BATMAN: DETECTIVE by Paul (BTAS) Dini

[Comics N' Toons]

ok as mentioned before in another thread... i got this in the mail... i've only had time to read 1 story...

So FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO KNOW THIS BOOK, please tell me what is the book as a whole like?????


better yet, tell me everything you know...

tell me all... your opinions...

much appreciated

- BATS N' HORNETS

 

[Kaizer]

As a whole I gotta say I found it rather....uninteresting

 

[The Guard]

It's ok. It's somewhat refreshing to see The "detective" elements and stories are all right if a bit contrived, but he doesn't really have a solid grasp on Batman's emotional state or the psychology behind the character. It's very much a story-driven book, loaded with "cameos". It's like he's trying to be Jeph Loeb with a better grasp of the detective angle.

 

[RobC]

It's not really a book, more a collection of lots of different stories. All one shot style.

I liked it though, i've heard nothing but praise for Dini's run on Detective.

 

[Comics N' Toons]

would you say its a better TPB than a lot of the lesser Batman stuff

 

[Kaizer]

would you say its a better TPB than a lot of the lesser Batman stuff

Is it better than what is less good? well...you've answered your own question.

 

[Comics N' Toons]

no... what i mean is... how does it hold up against other Batman stories?

 

[Kaizer]

seeing as it is Dini, the best comparison is probably with Batman: The Animated Series. So it's definitely good, but I'm more fan of the longer stories in the comics-format than these kind of small "episodes".

 

[The Joker]

The best one was the Joker one with Robin. That'd be the only one I'd deem as great. The others were either ok or meh, IMO.

 

[RobC]

Yeah agreed with that, the Joker/Robin story was crazy good.

It'd hold it's own against say Face The Face, Strange Apparitions etc...

But it's not good enough to enter that upper echelon of Hush, DKR, Year One.

 

[rnewbz]

i just started this book recently and i must say i love it. Its kinda like what if BTAS has continued into a 5th season. The book also stays in line with continuity of the other books. It is a very smart book and one of the better bat titles in recent years.

 

[BubbaGump]

Yeah agreed with that, the Joker/Robin story was crazy good.

It'd hold it's own against say Face The Face, Strange Apparitions etc...

But it's not good enough to enter that upper echelon of Hush, DKR, Year One.

There is so much wrong with this post...

 

[Comics N' Toons]

I have now officially read it...

a nice series of one shots... my favorite i think was the one w/ mr. phosphorous...

that was good! OH & The Joker was obviously just carrying out everyone's fantasy... i mean who hasn't wanted to blow someone away when they screw up a fast food order

 

[RobC]

There is so much wrong with this post...

I honestly put Hush above Strange Apparitions. Personally I prefer it, art-wise and story-wise. Strange Apparitions laboured for me.

 

[Dark Guardian]

I absolutely love this book.
Each story, with the exception of the one with Dr. Phosphorus was written by Paul Dini, a man who has much respect in my mind, because he truly understands the characters.
Favorite of course is the last one with Robin and The Joker, largely because that is exactly what the Joker should always be portrayed as.
To me, Dini's version of the Joker is the only version of Joker.
In that story you see him be genuinely funny (I mean c'mon, you really have a hard time not laughing when he hits the homeless guy, then says 'Oh, we better back up and see if we can help him!' and backs right over the guy.) and in the same instant he'll be eerily evil and sinister, (Robin looking over the seat at the grinning family Joker stole the car from) and just when you think Robin's got an angle you realize that the Joker has thought of everything, going so far as to place a little toy car in the seat cushion to give Robin false hope before he snatches it away.

That is the Joker.

 

[Kaizer]

The best one was the Joker one with Robin. That'd be the only one I'd deem as great. The others were either ok or meh, IMO.

Oh, I had forgot about the Joker one, yeah, loved that story, the others paled in comparison

 

[Hobgoblin]

I only saw the tail end of the Dini run, but I prefer it over the boring stories we have been getting. Todays issue was better, which I think proves Dini is better than the other guy that was writing over the past few months.

 

[strikerbatman]

eh. it wasnt bad it wasnt good. just eh. agreed though about the one with joker/robin, wasnt that bad

 

[CrimsonMist]

I honestly put Hush above Strange Apparitions. Personally I prefer it, art-wise and story-wise. Strange Apparitions laboured for me.

Really? Where i agree Strange Apparitions was a bit of a let down(i didn't really feel the whole Bruce/Silver vibe...didn't seem compelling enough as most people made it out to be, and i don't really like that whole spoonfeeding "The Batman clenches his fist with rage! The Batman leaps across the rooftops with amazing grace and agility!" style writing. It's kind of annoying knowing that the writer is trying to talk to the reader...i don't know. Im spoiled by modern comics, i guess. It IS a visual medium after all.)

But art wise, you prefer Hush!? I'm sorry, but i'd take 70's Marshall Rogers and Terry Austin over Jim Lee any day! That's some of the best artwork i've ever seen in a comic book.

 

[RobC]

Honestly I prefer the story, and the art. I prefer the newer, cleaner, crisper versions of character's like Mahnke, Lee, Kramer etc... That's just my artistic sensibilities.

And the whole Silver angle in Strange Apparitions was almost non-existant. She could have been replaced with any name, it wasn't her character per se, just her name.

 

[Parents-Gun-Bat]

Dini's stuff is SOO OVERRATED. His "detective" stuff makes the same mistakes Loeb did with "The Long Halloween". Detective stories where the solution is totally unfair and out of the blue!!!

 

[RobC]

The solution is unfair? Huh?

I prefer Dini, at the moment he is owning Batman as a character. Morrison? Meh.

Dini > Morrison.

 

[GlasgowBat]

i think he means that the solution is a complete surprise, and one that cannt be put together by the reader, as the clues are not relevant or are missing vital contextual circumstance.

batman solves it, but the reader is only aware of this at the climax, when batman describes how he figured it out.

to be honest, thats what i like best in these stories. i don't want the world's greatest detective to be troubled for a whole issue by a crime/problem that i can figure out as i'm reading it.

it is then nowhere near as impressive.

 

[BubbaGump]

Dini's stuff is SOO OVERRATED. His "detective" stuff makes the same mistakes Loeb did with "The Long Halloween". Detective stories where the solution is totally unfair and out of the blue!!!

Comparing Dini to Loeb is blasphemy. Dini is a way better writer.

 

[Parents-Gun-Bat]

Comparing Dini to Loeb is blasphemy. Dini is a way better writer.

That's probably right! But both fail at comics!