Written by: Ram V
Art by: Christian Duce, Stefano Raffaele
Colors by: Luis Guerrero
Letters by: Arian Maher
Cover art by: Evan Cagle
Cover price: $4.99
Release date: July 24, 2024
Detective Comics #1087, by DC Comics on 7/24/24, finds Batman and the Bat Family holding the line against the Orgham army overrunning Gotham and setting the city ablaze.
Is Detective Comics #1087 Good?
This series is exhausting. In fairness, this issue is one of the less pretentious, convoluted pieces of overwritten narrative to come out of Ram Vs coif, but the constant push and pull of multiple threads reacting and overreacting to each other just sucks the life out of the story. Two more months to go, Folks, and the Ram V run will finally be over. Hallelujah! When last we left the Dark Knight in Detective Comics #1086, the Orghams unleashed an Azmer-infected army on the streets of Gotham, setting the town ablaze. The mysterious Shadow Angel and his cadre of Azmer-enhanced brutes held an entire building hostage. Jim Gordon gave Commissioner Montoya the data that suggested the Orghams were planning something big. Meanwhile, the Joker visited Duela Dent to manipulate her into relapsing. In Detective Comics #1087, the Bat Family fans out across the city to stop the Orghams Army of the Downtrodden from dragging upper-class citizens out of their homes and hanging them in public squares. While his soldiers keep up the fight, Batman concludes his meeting with the Ten-Eyed Man when they discern a pattern of intent in the Orghams' actions. The Orghams want Montoya. If nothing else, Ram V's simmering finale picks up the pace as the point of view switches from one action to the next to keep the readers engaged. Ten-Eyed Man acts as an outlet for Ram Vs frequently pretentious narration, so at least it fits with the obtuseness of his character. In all, it's not a bad start. When the Azmer forces arrive at the GCPD, Montoya's police urge her to evacuate. Instead, she leads them to the roof. Her police realize what she's up to when she activates the long-dormant Bat-Signal, summoning Batman to enter the fray and battle Tenclaw. Meanwhile, Mr. Freeze unleashes a Winter in July storm that lowers temperatures across Gotham to slow the exponential spread of Azmer infections. On the one hand, the preceding sequence of events is full of fast-paced action and energy. On the other hand, it only works if you just accept that everyone did all the right things all at once, regardless of time or foreknowledge. How did Batman happen to get to the roof to fight Tenclaw within seconds of Montoya activating the signal? How did Mr. Freeze know cold affects Azmer, and why was he prepared to set off a citywide storm? It's these little shortcuts and convenient coincidences that frequently pile up to pull you out of the issue. Tenclaw manages to inject Montoya with a knockout drug while Batman is engaged with the Azmer brutes. The werewolf leaps to the city street below where a van is waiting. Batman follows but it's Two-Face who (sorta) saves the day by nicking Tenclaw's arm with a silver bullet. Harvey urges Batman to go after the van while he settles his score with Tenclaw. Generally, Tenclaw's defeat scene makes sense, but only if you accept that Two-Face just happened to be in the right place at the right time and armed with the exact right weapon for him to deal with a superior foe. You get the impression Ram V is racing to tie up the hundreds of loose ends, so he has to take every shortcut he can get. The issue concludes with Batman rescuing Montoya, Mr. Freeze putting the multi-limbed Neang on ice, Batman taking a moment for a lover's chat with Selina, and Duela Dent showing up out of the blue to separate Shadow Angel's head from his body. Ahh, Shadow Angel. We hardly knew ye. I mean that literally. Wasn't he just introduced? Whatever. Nothing matters in this series. Overall, Detective Comics #1087 is one of the better issues in the series based almost entirely on the improved pacing. Half the plot developments are still a complete mystery, and things happen out of the blue for no particular reason, but at least there's action, energy, and a vague sense of direction to keep you engaged.
Backup Story
Dan Watters gives readers a standalone tale centering on Nightwing and Azrael's contentious partnership as they fight the Azmer forces on the streets of Gotham. Nightwing is, understandably, not inclined to believe Azrael will keep his word about not killing anyone. For his part, Azrael proves trustworthy, but he's forced to endure a few comedic bonks from Nightwing to prove it.
To be clear, the backup isn't a comedy, but it is amusing watching Azrael behave himself in the face of Nightwing's taunts.
About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.
Follow @ComicalOpinions on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter
Final Thoughts
Detective Comics #1087 ups the action, energy, and pacing to deliver one of the better issues in the series. That said, the plot only works if you accept a tidal wave of shortcuts, convenient coincidences, and happy accidents that put everyone exactly where they need to be at exactly the right time without explanation. The art's decent enough, and the individual scenes are perfectly good, but it's clear Ram V is throwing every bit of smoke and flash at the reader to cover up how rushed this finale is turning out.
6/10
We hope you found this article interesting. Come back for more reviews, previews, and opinions on comics, and don’t forget to follow us on social media:
Connect With Us Here: Weird Science DC Comics / Weird Science Marvel Comics
If you're interested in this creator’s works, remember to let your Local Comic Shop know to find more of their work for you. They would appreciate the call, and so would we.
Click here to find your Local Comic Shop: www.ComicShopLocator.com
As an Amazon Associate, we earn revenue from qualifying purchases to help fund this site. Links to Blu-Rays, DVDs, Books, Movies, and more contained in this article are affiliate links. Please consider purchasing if you find something interesting, and thank you for your support.
