Batman: Detective Comics #1088 – Ram V, Dan Watters, writers; Guillem March, Christopher Mitten, artists; Luis Guerrero, Patricio Delpeche, colorists
Beam – 9/10
Beam: As with many other issues, we are now on the penultimate issue of Ram V’s Detective Comics series, which revolves entirely around a very ambitious storyline – what happens when an ancient empire even more powerful and ruthless than the Al Ghuls comes to Gotham and claims it for themselves? Orgham’s takeover of Gotham has taken many forms, from Arzen Orgham’s velvet touch to his mother’s iron fist. Now she stands alone as the Tyrant Queen of Gotham, unleashing one horror after another in Batman’s absence. But Batman is no longer absent, and the Dark Knight we see in this issue lives up to his name – armored in ancient plate armor and ready to take back his city by force.
This issue is jam-packed, with Batman’s main battle only a fraction of the story. Across Gotham, heroes and villains battle Orgham agents to the bitter end. The Ten-Eyed Man faces off against the Orgham’s mad prophetess in a bloody showdown, while Mister Freeze turns the tables on one of the Orgham’s deadliest killers. And then there’s Two-Face, who faces a starving werewolf at great cost. This issue deviates from superhero comics in some ways and goes into horror, setting up an incredibly exciting finale – and I can hardly believe it will be properly wrapped up in just one more issue. One thing’s for sure – I can’t wait.
That anticipation is only heightened by the support of Watters and Mitten, a concentrated drama between Talia Al Ghul and an unexpected character – Arzen Orgham, who is brought back to life in some kind of strange Lazarus tank as Talia tries to restore the young king to power and end the war in Gotham. There are some great reflections on what connects these two, as well as an interesting look into the roots of the Lazarus Pit. Can the younger Orgham bring peace to Gotham, or will he be just another match in the flame? We’re in for a great finale.
Reviews of all DC issues can be found under “DC This Week”.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
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