Detective Comics #1109: The Long Way Down

This issue leans heavily on subtle thematic connections, which works well for a three-character narrative. Little moments like Prion’s words flowing into Green Arrow’s scenes in the present day or Batman’s narration bleeding over that scene work well for a three-character narrative.

As for their characters, Ollie and Prion in particular are done so well in this issue. His willingness to break macho superhero tropes and his sense of when other characters are telling a lie or the truth both tell the reader a lot about who Oliver Queen is and are both informative for new fans and accurate to longtime fans. What little we see of Prion in this issue does a good job of building him up with believable feats and a dynamic characterization that doesn’t lean too Batman or too Green Arrow and makes him seem unique. It’s a notable accomplishment to bring out so much of a character’s personality in just four pages.

Mikel Janín returns for issue #1109 after a two-issue break, which saw Pete Woods take up the majority of the artwork. Janín uses a lot of open space and a few 8-panel pages in this issue to showcase moment-by-moment action that reads like one continuous scene rather than a divided-up page. Characters react to others’ actions and move through space believably in just a few panels. This approach allows a lot to happen in just 1-2 panels on a page that contains upwards of 8.

Distance and motion are both used more than as tools to immerse the reader in an individual page; they are also used to show the differences between characters, whether it be Green Arrow falling from a building (as seen at the end of last issue) or an arrow flying across a crowded street. Every plot beat has this rolling pace that does make the story feel rapid in its delivery.

There’s not much to say about the color in this issue aside from its smoothness. The color palette is warm with an emphasis on ambient daylight lightning that gives the colors their texture. Batman himself has a heavy shade that blends between the dark blue of his cape and the gray of his suit.