Hand to the gods, I'm embarrassed now to own a copy of the first collected volume of this series. I think I'll squeeze it underneath Frank Miller's All-Star Batman and Robin, the Boy Wonder which was yet another shameful purchase, in a very dark corner of my bookshelves.
Look, I can't do this. I can't keep wasting my time and hope that things will get better. They didn't. They won't. They can't. Tony Daniel, you disappointed me and I don't even know you well enough as a writer to feel this strongly against your work here. You sure as hell were an amazing artist though. And your illustrations for your line-up were deceptive enough to keep me reading. But Detective Comics is THE WORST title in Batman's New 52 re-launch. It truly is.
As I write this, I also just finished reading the conclusion issue (#7) for this "story" "arc". And I feel nothing. This is the reason why I avoid reading bad books in general, let alone review them because they're just not worth the pain, especially if I gain nothing important or insightful in reading them. Daniel's sloppy, cliché and underwhelming writing for this series has left me with a bad aftertaste and I still have FIVE ISSUES to go before I thankfully step into John Layman's territory by issue #13. That was the Detective Comics I started reading in New 52, actually (notably issues #19 and #27 which received great reviews from me months ago) and now I understand why they have to replace Daniel in the first place.
I want to give Daniel another chance, though. Maybe it will get better...in some places, I dunno. I know this is merely wishful thinking on my part because I vowed to read ALL ISSUES of a New 52 Batman title and review them individually here and in my blog. But this is really the first time I consider RAGE-QUITTING halfway through. Still, I'm always the bloody optimist with a streak of masochism in me so, who knows, the next issues may be serviceable and I may find other redeemable qualities here and there. But I've calibrated my expectations to something very low in range at this point.
For now, I am officially declaring that the Penguin story arc was by far THE MOST NONSENSICAL BULLSHIT I have ever read in a New 52 Batman story (it inarguably belongs in the shelf next to Tomasi's three-issued Terminus story and two-issued zombie filler story). Ugh, I still have issue #7 to follow up writing after this and the official review for Volume 1: Faces of Death. I'm just really tired, mates. But I've made a commitment. I need to push through...holy Loki, give me strength.
NOT RECOMMENDED: 4/10
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