Batman The Detective #6

Batman The Detective #6

DC Comics 2021

Written by Tom Taylor

Pencilled by Andy Kubert

Inked by Sandra Hope

Coloured by Brad Anderson

Lettered by Clem Robins

BATMAN VS. EQUILIBRIUM!

It’s Batman versus Equilibrium in a brutal battle to save every single person the Dark Knight has rescued…ever! The stunning conclusion to the epic series!

I kind of wish this weren’t the last issue. A Batman series set in Europe wouldn’t be such a bad thing to have around. So as it stands this is the last issue of the run and it is pretty darn impressive in how we see not only the events unfold and come to their natural conclusion but we see a nice shift in how Batman, Bruce, sees things in general. I’d like to think that his counterpart, per se, in Equilibrium would be the catalyst but she’s not. I think it has more to do with Beryl and Henri and what they both said to him. Regardless it’s nice to see that something sunk in and that he actually understood what they were trying to say. I have to admit that the idea of Equilibrium and her counterpoint to Batman and that she’s willing to kill those he saved to somehow balance out the scales, yeah it’s even crazier sounding when I put it down in words but it in theory makes sense.

I am a huge fan of the way that this is being told. The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information are presented exceptionally well. The character development that we see, which is extraordinary by the way, through the narration, the dialogue, the character interaction as well as how we see them act and react to the situations and circumstances which they encounter does a magnificent job highlighting their ever changing and evolving personalities. The pacing is excellent and as it takes us through the pages revealing more of the story we see just how bizarre Batman’s world can be.

I am thoroughly enjoying the way we see this being structured and how the layers within the story continue to emerge, grow, evolve and strengthen. I am also enjoying the way we see the layers opening up new avenues to explore. I would like to see Equilibrium’s thought process explored more though. All this adds such great depth, dimension and complexity to the story. How we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it moves the story forward are impeccably handled.

I’m pretty impressed with the interiors here. The linework is clean, crisp and strong with the varying weights and techniques being utilised to create the detail within the work throughout the book is extraordinary. Also I’m extremely impressed with the way Sandra is able to ink the pencils and make it all look like Andy’s signature style. How we see backgrounds enhance and expand the moments as well as how they work within the composition of the panels to bring out the depth perception, sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the story is incredible to see. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels shows a remarkably talented eye for storytelling. The various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work shows a great understanding of how colour works. I have to say the stark contrast with the white batsuits is really rather striking.

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This is an exceptional story that introduces a fantastic new villain and expands Batman’s world in some extraordinary ways. With the European Bat Network, how Henri influenced him through his training and meeting the new Squire really leaves me with the desire to see more of this part of his world. The writing is phenomenal and the characterisation is mind blowing while the interiors just bring this all to life exceptionally well.