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    Batman

    Character » Batman appears in 23535 issues.

    Bruce Wayne, who witnessed the murder of his billionaire parents as a child, swore to avenge their deaths. He trained extensively to achieve mental and physical perfection, mastering martial arts, detective skills, and criminal psychology. Costumed as a bat to prey on the fears of criminals, and utilizing a high-tech arsenal, he became the legendary Batman.

    Let's Talk About Detective Comics "Anarky"

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    Haloprogram

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    Edited By Haloprogram

    So I just wrapped up #40 (as I'm clearing up all the DC comics I haven't caught up on yet) and I have to say.. This is how Detective Comics should be written and drawn. Batman working side by side with the law, focus on Bruce and Alfred spending quality time and Batman doing solid detective work which seems to have only been present in the "Batman" title before now. The most important aspect, to me, and one I think they did well was Bruce and Alfred just hanging out and talking. Those 3 or so pages of Bruce and Alfred walking Titus (almost wrote Ace again) was everything I wanted to see in this title. I've always thought that it's important for Detective Comics to step back sometimes and just show us Bruce Wayne being Bruce Wayne. So kudos to the Buccellato and Manapaul for managing to write a great story!

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    As good as I thought this was I was actually pretty disappointed with the conclusion. That isn't to say it wasn't good but it wasn't what I'd hoped it to be either. Who Anarky was wasn't hard to figure out from the moment we first saw him, I mean any new reader could deduce it in a matter of 3 bubbles or whatever. His motives for donning the mask and the name Anarky felt like a major cop out because now after being caught there's literally no reason for him to return to the costume and name which = no more Anarky and I don't really like that. Also, are you going to tell me that this is why Anarky exists? Who then was Anarky in Green Lantern Corps #25 (the Zero Year issue)?! It doesn't really make sense now does it. Or maybe it does and I'm just lost.

    All in all I loved reading this. Things fell into place a little too conveniently at the final issue but the starting- and middle issues were great! More of this when Bruce comes back please.

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    Anjales_II

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    I'm gonna miss Detective Comics not focusing on Harvey Bullock anymore. Let's face it, it's gonna be a long time until he is given the same amount of depth as he was given in the Manapul and Bouch run. An underrated character. Guess "Gotham" is his only place to shine now. Sry went off topic a little bit. Anarky. Yeah, that was a strong arc, even though the final reveal was a bit predictable, but the ongoing story was very engaging. I don't care about continuity and the whole Zero year thing so that doesn't bother me. Mad Hatter was written and drawn to be one creepy bastard, Anarky, while quite different to what we are used to, in terms of both ideology and motives, but was still an engaging villain in this arc. I also enjoyed the small side plots dealing with Bruce Wayne and his personal struggles (while being comforted by Alfred) and Bullock's love/hate relationship with Batman as well as the whole deal with his partner. As a matter of fact, the relationship between Batman and Bullock was the highlight of this run. It's too bad, other writers don't utilize that relationship anymore.

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    Haloprogram

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    #2  Edited By Haloprogram

    @anjales: Yeah, I think the formula behind how this arc in particular was written should become a standard for all Detective Comics once Bruce returns! It's great how we got to anticipate the incoming danger through the GCPD, in this case Bullock, we saw Batman reacting to it and prior to that him just being Bruce (which is something I love). The way they handled Jervis was great too although his backstory doesn't quite fit in with what we saw in the title "Batman: The Dark Knight" I'm willing to overlook that since I wasn't all that fond of that series anyway. It's the reason I wrote this and wanted to discuss it, I feel this was the best way thus far to tell a "detective comics" worthy story!

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    Anjales_II

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    @anjales: Yeah, I think the formula behind how this arc in particular was written should become a standard for all Detective Comics once Bruce returns! It's great how we got to anticipate the incoming danger through the GCPD, in this case Bullock, we saw Batman reacting to it and prior to that him just being Bruce (which is something I love). The way they handled Jervis was great too although his backstory doesn't quite fit in with what we saw in the title "Batman: The Dark Knight" I'm willing to overlook that since I wasn't all that fond of that series anyway. It's the reason I wrote this and wanted to discuss it, I feel this was the best way thus far to tell a "detective comics" worthy story!

    I agree. Another thing I loved about this story is the fact that we didn't get Batman's internal monologue, instead we discover things with him. Don't get me wrong, I love internal monologues and they can enhance a story, but in a detective story like this, not only does it enhance the story (especially through the use of silent panels) but also allows the reader to be engaged in the mystery itself. I also loved how resourceful Batman was in this story, for example the way he contained the explosion in Wayne Tower at the beginning of the story. But at the same time, how vulnerable Batman was, not physically, but mentally. Bouch and Manapul portrayed Bruce as a human, with human struggles, yet without downplaying how badass Batman is. Many writers fail at achieving that kind of balance. The quieter human moments between Bruce and Alfed, as well as the moments involving Bullock were as much the highlight of the story as the action scenes. And finally, I would be remiss if I didn't mention the art. Simply put, it's gorgeous. Even if you're not a fan of this story, you should get it just for the art.

    After this story, there was a solid 2 part story called Terminal but it wasn't by the same team, after that, the quality dropped a little bit when gears shifted to Jim Gordon as Batman. The tone that set "Icarus" and "Anarky" wasn't as prevalent in this issue and the story overall was forgetful (the story featured Joker's Daughter riding a huge Clown robot..yeah..). However. the characterization was top-notch, namely in anything involving Bullock. As far as I was concerned, in this arc, Bullock was the star and it was a nice re-introduction to Renee Montoya. The chemistry between Bullock and Montoya, and Bullock and Gordon were written exceptionally well. Wish the overall story and art were as good.

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    Haloprogram

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    @anjales: The art, absolutely! Terminal was the 2-part story just before Anarky which I feel made this one just that much better since Terminal had a solid feeling mystery but the art and execution felt a little lazy.

    For as much as they're using Joker's Daughter, I don't think I have yet to read anything interesting involving her. I mean just look at Catwoman's "Underground Gotham" (or something) arc with Joker's Daughter, it was a snooze fest. The only time I've found her bearable to some degree so far is in New Suicide Squad.

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    lamdaddy20

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    Manapul's art is amazing

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