DETECTIVE COMICS #851

Review by: JumpingJupiter

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Size: pages
Price: 2.99

This review contains spoilers, click here to read

In this issue of Detective Comics we examine a Gotham without Batman via Millicent Mayne whose ambiguous and possibly supernatural connection to the city occurs after an earthquake, presumably the one that kicked off No Man's Land. I like this approach. We've often talked of Gotham as a character and O'neil exends that concept to it's next logical level by personifying Gotham city. Denny gracefully employs the character as a narrative device, using Millicent as a literary vehicle to jaunt from one part of the city to the other and create smooth transitions between story segments. Additionally, Millicent Mayne-as-Gotham also provides rich metaphorical potential. For instance, currently Batman is nowhere to be found. This is translated with Millcent having her face acid-burned by a Two-Face impersonator. It's a very efficient method of pointedly communicating a complex idea directly to the heart of the reader while keeping him/her firmly anchored in the world of the story. It makes you feel something and neatly packs that something full of meaning. I did find that the character was somewhat distant. I'ts obviously intentional but I'm not sure why O'neil chose that tac. I'm interested but not yet fully invested in the character. To be fair I've only spent a few pages with her. I'm looking forward to the possibilty of having Millicent growing on me.

After fertilizing the story's soil with symbolism and analogy O'neil uses Millicent to draw our attention to some of Gotham's major players - Gordon, Oracle, Alfred, Nightwing - and let's them express their concerns about Batman being M.I.A. Gordon's hope is slipping through his fingers. Dick is disheartened and feels displaced. I found Alfred's paternal concern for Dick to be touching. Interspersed between these quiet character moments Two-Face expresses his anger at having an imposter. I found Dent's presence in this story superfluous as it seems O'neil has Harvey dispatch himself from the goings-on about three quarters of the way through. "Do not expect to see me again" Dent says after flipping his coin. Denny might have bigger plans for him yet but so far it just looks like he was just there to supply a thug who would trigger a few major plot points. Another criticism I have is that Dent's dialog could've used some editing during the coin flip scene. March gets the point across so well with his art that the words sort of get in the way. It's as if Denny is "telling" what Guillem is "showing". The issue ends with the Two-Face poser leaving Nightwing and an innocent bystander to die in a fire accidently set off during their tussle in a chop shop. I'm not certain what the point of this is not that I think I'm supposed to know until the next issue but i have a few theories as to what will happen next and I'm excited about it.

Guillem's art is tinged with eastern influence and so is the color palette but it has a pulp core. I was sometimes distracted by the giraffian women with teardrop breasts and birthing hips to make a fertility goddess envious, and some of the expressions seemed stock. The layouts however, always fit the scene and the in-panel compositions are dynamic. Overall, I think it's a good fit for O'neil's zen-noir aesthetic.

This is very much a kind of comic I like. Pulpy, grounded, technically solid, understated. This is as centered and balanced a story as you can hope to find. Denny O'neil once again shows us why he's an influential figure in the industry.

Denny O'neil, comics' quiet giant.

Story: 4 - Very Good
Art: 3 - Good

Comments

TheNextChampion says:

December 10, 2008 at 5:20 pm

Great review…but I dont know where your getting the idea that Millicent is the ‘voice of Gotham’.

She was just the narrator as far as I can tell. Unless you think a fight in a chop shop means Gotham is in shit without Batman

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JumpingJupiter says:

December 10, 2008 at 6:58 pm

I don’t see where I state that Gotham is in dire straits without Batman nor do I see where I speak of Mayne as the voice of Gotham. But I’ll humor you. Page 4 and page 9 not counting ads.

I want to talk about the issue some more if someone is inclined. I just noticed that Millicent’s connection to the city wanes and peaks. The two instances where her connection is strongest are when Batman is M.I.A. That’s interesting to me.

It’s my impression that O’neil is using the metaphorical approach here to match G-Mo’s symbol-ridden style in R.I.P. I think this may be Denny’s way of extending G-Mo’s work not only in content but also, to a degree, in style.

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TheNextChampion says:

December 11, 2008 at 1:21 am

@JJ: You said she is the voice of gotham in a different way (at least in my eyes)

‘Additionally, Millicent Mayne-as-Gotham’

I took that you ment she was the voice of gotham. Again I can see where you getting at with your review. But all I saw was a weird and sexy woman narrate us a tale of Nightwing fighting a Two-Face imposter…Nothing more (for me at least)

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JumpingJupiter says:

December 11, 2008 at 2:05 am

It’s quite plain my friend:

– "It was as though all the souls that had ever inhabited the city rose from the fissured ground and my very being. Did I become the city itself? Sometimes I think so." – Page 4.

– "As I lay there it happened again. The feeling that I was inhabited by all the lost souls in the city." – Page 11.

I thought you’d be the first to pick up on this. You’ve certainly demonstrated an astute eye for detail and metaphor in the past.

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JumpingJupiter says:

December 11, 2008 at 2:09 am

Edit: first quote should have the word "inhabited" between "and" and "my".

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TheNextChampion says:

December 11, 2008 at 2:18 am

@JJ: I guess I didnt pick it up this time around. Maybe it was those lovely pencils of this Millcient girl that made me not see it 🙂

In all seriousness, I dont know if O’Neil (who hasnt written a Batman title in ages) really thought he was doing something like that. Morrison obviously had plans from the gecko to have his run have layers in the writing. To me, this just felt like a weird introduction to a character we probably didnt need.

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JumpingJupiter says:

December 11, 2008 at 2:20 am

Wow. Anyway…

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WadeWilson says:

December 12, 2008 at 12:14 am

LOL@Champ — You think O’Neil wrote this symbolism stuff by accident?

@JJ — Nice review. I’m surprised you like a comic so much that you compared to G-Mo! But, I guess there is a difference between being abstract for the sake of abstract & having an actual point that can be understood & seen.

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JumpingJupiter says:

December 12, 2008 at 2:05 am

@Wade: I don’t really have anything against Grant’s work per se. I got worked up at some insinuations that were made but that’s my own damn problem. I think R.I.P had major problems yes, but in hindsight I think DC may have had a bigger role to play in it than Grant did. The marketing was very misleading and confused and that adversely affected my view of the event. Which wasn’t at all an event but a small part of a large story thereby making it difficult to digest in a self contained manner.

I’m all for metaphors and allegories and that sort of thing but it takes a deft hand to make it work smoothly. I think Denny pulled it off with grace here.

Anyway, I’m looking forward to the second part of this story. I predict that Millicent will pep talk Nightwing and encourage or nudge him into going for the mantle. That would be a cool way of pushing the story forward. I like the idea behind the Millicent Mayne character and I hope she’s used again after Denny’s done with her.

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TheNextChampion says:

December 12, 2008 at 1:34 pm

I just didnt see any of this symbolism your seeing!!

All I saw was a half naked chick telling us a Nightwing story! Geez….

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akamuu says:

December 12, 2008 at 1:51 pm

Great review. Like Nexty, I missed the Millicent is Gotham. It’s clearly there, I just missed it.

Also, I’m in complete agreement about Mo’s RIP. I’ll give it a second chance when Final Crisis is over, and read it in the order the writer intended, not thd order DC was able to get it out.

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macdad34 says:

December 13, 2008 at 12:18 am

great review @JJ! i saw it as you saw it and am also excited for part 2. i look forward to hearing your thoughts on it when it’s released.

i really like denny’s storytelling style – always have – and it’s great to see it play out in the pages of a bat-book after all this time. i hope part 2 delivers on all the promises that this one set up. and if denny’s track record from back in the day still holds true, that’s exactly what will happen.

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JumpingJupiter says:

December 13, 2008 at 2:21 am

Hey thanks Macdad! Did you read Denny’s Question run? He’s gone on record saying it’s his favorite comic he wrote and it’s awesome! The first three trades are out.

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PatK says:

December 13, 2008 at 6:54 pm

Sorry, but this comic was nothing to write home about, solid and well thought review though! I think a little too much credit is being given to O’Neil about his "symbolism". This issue features Millicent Mayne, a character who really has no business being in this issue and to me comes off as completely random. Is anyone wondering how she gained the power to, I guess,"feel Gotham"? O’Neil addresses this concern with such poetic grace*cringe*:

"You wonder, perhaps how I can describe events at which I was not present, in which I did not participate. I confess that I do not know myself. But would I tell you if I did know? Questions, Questions,Questions. Let us shift our attention…"

Someone tell me when Dini gets back…. =/

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JumpingJupiter says:

December 13, 2008 at 11:33 pm

To me it’s quite plain that the metaphor is intentional.

If I understand correctly, what you are crticizing is the believabilty of Millicent getting this connection to Gotham?

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DETECTIVE COMICS #851

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