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A riddle needs solving and The Cat is back in town!

Ever since Paul Dini took over writing duties for Detective Comics, it’s been probably the most consistent of the DC superhero comics, with maybe the exception of Geoff Johns on Green Lantern. It’s just been terrific. Paul catches a lot of crap for Countdown, and deservedly so. It was a big, bloated and boring story. But with dealing with his DC roots, meaning the character of Batman, he’s mostly been right on target. I’ve loved the stand-alone or maybe two-parters that he’s been doing. I felt with “The Resurrection of Ra’s Al Ghul” storyline, he was a little too mired in the whole crossover thing, and that (as Countdown proved) is not his forte. He’s much more at home with the Batman stories. And speaking of home, guess who’s come home in Detective Comics #845? Catwoman!

I love the whole Bat/Cat dynamic. It’s been the best, and probably longest-running, star-crossed lovers scenario in DC history. They want each other so damn badly that, when it’s a great story, you can feel the romantic/sexual tension just burning off the page. However, here… it’s kinda wasted. But first, we should talk about the remainder of the issue. A murder mystery is in full effect: three people have been murdered by an unknown assailant who has a penchant for Indian Ghurka knives and white lilies. Batman wants on the case alone, but The Riddler is determined to bring his ‘master intellect’ to the crime and solve the case before the police, and especially Batman. Right before Batman sets his mind to the mystery, he’s greeted by the lovely Selina, who has returned safe and sound from the ‘Prison Planet’. Unfortunately, since I don’t apparently read enough of her solo title, I have no freaking idea what that was all about. Bruce and Selina trade some tasty dialogue about her knowledge of his romance with Jezebel Jet and the rumors about him and Zatanna (which was a relationship I really wanted to happen!). After these two whole pages, she whips out of the Batmobile, leaving Bruce wanting to chase her, but knowing that he can’t afford the time. 

Then the issue really gets going. He gathers all the information he can, but when it comes up short, Batman goes into an amateur detective online chatroom to trade theories. This makes for one of the most interesting and fun turns in a recent Batman comic, as Detective Chimp makes a very funny cameo as one of Batman’s helpers in this online community, knowing the whole while that The Riddler is also online also grasping at straws. Through some morally questionable hacking and his inherent detective skills, Batman discovers who the killer most likely is, leaving him not only having to confront the killer, but also deal with The Riddler as the killer’s hostage.

This issue is a great example of why Dini rocks so hard at Batman. He really understands him, inside and out. He also understands his rogue’s gallery, and what makes them tick. This issue is also great because of how it balances the murder mystery element with romance, humor, and tragedy. Dustin Nguyen’s pencils here are really growing on me. I wasn’t too taken with them at first, but with his Mignola-influenced lines and shading, he’s really on the money here. My only problem is that this was building up to be a Bat and Cat issue, and there were only a few pages and I wanted a lot more.

Also, this is obviously prior to the events of the “R.I.P.” saga, but that kicks off next issue with the return of one of my least-favorite Batman villains of all time. Hopefully, Dini and Nguyen will be able to give that quiet guy some interesting qualities.

Detective Comics #845
“The Riddle Unanswered”
Written by Paul Dini
Pencils by Dustin Nguyen
Inks by Derek Fridolfs
Colors by John Kalisz
Letters by Randy Gentile

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