Robb Ghag reviews Detective Comics #21…
“Harper Row joins Batman on a case that leads all the way back to Detective Comics #0, but will The Dark Knight be willing to accept her help?“
After the last series arc of Emperor Penguin ended I was curious to see where they would take the Dark Knight Detective. What’s next?
Of all of the Batman titles going right now this one seems to be a little scattered. There’s very little direction and a lot of gaps in the story. Or perhaps it’s the new characters which are introduced?
The artwork still is great, as Scot Eaton keeps up his dark and gritty portrayal of Batman in this issue: Shadows and Ghosts. The story itself reveals another one of Bruce Wayne’s old childhood friends who has mysteriously come back to haunt the Batman.
As Harper continues to try and be Batman’s “Girl Friday”, I just wasn’t that invested in this new assassin who Batman has to fight. Even the final panel reveal of the mastermind behind the assassination wasn’t enough to keep me interested in the storyline.
The backup story by John Layman involving the Man-Bat Kirk Langstrom was far more interesting to me than the actual main storyline here. Perhaps it’s because of all of the recent developments from the Emperor Penguin storyline, which were bookended here. In these eight pages, Andy Clarke’s art and the actual story are far more interesting.
Robb Ghag works for an Arts & Entertainment Brokerage in Toronto Canada. An Animation and Film school graduate, he specializes in Risk Management of Animation and VFX studios throughout North America.
Originally published June 27, 2013. Updated April 11, 2018.
