Ricky Church reviews Batman: Dear Detective #1…
Out of all the artists who excel at illustrating the Dark Knight and the gritty world of Gotham City, Lee Bermejo is certainly among the top with his dark atmospheric paintings and realistically detailed takes on the classic characters. Whether he’s solely on artwork like Joker or writing and drawing like Batman: Noël, Bermejo’s work is always incredible. It should come as no surprise, then, that his latest project Batman: Dear Detective follows suit with absolutely gorgeous imagery.
Dear Detective is not your typical comic issue or graphic novel. For almost a year Bermejo has been a cover artist for the main Batman title’s variant covers, but rather than depict his take on the issue’s story, drawing whatever he wants or DC’s latest monthly gimmick, Bermejo was telling his own story cover by cover of one of Batman’s many night outs patrolling Gotham and hunting down his enemies. The result is a collection of cover issues that have been expanded through DC’s prestige format with a bit of a prose story from Bermejo as a mysterious narrator writes a letter to Batman, challenging him on this and future nights.
As this book heavily relies on its visuals, Bermejo’s artwork is fantastic and worth the buy alone. Even without Bermejo’s prose, each image tells a pretty concise story as Batman fights to rescue a child or any number of his rogues gallery. The middle section of the book relies more on the prose as the images feature many of Batman’s various allies and enemies, but it still flows remarkably well and gives Bermejo a chance to show off his interpretation of Batman characters he’s rarely drawn before.
Bermejo is known for his more realistic images, what with his Batman often being in a more armoured or tactical suit than the typical cape and cowl, but he still leans into the more fantastical side of the comics with how the villains are displayed. Killer Croc, for instance, is much closer to his traditional look than Bermejo’s human reimagining from Joker and Bermejo doesn’t just stop with him. It is a nice opportunity to see him flex his skills with all of the characters.
The detail throughout the book is very well done, allowing you to discover more the longer you pour over a page. From the growing dents and cracks in Batman’s suit to the horrific detail on the faces of Joker, Two-Face or others, Bermejo put a lot of work into each and every image. His colours add to the atmosphere with the darkness or how they add to Batman’s scarring or Gotham’s sunrise. He even plays around a little with the more classic look of a comic, comparing Batman through the ages or the Golden Age versions of Batman and Robin against his own Batman and Nightwing. It really is just a great and bold book to sift through and choose which page is your favourite.
Bermejo’s prose strikes to the heart of Batman as the mystery narrator tries to deconstruct and taunt him through his grueling trial. You could probably narrow the writer down to a select few of Batman’s rogues, but its ultimate author is surprising and indicative of Batman’s mission. What helps is how Bermejo includes a cipher for readers to crack the writer’s identity, making the book’s read a fun little game to give it another angle to analyze than just the artwork.
Batman: Dear Detective is for any fan of the comic book medium as it relies on the art telling the story with some incredibly detailed and beautiful images from Lee Bermejo. This whole book is a reason why he’s regarded as one of the best artists in the industry and someone to pay attention to when he’s announced on a Batman project.
Rating: 10/10
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