By: David Hine (writer), Scott McDaniel (pencils), Andy Owens (inks), Guy Major (colors) & Todd Klein (letters)
The Story: The finale to The Imposters story-line sees a free-for-all, murderous riot erupt at the carnival.
What’s good: Are you alternately bored and confused by Grant Morrison’s meta-epic “Return of Bruce Wayne”? Are you having a hard time figuring out what is going on with Dr. Hurt and that Domino stuff that is going on in Batman & Robin? Would you like a plain, old Batman story that doesn’t require you to pull out back issues to reference plot points from two years ago? If you answered, “yes” to any of those questions, this story arc in Detective Comics is just the palate cleanser you needed.
Hine has created a really neat character in Winslow Heath (the Joker imposter). We started to explore his background in the last issue and Part One of his origin was enough to understand why he is seriously unwell and why he hates Joker, but what we learn about him in this issue takes the cake and makes us understand why he hates Batman. When you look at what happened to Heath, you actually find yourself feeling a little sorry for him. Hopefully this is not the last we see of the character because Heath is a good villain.
Even though McDaniel’s art isn’t quite as crisp in this issue, it connects when it really counts. The key is how creepy he makes Heath look in a few pivotal scenes. This dude looks crazier and creepier than Joker has looked in years. When you combine this look with Heath’s origin, it makes for an unsettling package.
What’s not so good: Hine spends a little too much time on the questions of: Is Gotham a nasty place because of Batman? Do villains flock to Gotham just to test themselves against him? Would Gotham have more petty crime, but be spared Joker-level mega-crime if Batman just hung it up? This just isn’t a very interesting line of inquiry because it leads nowhere. We all know that if Batman did hang up the tights, Gotham would be fine at first, but THEN…. something would happen that would bring him out of retirement and Gotham would realize that it truly needs its Dark Knight. The End! Could that story end any other way? It is hard to imagine that it would, so why tease it?
It is also very disappointing that this is an old Bruce Wayne story. There is no reason why this couldn’t have been a current Dick Grayson story. For all the Bat-books that DC publishes, there really have not been very many Dick-Batman stories that have been independent of Morrison’s Bruce Wayne saga. Can’t the guy just be a hero?
The art was not bad, but it does look a little different than past issues. Different enough that it caused one to confirm that there wasn’t a change of inkers. Perhaps it was just rushed slightly? The “big” panels still have the juice, but the bulk of the book is lacking in the chaotic whimsy that earlier issues of this story had.
Conclusion: A very satisfying Bruce Wayne story for those who want a break from what Morrison is doing. Not without flaws, but Hine has created a very cool new villain in Winslow Heath. Hopefully, he’ll be back sooner rather than later.
Grade: B-
– Dean Stell
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Conclusion