an old story with Leslie. Denny O'Neil reminds bat fans why she's such an important character and that Bruce has had anger issues for some time. Some find Leslie annoying for preaching about pacifism--which can be bad depending on the writing--but she's such an excellent foil for Batman. He needs to be challenged by others and reminded of his humanity. This was another high point for me.


Heretic

Let me say that I don't think Neal Adam's style meshes with Christopher Priest. This story is just weird and is another head scratcher. Man gets killed, Batman investigates and the twist (I think?) is the sibling that did it is female. Okay? Was this supposed to be a nod to old school Batman storytelling hence Adams? Because that and the ending felt extremely dated. Batman finds the killers yet he allows them to walk away knowing they will kill others. What?


I Know

Bendis tells a story about Penguin knowing who Batman was for years and why he never revealed it before. Bruce knew he knew, calls him a coward and shocks him. I don't really feel one way or another about this one. Except the noises Penguin kept making were annoying.


The Last Crime in Gotham

I was looking forward to what Geoff Johns would write. He's done a well written Batman in Booster Gold and I was hoping for a preview of sorts for the Three Jokers. To get some idea of how he'd handle the characters. But this was just so disappointing for me. This wasn't even in line with some of the more questionable writing I've seen from Johns in the past. Not that I'm a fan of those stories but this isn't what I'm used to from Johns. Not the good or the bad.

Batman's vison of a "good" future wasn't all that great. Damian stays Robin into adulthood, Bruce is with Selina and has a daughter named Echo with her? What happened to the rest of the family?

I hope that Johns means Jason Bard and not Todd. I do not want to read any hint of the latter pairing. Either way it's odd that Batman dreams about someone besides Dick ending up with Barbara. I thought he was always their biggest shipper in canon. And he wants Joker to not only die of natural causes but have a son that kills himself along with other rogues? What?


The Precedent 

Despite not being a fan of most of Tynion's writing I preferred this one over Snyders'. That said it's not really a needed story and in fact seems a little out of place. Maybe if it wasn't focused on just Dick but all of the Robins taking the mantle it would have felt more appropriate?  I will give it to him for being more upbeat than some of the stories. It's decent enough although it doesn't feel like anything new.


Batmans' Greatest Case

I will give King credit for being the only writer that attempted to use the current main bat family in his story. At the very least he understands that their important to Batman, the mythos and the fans. Stephanie randomly asking Tim to make out with her in front of the others doesn't make sense. All it tells me is that you want readers to know their an item and don't know how to mention it organically. Dicks' talk with Damian doesn't feel all that natural. The cringy talk about who's getting kicked out of the family just isn't funny.

Wouldn't Barbara hacker Gordon know how old Kate is? Kate and Barbara talking about why one of them can use the "woman" and the other uses "girl" was just asinine. War makes a woman? What? Not only is it really far too late to be having this conversation it's really immature. What exactly are they trying to say beyond attempting to get the readers to find it funny? Kate should have just said that she holds the "woman" title because Barbara is acting so juvenile. Barbara complaining about her relationship with Dick is just--there's layers for why it doesn't work.

Joking about how many deaths and resurrections the family has just underlines how careless DC is being with their shock deaths with the Robins. Now that's mostly a problem I have with DC as a whole but King isn't doing this problem any favors by lampshading it. The attempts at humor just fall flat for me.


Medieval

I like reading about characters actions and different points of views. Which makes this a good read even if I wasn't sure how I'd like the new Arkham Knight. Besides the "bad man" part I don't really have much to complain about. Unlike King using several characters there's not much that can be said for a new character. I may have to read up on the new Arkham Knight at some point.