Comic Roundup: Detective Comics #858

• Since I last reviewed an issue of Detective Comics, several issues have come out. The first storyline, "Elegy," wrapped up with one heck of a climax. This week saw the release of issue 858, the first issue of "Go."


• I'm about to spoil the surprise ending of the prior issue, so you might want to stop reading now if you're the wait-for-the-trade type. But my verdict, before you leave, is that the book is great and getting better. How often do you get to say that about a comic?


• Now that they're gone, let's talk about Kate's sister. At the end of the last issue, we discovered that Alice was in fact Kate's sister, Beth. In this issue, we find that not only were they sisters, but that they were identical twins. I guess white makeup hides a lot. JH Williams' art changes styles several times over the course of this issue. It starts simple, almost like an autobio comic, when the opening flashback to they childhood. Then the lush modern style returns as we see Batwoman testing the blood she violently drew from Alice against her own.


• This next point is a love letter to Greg Rucka. I'm not ashamed. This story chilled me. I was actually concerned for the characters and the events they were meant to endure. I know people were annoyed that the series didn't start out with the original story, but this wouldn't have had the same impact without sufficient context. Seeing the woman Kate Kane has become makes this look into the past all the more poignant. Rucka is exactly the right man to tell this type of story. Everyone is in love with Williams' art, but Greg Rucka is the real start of this book.


• I can't wait to see more and I'm already dreading the day Batwoman has to leave Detective Comics. I just hope Rucka and DC enjoy this character to see her into her own series.