A missing young man from the Wayne Orphanage. Temperatures rapidly dropping in Gotham. It’s a race against the clock to save him. Spoilers for Detective Comics #1017.
Keeping in line with the previous storyline, this standalone issue of Detective Comics continues the cold motif but ignores villains altogether. This is simply a story about Batman and Robin attempting to find a lost kid. It’s such a small-scale story that is largely ignored by a good portion of mainstream comics and it’s wonderful to see here. This is a great single issue that manages to pull every fiber of emotion out of its pages.
This issue excels for several reasons, but the most notable is its ability to show the humanity of Batman and Robin. These are two characters that have had so many larger than life adventures over the years, so bring them back down to a grounded level, it works so well. This issue displays the human cost that is often associated with their responsibilities. Sure, there’s a conspiracy that, thankfully, as it could be used in further stories, isn’t explained, but its focus is on saving this one kid. Because of that, the issue manages to be heartwarming, funny, and heartbreaking within the same double page spread. That’s difficult to do, but Tom Taylor and Fernando Blanco pull it off beautifully.
Another thing that this issue does extremely well is the fact that they make Damian grow as a character in around four pages and it feels completely organic. Honestly, this is the most I’ve ever liked Damian Wayne other than his times with Dick Grayson. Within only a few pages, Damian goes from the uncaring jerk that he’s often portrayed as to a compassionate person who is devastated that he couldn’t save a life. He’s no stranger to death, so to see him so beat over someone he didn’t even know displays leaps of character work done with him. Plus, seeing Batman and Robin sitting together in the hospital, waiting for the surgery to end speaks volumes with no words.
Fernando Blanco does an excellent job of bringing this issue to life as well. He manages to capture the cold that is enveloping Gotham extremely well and his pacing really makes this issue feel urgent. His layouts and linework works wonderfully in tandem with each other to create a great story flow that works incredibly well. His art is humorous when it needs to be, tender at times, and will punch you in the gut. It’s honestly some his best work.