Detective Comics #27 (DC)

(via CBDB)

writer: various

artist: various

The original Detective Comics #27 was released in 1939.  It immediately entered into history as the first appearance of Batman.  When the New 52 company-wide reboot in 2011, DC fans probably weren't thinking about the possibility of a unique anniversary issue suddenly becoming a real possibility.

The reboot already celebrated a soften celebration previously with #19, which was also the 900th issue in the title's history.  This particular milestone was not only much more hyped, but featured plenty of high profile material, and creators.  Funny enough, but writer John Layman is the common link between the issues, and may still be the highlight of both.

Infrequent comics scribe Brad Meltzer kicks off the festivities with his version of the very first Batman adventure, sharing the same title ("The Case of the Chemical Syndicate").  I don't know how well the two stories mirror each other.  I know Meltzer's is more a character study (with a series of statements Bruce Wayne makes as to why he's fights crime as Batman), as well as a version of the Joker's origin.  It's always fun to see Meltzer dabble in comics.  His origin effort, Identity Crisis, revitalized the whole DC landscape.  I've become a fan of him as a novelist, too, although I don't typically read thrillers of the kind of he writes.  I guess I love his ability to identify American icons and spin stories out of them.  (His Book of Lies actually involves the creation of Superman.)

The art for this segment comes from Bryan Hitch, by the way.  Hitch's legacy has turned out to be his work in the original Ultimates comics, and so he's the artist on record responsible for turning Nick Fury into Samuel L. Jackson.  He's known for photorealism, like Greg Land, a style that's sometimes criticized for appearing to come directly from traced source material.  In this effort, Hitch has relaxed those instincts.  It may signal a shift in his approach.  I don't know that it'll make him more or less popular, but it certainly shows a willingness to do something different.  

The second story comes from Gregg Hurwitz, another novelist who sometimes dabbles in comics, most recently taking over Batman: The Dark Knight.  With all due respect to Hurwitz, however, it's more significant for the art, supplied by Batman legend Neal Adams.  Adams last worked on Batman Odyssey, with his inimitable style that is a hallmark of the Silver Age.  Cleverly, however, he takes the occasion to draw not like Neal Adams, but to evoke classic Batman in general, a tale that winks at the character's more lighthearted past.  

My boy Peter J. Tomasi, whose work in Batman and Robin has constantly impressed me, writes the third segment, which is essentially the anti-Dark Knight Returns.  An aging Bruce Wayne has his Bat-family help him celebrate his birthday, and then he slips away to operate once more under the cowl, even though it kills his body to do so.  Once more taking a cue from Grant Morrison, Tomasi knows that this does not have to be a grim legacy, even though it looks nothing like the Hurwitz/Adams tale that precedes it.

Francesco Francavilla is usually associated with pulp characters, and he delivers an appropriately moody entry, minimalist and effective.

Mike W. Barr is another classic creator who makes an appearance.  Barr is responsible for a lot of Batman mythology, including the Outsiders and the idea of the liaison with Talia al Ghul that created an offspring (Son of the Demon).  In his tale, the Phantom Stranger gives Batman a glimpse of what might have been had his parents not been murdered.

John Layman comes next with the first part of his "Gothtopia" arc, which imagines what Batman's world would be like with the grim aspects completely eliminated.  I was soundly impressed with Layman after Detective 19, and so it's a real treat to see him finally receive a standout crossover of his own, even if it still won't rival Scott Snyder's continuing "Zero Year" arc in the minds of most fans.  The whole alternate reality Layman envisions is pretty awesome.  I hope to read the complete story later.

Snyder, meanwhile, rounds out the issue along with Wake collaborator Sean Murphy (who always impresses me).  And even he comes up aces.  I tend to marginalize his efforts in strict contrast to how everyone else tends to greet him, but here I think he does an excellent job.  He worries less about what he's allowed to do when he's not concerned with current continuity.  It's one reason why I look forward to exploring "Zero Year" later.  This effort is like the Batman version of Moon, a succession of Bruce Waynes creating their own legacies as Batman over the years, a clever way of extrapolating the character's 75 years and many permutations.  

Overall, a truly excellent celebration.