DETECTIVE COMICS #14
by John Layman, Jason Fabok, and Andy Clarke
WHAT? Jock did NOT draw the backup story?
John Layman is working wonders with Detective Comics. After the last Penguin-centric issue, Layman turns his attention to Poison Ivy. I'll admit, I think his excuse for including Ivy is a bit forced, but I like her better as a villain than a hero. Another thing I love about Layman's DC, is the tone he's setting with the book. Instead of making this all grim and grime, he's going for a B:TAS feel for the book. Layman also puts Batman in one hell of a sticky situation (literally) at the end of the book with an interesting cliffhanger that excellently sets up the next issue.
Jason Fabok's art continues to shine with his smooth David Finch style. Fabok makes Batman look great. He makes EVERYTHING look great... except Damian. Damian makes a brief cameo in this issue, and Fabok makes him look 16, though he's only supposed to be around 9 or 10 years old.
The backup is surprisingly... disappointing. It felt like Layman was trying to take up space, because if feels so pointless. It's so muddled, and a poor attempt to try to elaborate on the book's cliffhanger, that he could have just summed it up in one sentence. Clarke's art looks good, though it doesn't feel as detailed as his work in Batman #0 or the last issue.
Detective Comics #13 has a kick-ass main story, but an underwhelming backup story. I suggest that you buy this for the meat of the book, but not for the supplementary material.
STORY: 4.5/5
ART: 4.5/5
BACKUP: 2/5
VERDICT: 3.5/5
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