This was an immensely enjoyable issue and not simply as an example of comic book storytelling. The story tells a one-and-done tale of Batman solving the mystery of a serial killer with the Riddler trying once again to beat him to finding the killer.

But it isn’t the mystery itself or the capture of the bad guy that makes this issue sing. It’s the journey to the solution that is most enjoyable. These are the things that stood out to me:

• The issue starts with high action at a crime scene. Many people are being killed. Batman rushes from the scene, flirts with Catwoman, but doesn’t have time to play more because he has to capture the killer.
• Then the pace slows into the dead of night. After hours of looking for connections, Batman can’t find anything.
• Batman decides to look elsewhere in a chat room of amateur detectives. At this point, the pace of the book is perfect. Batman distracts himself to let his subconscious work the problem. He jokes with those in the room. The art and the way of handling the chat room reminded me of the many nights I done the same thing to get some space from the problem at hand.
• Out of the chat room, but not directly related to anything said, Batman comes up with a new angle on the crime that he decides to investigate.

I love how Dini captured these late night moments of being blocked on a problem. Whether it is being blocked in solving a murder, trying to figure out a programming problem, or tackling a tough spot in a plot, every creative person finds themselves at a point where they just need to walk away for awhile to let their brains work on the problem.

I also deeply enjoyed the idea that Batman and the Riddler both use crowd-sourcing as a way to solve crimes. They seek wisdom of others to look for solutions.

The art was excellent as well. I would have given it a 5, but I had a little trouble figuring out who was typing what during the chat sessions. That may have to do with the fact that I didn’t expect Batman to actively participate. I expected him to lurk in the room instead. But I still think the captioning could have been better.

Was this the best Batman I’ve read? No. But it captured the journey of creative discovery well enough to prompt me to write my first review. 🙂