By Paul Dini (writer), Dustin Nguyen (pencils), Derek Fridolfs (inks), John Kalisz (colors)
Detective Comics #841 starts off with Bruce Wayne doing one of his obligatory appearances at the Gotham Fashion Show. It’s soon held up by the Wonderland Gang – with the Mad Hatter leading the charge. Trying to make it look almost accidental, Bruce thwarts the gang’s plans and they flee the scene. But in the following days, the gang’s prominence is bolstered as new members join and the crime spree swells. Well, Batman finally gets the lead he needs and confronts the team’s leader, the Mad Hatter. What starts off as a simple detective story ends in a humorous finish.
Dustin Nguyen’s art is clean, kinetic, and detailed as always. There’s a particular panel where he does this crazy fish-eye lense effect that comes off extremely well. John Kalisz lays down some vivid colors that make this book look abnormally bright and colorful. Even the scenes that take place at night look vivid, but I honestly like this choice. Batman doesn’t always have to be full of washed out palettes.
Paul Dini’s writes up a fun Batman story and even throws in a couple of laugh out loud moments for good measure. Batman’s foes can be a little on the ridiculous side and it’s perfectly illustrated that he doesn’t take a lot of them seriously. This story is self-contained which more than welcomed. (Grade: B+)
- J. Montes
Filed under: DC Comics, Reviews Tagged: | Batman, Batman, Bruce Wayne, DC Comics, Derek Fridolfs, Detective Comics, Dustin Nguyen, John Kalisz, Mad Hatter, Paul Dini, Wonderland Gang
