Review: Detective Comics Vol. 8- The Blood of Heroes

Quick Summary

Pros: Detective Bullock’s story is compelling and interesting. The new Batman/Justice League team-up is very well-written. The volume’s artwork is mostly positive.

Cons: Large pieces of the volume’s main story arc are lackluster and prevent it from being as good as it could have been. The Robin War tie-in feels out of place in this collection.

Overall: This book, like many of its predecessors, is an unfortunate mix of positives and negatives. Some of the stories within this book are solid tales of detective work paired with a good level of emotion. However, other stories end up feeling lackluster and unnecessary. This volume may be worthwhile for fans of Detective Bullock or fans who want to see the new Batman team-up with the Justice League but definitely is not the best collection out there.

Story

Detective Comics Vol. 8: The Blood of Heroes continues the mixed level of quality that has been present for the past several volumes of this series. The collection opens with a solid detective story, starring Detective Bullock, that is unfortunately weighed down by a pretty mediocre Batman story. This arc comprises the largest piece of this book and just ends up being average. The following story is an improvement and features a unique team-up between the new Batman and the Justice League, but only comprises a small piece of the total book. Finally, a Robin War (Review) (Reading Order) tie-in closes the volume with an alright story that simply does not stand well on its own. This mix of quality prevents this volume from seriously standing out and, unfortunately, dooms it to a realm of mediocrity.

(spoilers start here)

The first and main story arc in The Blood of Heroes mostly continues the narrative from the past two volumes. This arc, written by Brian Buccellato and Francis Manapul, sees the conclusion of Detective Bullock’s personal troubles and the resolution of a threat from his girlfriend. It is compelling and interesting, as various mysteries are uncovered and various problems are resolved.

However, the pieces of the arc that do not focus on Bullock end up weighing it down. Gordan/Batman and his fight against La Morte is secondary to everything else and, in the end, feels unnecessary. I would have preferred a fully fleshed out detective story following Bullock’s activities, rather than a moderately good detective story with a lackluster action story on the side.

The Blood of Heroes then goes on to detail two chapters, written by Peter Tomasi, featuring a team-up between the new Batman and the Justice League. This arc is great and combines plenty of positive factors together. It has a compelling detective story at the center, an emotional appeal from the victims of this story, and a sense of progression for Gordon, as he develops a relationship with the Justice League. Really, the biggest problem with this arc is that it ends too soon, leaving me wishing it had taken up a larger piece of the volume.

Finally, the last chapter in The Blood of Heroes collects a single piece of the Robin War (Review) (Reading Order) event. This chapter is alright but feels pretty strange when disconnected from the rest of the event. Because of this, it offers little to the casual reader and will likely only appeal to those looking for a way to read the complete event in separate pieces.

(spoilers end here)

Art

Though the quality of the storytelling fluctuates a bit throughout The Blood of Heroes, the quality of the artwork remains consistently positive throughout. The volume opens with beautifully designed characters and environments, from Fernando Blanco, bathed in muted colors, from Brian Buccellato, that match the serious nature of the storytelling. The page structures here are also clean and organized in a way that creates a smooth reading experience. Then, the next story arc changes things up as the narrative leaves street-level crimes and enters the Justice League’s domains. Here, visuals from Marcio Takara help capture this sense of imagination and really solidify this portion of the book’s disconnect from Gotham. The final chapter, a Robin War (Review) (Reading Order) tie-in, is the least impressive but still manages to look alright. All in all, the artwork in this collection is positive and adds to the book.

Continuity

Detective Comics Vol. 8: The Blood of Heroes continues the story from Detective Comics Vol. 7: Anarky (Review).

The story here continues in Detective Comics Vol. 9: Gordon at War (Review).

This volume also references other comic books, detailed below:

• Something happened to the old Batman at the conclusion of Batman: Endgame (Review) (Reading Order).
• A new Batman appeared at the beginning of Batman Vol. 8: Superheavy (Review).
• Superman visited Alfred back in Batman #43, collected in Batman Vol. 8: Superheavy (Review).
• The last chapter in this collection is a tie-in to the Robin War (Review) (Reading Order) event.