Detective Comics #1099: An Early Landing

After ten issues of pure, excellent Batman adventure, Tom Taylor stumbles. While not bad, this week’s Detective Comics #1099 feels like a rushed effort to conclude a devilish tale of intrigue and grit that deserved the space to fully explore its potential. Instead, potential developments, themes, and conclusions are truncated by a heavy reliance on undercutting the threat of Elixir through humor. Taylor’s writing for Batman remains strong overall, as the character is still given several raw, impactful moments—despite the disservice done to the supporting cast in the name of a cleaner, faster conclusion.

Moving at a breakneck pace like this requires the dissolution of character conflict. Suddenly, Oswald is in on the bit and behaves more like a Robin than Oswald Cobblepot in both voice and disposition. The villains are made to look laughably weak, simply to get them out of the way so the plot can move forward. The emotional core of the issue—Bullock’s relationship with loyalty and his first partner at the GCPD—is undercut by just how easily Batman and company are able to wrap things up. Overall, it’s not poorly written and still features some strong moments, but this finale reads more like a casualty of publishing deadlines than a conclusion born organically from the story’s needs.

Even on the art front, Lee Garbett’s brilliant work over the last two issues feels rushed—as if he’s sprinting to the inks before he can catch his breath at the pencils. The coloring and several instances of visual flatness don’t erase the artist’s overall potential, but they do highlight the unfortunate effects of a looming anniversary issue that left no room to give this smaller Batman tale the space it deserved.