Dumb (Penumbra) and Dumber (Harper Row)
For months I've thought Detective Comics has been the best of the Bat-books but the latest issue misses the mark. Badly. Forgetting the throwaway Man-Bat back-up story that takes up far too many pages, the main storyline involves the return (and quick removal of) and old flame of Bruce Wayne's during his training around the globe. I don't mind that the comic introduces us to someone new from his past (although her stupid shadow arms are impossible to take seriously), but everything feels rushed here as we get the character's origins, motivations, first (and apparently last) battle with Batman and quick removal from the DCU in the space of about three heartbeats. The only saving grace here is an appearance by her boss (a cameo foreshadowing the return of Ra's al Ghul).
I was also saddened to see another writer besides Scott Snyder pushing Harper Row as Batman's next partner. I'm not a fan of the hipster chic character, and she's certainly a worst choice of a number of characters DC has to choose from (Tim Drake, Dick Grayson, Carrie Kelley, a resurrected Damian, Jason Todd, and the yet to be re-introduced Stephanie Brown) to fill Robin's costume.
One final note, I'd actually rank this as a 1.5 instead of a 1 (but that's not much better). You can find more of my reviews (with images) on RazorFine Reviews
