Detective Comics #850 - Review

The Good…

• Solid ending to a pretty entertaining story arc.
• Paul Dini’s writing is, as usual, wonderful.
• Dustin Nguyen’s art works very well with Dini’s writing.

The Bad…

• Despite the graphic, this arc has had very little to do with Batman R.I.P.

After months of suspense and unanswered questions, Batman’s Heart of Hush finally wraps in the latest issue of Detective Comics. As an R.I.P. tie-in written by Paul Dini and drawn by Dustin Nguyen, would this issue be the last we see of Bruce Wayne as Batman?

On a side note, in case you haven’t had the chance to read this issue, this review will contain some spoilers. If you’re really annoyed when people ruin comics for you, you should probably skip this review. Why not check out some of the new Watchmen posters or, better yet, go read Detective Comics #850.

So, for those you that stuck around, what you get out of Detective Comics #850 is the conclusion to a pretty interesting arc that has had really, despite the graphic on the top of the comic, very little to do with Batman R.I.P. at all. If you’ve read any of my previous reviews of any Detective Comics that Paul Dini has written, the man can almost literally do no wrong. His Batman is, in my opinion, the definitive version of the character and, while he does steer a little bit off the path that most people would associate with Bruce Wayne, Dini manages to actually add a little bit of depth to Wayne’s character, past and relationship with Selina Kyle.

Dustin Nguyen returns once again for the end of this arc and keeps his artwork relatively the same. His simple 2-D style has really become one of my favorites for the sheer fact that it’s not overly complicated which leaves simple minded people like me with the chance to really understand the story without being distracted by overly complex imagery. Despite it’s simplicity, Nguyen’s style really separates him from many other artists out there.

So, to answer the question I asked in the opening of this review, this is definitely not the last we see of Bruce Wayne as Batman. Actually, he seems quite content at the end of the issue and it’s a little tough to see how this story actually meshes with the one that Grant Morrison is working on in the pages of Batman as Bruce Wayne’s brain still seems to be… not… broken. That being said, issue #851 of Detective Comics, entitled Batman: Last Rites, seems like it will probably be somewhat more tied into the main time line that Batman’s working towards.

Detective Comics #850

9.1 out of 10 stars