This month’s Detective Comics follows directly on the heels of the previous issue. In it, Batman continues his battle with Arzen and the rest of his team must deal with the fallout of the explosion that rocked the Orgham’s grand opening.

One of the elements I wanted from this issue was for the momentum to feel as strong as it did in the previous one, and that feeling is present. The issue is fast paced, with the focus split between Batman’s fight against Arzen, and Gotham itself reacting to the events taking place above ground. It is packed with energy, movement, and characters. Just about everyone who has appeared so far in this run, and even extra characters, shows up.

I mentioned the sheer number of characters introduced in my last review and I have to touch on it here again, as they all have little moments in this issue. Most of them are cameos, a panel here and there to remind readers of the life built up within Gotham over the course of this run. And while I appreciate that the various characters do make things feel active, and alive, seeing them all reminded me how much time was spent on many of them, time that can feel a little wasted. Especially with characters who only showed up briefly like the Ten Eyed Man, or even Freeze –who has featured primarily in backups rather than the main story. I feel like if all these elements hadn’t been present, the story might feel more focused than it does.

As for the heroes, I feel a little disappointed in their inclusion. Most of the time spent with them is spent in confusion or with them being berated, with characters reeling to find the others, and right themselves after the explosion. When they’re not doing that, they are scrambling to deal with the Orghram’s master plan, and failing at it. Which, I don’t feel is entirely fair. Archlight –a member of the Vigil– shows up to save Oracle from being brainwashed and also tell her just how badly Batman and his whole team has failed at trying to protect Gotham and in the context of what we have seen story wise I can’t accept this as a fair judgment. Looking back on the series I can’t really clearly tell you what the whole team has been doing beyond investigating, and so to just say “We warned you and you still failed.” feels disingenuous to what the readers have seen. It almost feels like narrative has focused on everything else but the investigation, so instead of properly showing the failure of the team, everyone is simply being told it.

Batman himself is being told a lot of things, a lot of them repeats of his own failings, and how Gotham doesn’t need him. This is in line with the narrative put forth so far by Ram V, and one of the thematic lines flowing through the series. I had hoped that this issue might be one that was triumphant, but it seems instead V is pushing Batman further into both external and internal conflicts and extending the Orghram story to continue making his point and telling his tale. I’m not the biggest fan of the idea of Gotham itself turning against Batman, it’s a plot we’ve seen time and again, and lacking a lot of interest for me. I also have to admit I’m weary with this whole Orgham plot. It has been going on for the entirety of this run, and as a reader I want to see Ram V tackle something new.

What I do find interesting, is the internal conflict Ram V has been building and creating within Bruce himself. I’d read a lot more with this conflict as the focus, rather than the external ones playing alongside everything. The issue plays further into Bruce’s own doubts and fears and struggles with being Gotham’s protector, and continuing to be enough to achieve that goal. It also folds in a few more elements I’m sure will be expanded on in preceding issues.

Ivan Reis & Goran Sudzuka are on pencils for this issue and while each does a good job on their portions, you can feel the differences in the art style between Batman’s sections and the areas featuring the rest of Gotham. The pencils, and inks –done by Danny Miki and Goran Sudzuka– feel distinct from each other, with Batman’s section coming off more realistic as compared to the more cartoon-esq style featured on characters like Barbara Gordon. For some readers the differences might be distracting, or it might work well to distinguishe between the different tones happening in the story.

Generally, I can’t help but feel this story has really gone on a little too long. I mentioned I was hoping this issue might have more of a triumphant feeling than it does and I meant that. Even if every element wasn’t tied together, I feel like the story is strung out longer than it needs to be, peppered with too many characters, plots, and elements that I as a reader am having trouble keeping up with everything. If Batman and his team did fail like they were told they did, I want to feel like I understand why, and if that was shown I want to be able to put those pieces together myself, rather than having characters swoop in to tell me, and the cast, that information. The length of this tale has muddied it’s waters quite a bit and I just hope it can clear up sooner rather than later.

Score: 5/10

Backup: Things That Must Die Part 2

Dan Watters writes the backup, and it is the second of two parts focused on Arzen’s childhood. The events here are what ultimately turned him from an innocent child into the coldhearted man he’s become in the main story. It shows his reaction to not only losing his father, but his bodyguard, and cements his Mother’s implementation of how she wants him to be raised: as a killer rather than a nurturer. As I mentioned with part 1, it works well as a peek into the character himself, and helps build the mythos not only of Arzen but his family and their dynamics. That said, unlike some of the other backups I don’t feel like this one is required reading for the overall Detective Comics plot. As flavor for Arzen, it’s good, but as something that deepens your understanding of the plot as a whole it’s not quite there.

Score: 6/10

Recommended If

• That explosion at the end of the last issue had you on pins and needles
• You don’t mind seeing Batman take a beating
• Learning a little more about Arzen was on your to-do list

Overall

This issue of Detective Comics dives right back in where the last one left off, and explores the aftermath of the explosion of the Orgham’s new building, while also forcing Batman to face off against the mastermind behind the whole catastrophe. While the energy is high, there are elements that don’t quite work, like the narrative’s insistence on telling readers and the characters they’ve lost, and the plot feeling muddled in just everything it is trying to do. There are pieces of the overall story here that I like, I just want to see the story more focused, rather than so stretched.

Overall score: 6/10

DISCLAIMER: DC Comics provided Batman News with a copy of this comic for the purpose of this review.