In the eyes of Gotham, Bruce Wayne is dead. Death has never stopped him before though and it won’t now as the Dark Detective continues to try and take down the Magistrate. Spoilers for Future State: Dark Detective #2 follow.
Future State so far has been a very mixed bag of an event, much like every event the either DC or Marvel produce to be honest. Quality has ranged from the phenomenal Future State: Catwoman, Future State: Immortal Wonder Woman, Future State: Wonder Woman, and Future State: Nightwing to the terrible Future State: Shazam and the horrendous John Stewart story in Future State: Green Lantern. Luckily, Dark Detective’s first issue fell way further on the great side and it continues to do so in this issue.
It’s been a long time since there has been something that truly has felt like a neo-noir detective comic in the Batman franchise, or really the Big Two in general, but Dark Detective lives up to its name. This is a detective story through and through, even if it doesn’t seem like it at times.
There sometimes feels like there’s a lack of focus on what Bruce is doing and exactly who he’s trying to investigate. Some of the things that he does, especially toward the beginning of the issue feel almost random. But, like any good neo-noir story, what happens at the beginning of this issue comes back around by the end while also adding new wrinkles that push the story forward. Mariko Tamaki also captures this worn-down Bruce’s voice very well.
The real stars of this issue are Dan Mora and Jordie Bellaire though. The art in the first issue of this series was great, but this issue manages to completely outdo the first issue. Mora’s linework, inks, and layouts are absolutely perfect throughout the issue. He injects the right amount of emotion into every character, no matter the context.
His inks help establish the mood of the issue from the beginning as well and the dark mood never lets up. And his layouts are paced incredibly well. Nearly every page is filled with panels, but they never feel over-crowded, which is crazy given how much visual information he puts into every panel. Mora is quickly becoming one of the true superstar artists in comics.
Obviously Jordie Bellaire is no slouch either. She is up there as one of the best comic colorists working today. She injects so much life into every page and manages to create a phenomenal Blade Runner-esque style in this issue that really makes the world feel alive. This issue wouldn’t feel at all the same without Bellaire’s excellent coloring.
As for the back-up story, unlike the back-up for issue 1, it follows Red Hood and Ravager as they act as bounty hunters for the Magistrate. It’s a really interesting conceit that builds this future Gotham even more by making it so that, yes, masks are illegal, except the ones that are approved. It adds a new dynamic to this world that hasn’t been seen in any of the other Gotham-centric Future State books.
Beyond that though, it’s just an enjoyable read. Nothing spectacular or anything. Just enjoyable. Red Hood and Ravager have a fun dynamic together, which is what really propels the issue from page to page. The final page twist also creates a story that could go several ways and it’s exactly how a cliffhanger should be done.
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