DETECTIVE COMICS #30 (REVIEW)

Detective Comics #30

Writer: Francis Manapul
           Brian Buccellato

Artist: Francis Manapul

Cover: Francis Manapul





The Rundown:
Story begins with two females on the pier as we read "Welcome to Gotham City. This place has the potential to be great...for both of us." Batman is prowling the rooftops at night. In pursuit of a group of thugs using children to deal their drugs. He is able to save the kids, but one of the thugs gets away ironically with the gang that he recently stole drugs from. Batman pursues them, but is unable to catch them.
At an Extreme Motorcross event, Bruce Wayne talks business with the woman from the pier, Miss Elena Aquila. Her daughter, Annie, is a four time champion and is participating in the event. Elena pitches her proposal of Bruce and his company joining her in re-developing Gotham City's East End Waterfront. She gets him to agree as it is an attempt to restore hope to a decaying part of the city he loves. As news of the venture spreads, it appears that it will receive some corrupt political pressure. Down at the Waterfront, Mr. Squid, is dealing with the thug that stole from him and escaped Batman earlier. We get an idea of his namesake as he hoists his victims by the chain around their neck using a crane and then drops them into a tank with what appears to be a man-eating squid.
Back at the Batcave, Bruce is working on Damian's motorbike as he converses with Alfred. Discussing how he misses his late son, and how much Damian loved his bike. The alarms begin to sound as an intruder makes their way onto the grounds of Wayne Manor. As Bruce rushes to face to assailant, he discovers that it is Elena Aquila. She is engulfed in flames, and falls into his arms to the ground.

The Review:
Detective Comics has a new creative team, and after this issue, they are a welcomed addition. The first part of the story arc "Icarus" was a very nice beginning, taking things back to a detective based story. Which of course leaves questions to be answered. What is this new drug hitting the streets of Gotham? Who is this Mr. Squid character? Is he a main player or just another pawn? And what of the Aquila Family? Is Elena dead, critically injured or is it all a rouse? Some of you may even wonder if we were witnessing the beginnings of a future Bat-Family member. With what has been presented in this issue, Annie Aquila is in a very similar situation as Batman and some of the other Bat-Family characters. All of these questions will likely be answered in the upcoming issues, but it is definitely a sign of good writing.
The art, although usually not fan of that style, was done well and added to the required tone of the story. It also added to some of the mystery with only giving us a small glimpse of Mr. Squid's killer pet. How large and grotesque is this thing, we will have to wait and see, but am intrigued. Usually I would mention how it told the story well, and it did, however that is almost expected when the artist is also the co-writer. A skill in itself, but who better to translate your words to pictures?
Overall, it was a really good issue. The new detective focused direction is nice to see happen, given the title and all. Hopefully, fans of The Flash were given equal talent to follow the work of Detective Comics new creative team. As although only an issue into their run, things are looking to be really good. With it being the Year Of The Batman, that is another thing that is nice to see happening.

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