Review: Detective Comics Vol. 5- A Lonely Place of Living

Quick Summary

Pros: The main conflict is fantastic and satisfactorily delivers a storyline fans have been waiting for. The villain is great and gives the main character’s plenty of time for character development. Clayface and Cassandra have some emotional moments.

Cons: Spoiler’s story isn’t that entertaining.

Overall: This volume sees the successful delivery of a storyline that has been in the making since the first volume of this series. It is intense and filled with moments that look great and help further readers’ understanding of the characters. The volume is also filled with plenty of emotion, from both the main and secondary storylines. This is the volume that readers of this series have been waiting for.

Story

It seems like every time we review this Detective Comics series, I have to talk about how every volume seems to be better than the one before it. Detective Comics Vol. 5: A Lonely Place of Living is no different. In it, writer James Tynion IV tells the climax of a story he has been building since this series started. The result is a wonderful volume filled with gripping suspense and a compelling narrative, all enhanced by the importance of what is going on. The second storyline isn’t as interesting but the overall quality of the collection still makes this worth reading.

(spoilers start here)

Ever since Timothy Drake disappeared back in Detective Comics Vol. 1 (Review), the series has been hinting at and alluding to his possible return. Now, after multiple volumes of setup, this return finally happens. By holding off on this storyline for so long, Tynion ensures that readers going into this volume are prepared for something big. This, combined with the story’s ties to multiversal disturbances, gives the actions of every character plenty of weight and imbues the entire collection with an overall feeling of importance.

The volume begins with Tim breaking out of his prison and, unintentionally, teaming up with a future version of himself. This future Tim is cynical, uses a gun, and has taken on the mantle of Batman; he is essentially everything that modern day Tim fears he will become. The two instantly oppose each other as future Tim launches a plan to kill Batwoman in order to alter the timeline.

Setting up the story in this way allows for a number of great moments and plenty of character development. Readers get to see the extent of Tim’s intelligence and also see how much of an asset it can be in a fight. This builds up future Tim as a legitimate threat and also helps readers understand what current Tim is capable of. Their conflict also digs into Tim’s personal beliefs and shows how he envisions his future. All in all, future Tim is an awesome villain who is able to bring out some of the hero’s best attributes.

Though the main storyline is definitely focused heavily on Tim, the other members of the Bat-family still find their time to shine. The volume ends with two chapters devoted to Clayface and Spoiler. Clayface’s current dilemma is expanded upon and his relationship with Cassandra becomes even more significant. Their story is emotional and very heartbreaking. Spoiler’s story is a bit less entertaining, however it has potential to develop into something more significant in the future. These final chapters are not quite as good as the main storyline but still manage to be entertaining.

(spoilers end here)

Art

The cinematic visuals and wonderful level of detail that has been present throughout this series returns in this volume. Eddy Barrows and Álvaro Martínez pencil the main story with a solid quality level and a great focus on structure. Panels flow into one another well, taking time to highlight important moments or stress character reactions. In addition, Carmen Carnero’s work on the Spoiler story is almost as good and does well in matching the story being told. Overall, this is a nice looking book that should not disappoint new or old readers.

Continuity

Detective Comics Vol. 5: A Lonely Place of Living continues the story from Detective Comics Vol. 4: Deus Ex Machina (Review).

The story here continues in Detective Comics Vol. 6: Fall of the Batmen (Review).

This volume also references and continues the stories from other comic books, detailed below:

• The beginning of this volume is essentially a modern day retelling of Tim Drake’s origin from “A Lonely Place of Dying”, now collected in Batman: A Death in the Family.
• The mystery behind Mr. Oz’s identity is revealed in Superman: The Oz Effect (Review).
• The concept of a Tim Drake from the future comes from Teen Titans/Legion Special #1, which is collected in Teen Titans by Geoff Johns Book Two.
• Superman’s death at the hands of Doomsday is mentioned. This happened in Superman: The Death of Superman.
• Dick’s time as Batman is brought up. He takes up the mantle in Battle for the Cowl.
• Dr. Oz’s kidnapping of a “fifth-dimensional imp” is detailed in Superman: Reborn (Review) (Reading Order).
• Batman mentions that something happened to Damian in the past to inspire a new protocol. This event was Damian’s death in Batman Incorporated Vol. 2: Gotham’s Most Wanted.
• Batwoman’s friend Bette began training with her way back in Batwoman Vol. 1: Hydrology (Review).
• Spoiler references her father’s death. He died at the end of Batman Eternal Vol. 3 (Review).
• Spoiler also hears a news report on the radio that is essentially detailing the events of Superman: The Oz Effect (Review).
• Jason’s death at the hands of the Joker happened in Batman: A Death in the Family.