Written by: Ram V
Art by: Stefano RaffaeleColors by: Adriano Lucas
Letters by: Ariana Maher
Cover art by: Evan Cagle (cover A)
Cover price: $4.99
Release date: March 21, 2023
Detective Comics #1070 breaks from the action to reinforce the idea that all the keys to the mystery for Batman and Oracle lie in memories and introduce the mysterious new hero team, The Vigil.
Is It Good?
That's right. Detective Comics #1070 takes a break from developing the slow-moving plot to fill in a little history about the Orghams (nothing usable yet) and backdoor introduce The Vigil, a hero team set to launch in their own title in a few months by Ram V. In other words, if you're waiting for the story about the Orghams to get moving, you'll have to wait longer. If you are not interested in The Vigil, you can skip this issue altogether.
When last we left Gotham, a girl now calling herself Cheshire Cat escaped captivity by the Orgham army in the tunnels below the streets, Cass/Batgirl was busy tracking the movements of the captives along the Ley Lines beneath Gotham, and Bruce was busy recovering from his injuries.
Now, Cass/Batgirl is still tracking the captives as the Orgham army moves them around, Cheshire Cat runs into Solomon Grundy as he fights off Orgham soldiers (and proves he's resistant to Azmer), Bruce has a friendly chat with Arzen Orgham, and Batman pays a visit to Talia to find out more about Orgham history.
That's right. Detective Comics #1070 takes a break from developing the slow-moving plot to fill in a little history about the Orghams (nothing usable yet) and backdoor introduce The Vigil, a hero team set to launch in their own title in a few months by Ram V. In other words, if you're waiting for the story about the Orghams to get moving, you'll have to wait longer. If you are not interested in The Vigil, you can skip this issue altogether.
When last we left Gotham, a girl now calling herself Cheshire Cat escaped captivity by the Orgham army in the tunnels below the streets, Cass/Batgirl was busy tracking the movements of the captives along the Ley Lines beneath Gotham, and Bruce was busy recovering from his injuries.
Now, Cass/Batgirl is still tracking the captives as the Orgham army moves them around, Cheshire Cat runs into Solomon Grundy as he fights off Orgham soldiers (and proves he's resistant to Azmer), Bruce has a friendly chat with Arzen Orgham, and Batman pays a visit to Talia to find out more about Orgham history.
Consistent with Ram V's writing style, interesting ideas are introduced but go nowhere. Whether or not any of these ideas pays off remains to be seen, but for now, Detective Comics #1070 has a lot of beginnings with promise and little substance.
Suddenly, the story takes a hard left when Oracle is paid a foreboding visit from Arclight, one of the members of The Vigil, with a warning - stop the Orghams and their reality engine, or The Vigil will. I don't know how that's a warning when Oracle and Batman have struggled to figure out what's happening for a while without success. Any sensible person would say, "Yes, please do fix this. Can I get you a snack before you save the day?"
In terms of writing execution, all the Ram V hallmarks are present. The overly flowery, sometimes nonsensical language that doesn't match the characters or tell you anything of note (ie. expressive but hollow). The pacing is good, and again, the ideas are interesting. The story eventually needs to come together into something meaningful, a consistent trouble area for Ram V.
Raffaele's art is good, with mild shades of Daniel Warren Johnson in the opening Solomon Grundy fight, but the rest of the issue is fairly sedate. Detective Comics #1070 is a dialog- and narration-heavy issue, so there's not much opportunity for an artistic flex. That said, Raffale's style is good enough to get the job done.
About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.
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Bits and Pieces:
Detective Comics #1070 takes a break from an already slow-moving story to introduce a few interesting ideas, tease a little bit about the Orghams' history, and devote the rest of the issue to a backdoor pilot for the upcoming The Vigil comic (also written by Ram V). If you're all in on the Orghams, you could skip this issue and not miss a thing.
5.5/10
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