For the finale, Bruce does some detective work again. Gordon’s missing so Batman tries to retrace his steps, with Alan Scott along to see how detective work is done. Brubaker sends them on a different line of investigation than Gordon had, which makes sense in terms of creating an interesting narrative… but Gordon’s was better. Shouldn’t Batman been able to duplicate it?
Maybe Brubaker just wanted to give Zircher the opportunity to do some cool fight scenes. Batman and Green Lantern actually pair quite well visually. And Brubaker does a fine job writing Alan Scott, even if he doesn’t get any character moments.
Gordon gets a nice one, then Bruce gets a nice one, right at the end. It’s a good little story.
The second part of the Joker dog backup continues to impress. Spears has a lot of humor in it and a great protagonist. And Rob G.’s good.
CREDITS
Made of Wood, Conclusion; writer, Ed Brubaker; penciller, Patrick Zircher; inkers, Aaron Sowd and Steve Bird; colorist, Jason Wright; letterer, Todd Klein; editors, Michael Wright and Bob Schreck. The Dogcatcher, Part Two; writer, Rick Spears; artist, Rob G.; colorist, Guy Major; letterer, Janice Chiang; editor, Matt Idelson. Publisher, DC Comics.
This issue Gordon gets to do all the detecting and Batman gets to beat people up. Actually, Batman teams up with Alan Scott and they go beat people up together. They’re trying to get information and don’t get much. Gordon’s actual detective work pays off.
Oh, look it’s Batman actually detecting things in Detective Comics. Ed Brubaker sets up a very interesting case, with a serial killer from Green Lantern Alan Scott’s days in the forties apparently returning. He splits the issue mostly between Jim Gordon and Batman, but Scott gets some pages too.