The best single issue comic I read in 2011? Easy. Detective Comics Issue 875.

*flashback time*

I had stopped collecting comics around 2001 – 2002. Oh, every now and then I would go pick up a trade at Barnes and Noble, something like Joss Whedon’s Astonishing X-Men, or the Long Halloween, or All-Star Superman. But I hadn’t darkened a comic shop in years and buying a single issue? Forget about it.

But I missed it. I missed collecting. I missed the that weekly rush of heading into the LCS and seeing what goodness was waiting for me in my saver box. I decided the time was right to get back into it – but where to begin? Obviously it would be a DC book, but I hadn’t followed any series in years and know nothing about where my favorite characters where in their stories.

Then Blackest Night showed up. Ahh….perfect. I liked the horror aspect of the series and it featured all the DC heroes so I could get a quick overview of what was going on with them. The series was a blast but like all event comics, it ended and once again I was left without a series to collect.

One day scanning the comic racks for something to read I happened on Detective Comics #875. I picked it up and flipped thru it. Hmmm, interesting art. Never heard of this Snyder guy but I’ll give it shot. I bought the comic and headed home to read it.

Holy shit.

I will say right now that this issue, DET number 875, is THE comic book that brought me back to collecting comics full time.

This issue is one of the most perfectly written stories I have ever read in a comic. It starts off with a Harvey Bullock narration that sets the tone for the entire story. He talks of Gotham in the winter. Harvey’s been around for years but I had never heard this voice before. Wow. This is film quailty writing. I knew within the first 2 pages that something special was going on here.

Then comes Commissioner Gordon. And again he narrates the story in a voice I hadn’t heard since Millers Batman: Year One. Snyder owns Gordon wholly and completely in this story. Gordons grief over his unsolved cases and sorrow and dread over his son goes BEYOND comic book writing. I became so engrossed in this story and in Gordon’s world I forgot what it was I was holding in my hand – a 2.99 comic book. With art that made Snyders sotry sing even louder. If this comic was illustrated by a lesser artist I have to say it just wouldn’t have the same impact. But here, I have to think that Francavilla knew what he was working on was something that rarely comes around – a perfect story.

Issue 875 is a prefect story. It is a story that brought me completely back to comics. It is the issue that made me a life long fan of Scott Snyder.

When I reached the last page of this issue and closed the book I had chills. I knew I had just read the best single issue of 2011.