Short Pants No More!

For the past few years, the issues of Detective Comics written by Paul Dini were at the top of my “to read” pile the Wednesday they came out. Gritty, snarky, and new-reader friendly, Detective was everything that a comic book should be. As his run continued, he did have to accommodate the occasional editorially-mandated crossover (such as “The Resurrection of Ras Al Ghul”), but immediately returned to his previous “done in one” method of storytelling. During the “Batman R.I.P.” event, he had written the uncharacteristically long 5-part “Heart of Hush” arc, which I would have liked a lot more had it been two issues shorter and about anyone but Hush, a character that I have little to no interest in. Then the Bat-Titles took a break, in order to get back on schedule.
Anyway, despite shaking the Batman titles to their very foundation, DC decided to keep Dini and Grant Morrison around to write the adventures of the new Dynamic Duo. Can Dini get great stories out of Dick Grayson like he did out of Bruce Wayne?

The answer is a qualified “yes”.
Dini seems to be breaking away from his usual format, which worries me. In Detective, most of his stores were narrated by Batman. This issue is narrated by everyone except Batman: Commissioner Gordon, Hush, and the villain of the piece (I won’t spoil it for you, but it’s a character who has shown up in the comics before). Is Dini having a hard time finding Dick Grayson’s voice? Or, since the name of the comic is Streets of Gotham, is Dini purposefully focusing on the citizens of the titular city as they react to a Batman who “seems different, somehow”? Plus, this issue ended on a cliffhanger, which is typical for modern comics, but again, atypical for Dini.In keeping with the previous series, the art in this comic is first rate. Dustin Nguyen follows Dini from Detective, and his trademark rough pencils capture the sketchy nature of the city quite well. Derek Fridolfs’ heavy inks are reminiscent of the noir-ish shadows that permeated the much-loved Batman: The Animated Series.

I should also mention the 8-page Manhunter backup story by Mark Andreyko and Geoges Jeanty. It’s a fine mission statement for a character that is unfamiliar to many readers.

So don’t get me wrong: this is a good, solid comic that is intriguing enough to get me to buy issue #2. But I hope Dini goes back to his more economic method of storytelling after the introductory arc…