Review: Detective Comics Vol. 2- Scare Tactics

Quick Summary

Pros: The detective work here is fun to watch. The entire collection is able to build suspense well. The collection’s conclusion has a number of great stories. The artwork is well done throughout.

Cons: Portions of the story’s mysteries remain unexplained in order to create drama.

Overall: Mystery and high-quality artwork are the driving factors behind this collection. The mystery hooks you in and tells an entertaining story while the visuals give the entire book a polished feeling. There are a few flaws here and there, as small pieces of the story don’t always make sense; however these errors are pretty minor. This is a book for anyone who wants to see Batman take on a case with more detective work than normal.

Story

As the title implies, Detective Comics Vol. 2: Scare Tactics, by Tony S. Daniel, is a volume focused on detective work, combining mystery with suspense to create a story that is intriguing all the way through. However, along the way, the narrative occasionally sacrifices logic and explanation in order to deliver a epic moment or raise the drama in a fight sequence. Luckily, the collection’s conclusion ends strong and helps ensure that the entire book is worth reading. Overall, this is an entertaining volume that is sure to be good for most and great for some.

(spoilers start here)

The book stars with two stories of varying levels of quality. The first continues the tale of Hugo Strange’s son from the first volume. This story is great, it starts with plenty of high-stakes action and ends with a sucker punch of emotion. The second story is a tie-in to the “Night of the Owls” event from Batman Vol. 2: The City of Owls (Review). This story is pretty mediocre and does better as a prelude to this collection’s second mystery than it does as a story on its own.

The first actual mystery begins with the appearance of several Batman impostors and continues as the Dark Knight investigates the use of a Hadron Collider. The entire case ends up being a weird, yet entertaining, dive into science fiction that follows various clones attempting to repair the man they descended from. Though the storytelling is well done, a number of aspects about the mystery remain unclear even after the story ends, such as how the “abomination” was created or how the original Mr. Toxic will be able to live without his radiation treatment.

The second mystery begins when Black Mask escapes from Arkham Asylum. This mystery is more straightforward and is written in a way that allows astute readers to actually guess pieces of the final reveal. The only problem is that, once again, aspects of the mystery are left unexplained in order to make time for dramatic moments, such as how Black Mask is able to face off against Mad Hatter when his mask should not have been able to work. This is still an entertaining case but it is not without its flaws.

The collection ends with a series of unconnected stories that secure the book’s status as a good volume. It starts with a flashback to Batman’s training days, written by Gregg Hurwitz, which provides a heartbreaking reminder as to why Batman is as closed off as he is. Then, James Tynion IV tells us about Batman and Alfred’s first meeting after he returned to Gotham, which is a wholesome balance to the darkness in the previous story. Then, Tony S. Daniel does a great examination of Two-Face’s personality and show the tragedy within the otherwise brutal man. The final story highlights the terror Gotham feels in Joker’s presence and serves as a solid prelude to Batman Vol. 3: Death of the Family (Review). All of these stories are well written and all of them are great pieces of Batman’s life.

(spoilers end here)

Art

In addition to providing the majority of the story in Scare Tactics, Tony S. Daniel also provides the bulk of the artwork. In this collection, Daniel’s work has a high level of detail and a solid level of quality, as it is in nearly every comic he works on. These details really assist in bringing out the horror and beauty that simultaneously exist in Gotham City. This can range from the grotesque sight of Scarecrow’s hallucinations to the picturesque nature of Arkham Asylum’s Gothic architecture. No matter what is being shown on the page, Daniel is able to make it look good.

Daniel’s work is not the only art present in this collection, as artists like Ed Benes and Julio Ferreira each have a chapter as well. These artists do a tremendous job in bringing a similar level of quality and detail to the collection and are even able to provide a close match to Daniel’s specific style. This helps the collection look better but also helps maintain the consistency of the visuals, which is also important. Their artwork is slightly lacking in a few places, especially when depicting emotional facial expressions, but is still good overall.

Continuity

Detective Comics Vol. 2: Scare Tactics continues the story started in Detective Comics Vol. 1: Faces of Death (Review).

The story here continues in Detective Comics Vol. 3: Emperor Penguin. The Joker tease at the end of the volume is a prelude to Batman Vol. 3: Death of the Family (Review).

This volume also makes a references to other comic books, detailed below:

• Catwoman mentions that Poison Ivy is involved with the Birds of Prey. Her involvement with this team began in Birds of Prey Vol. 1: Trouble in Mind (Review).
• Batman references that his relationship with Catwoman has been strained recently. This is explained by the events of Catwoman Vol. 1: The Game (Review).
• The second chapter here is a tie-in to the “Night of the Owls” event from Batman Vol. 2: The City of Owls (Review).