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Detective
Comics
787/DEC/2003
Publisher: DC Comics
Mimsy Were the Borogoves
Writer: Brian K. Vaughan
Pencils: Rick Burchett
Inks: John Lowe
Colors: Jason Wright
Letters: John Costanza
The Dogcatcher [Part 3]
Writer: Rick Spears
Pencils: Rob G.
Inks: Rob G.
Colors: Guy Major
Letters: Janice Chiang
Price: $2.75 US/R16.95 SA
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This time last year I was putting up my first few reviews and one
of the first was an issue of Detective Comics.
So it’s that time of the year again to check up on one of
the longest running mainstream comics. Last year Ed Brubaker
was at the front of the charge, this time the brilliant Brian
K. Vaughan leads us into the fray.
In the first of two stories Vaughan brings the Mad Hatter
out of Arkham Asylum and back to the streets of Gotham. The big
question is will Batman solve the clues as to why he has escaped
in time to stop him?
Vaughan [Y: The Last Man, Runaways]
crafts a gripping Batman tale by putting both detective and action
based themes to good use. There is a mystery to this story as well
as a well rounded action-packed resolution. All in all it is a fun
read. The real treat is the extra work that Vaughan puts into his
villain, The Mad Hatter. He goes into extreme detail by using references
from literature in order to bring a deeper understanding and interest
to an otherwise crazy character. It’s this extra work and
some witty dialogue that make this story good.
Rick Burchett illustrates the story in a style reminiscent of Bruce
Timm’s animated Batman mixed in with a bit of Cameron
Stewart's style from recent Catwoman issues.
The cartoonish slant to his work adds a nice feel to the story and
reminds us not to take it too seriously. It comes across as a classic
feeling piece with good panel layouts depicting the major action
scenes.
The second story is brought to us compliments of Rick Spears and
Rob.G [The Couriers] and is the
third part of the backup story called ‘The Dogcatcher’.
It’s a week since the dogcatcher found a young pup named ‘Joker’
and it still bugs him that it might be related to the master criminal
of the same name. But with the day rapidly approaching in which
he has to put the aforementioned canine to sleep, he struggles to
get the dog adopted and out of the pound.
Spears writes a nice little side story here and has an interesting
concept to explore. Who would have though that super villains pets
could be so interesting. With his annoying boss on his heels the
reluctant catcher mentally prepares himself to put down
the Jokers pet. It’s great to see the anguish he
goes through and the way he relates to his bastard of a boss. Rob
G. manages to render the dead-end clinical atmosphere of the pound
down to a tee. His less than subtle signboards around the workplace
are a sharp visual reference which help to further tell the story,
which is a dark and depressing tale in nature. His ‘ugly’
style of drawing everyday people suits this piece well and rounds
it of nicely.
Both tales are solid if not spectacular. It’s
nice to see a ‘jam’ book like this still going after
all these years. If you’re looking for a comic which showcases
a variety of talent every few months and has solid storytelling
then Detective Comics might be your bag.
Score 6/10
Reviewed By:Iain Duncan
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