Batman: Detective Comics Vol. 4: Deus Ex Machina (Rebirth)

by James Tynion IV

Alvaro Martinez (Illustrator)

Batman’s team of vigilantes has ghosts in their pasts. And now they have come to roost.
 
When Batman formed a team of fellow vigilantes to help him combat evil in Gotham City, he did it partially to protect his allies from the enemies targeting them. But being on a team makes for more targets, and sometimes the ghosts of your past can become everyone’s problem.
 
Azrael was raised to be the perfect assassin by the mysterious Order of St. Dumas...before he rebelled. But when the Order decides to create a more perfect assassin, Azrael and the entire team find themselves in the crosshairs of the deadly A.I. known as Ascalon.
 
This kind of magic and mysticism was part of Bruce Wayne’s training when he became Batman. And to save his friends, Bruce will seek the most powerful magical artifact that ever existed. The God Machine can give its bearer any knowledge, answer any question...but in the hands of the World’s Greatest Detective, could it be even more dangerous than Ascalon?
 
Continuing the critically acclaimed new direction spinning out of DC Rebirth, from writer James Tynion IV (DARK DAYS: THE FORGE) and artist Alvaro Martinez (BATMAN AND ROBIN ETERNAL), this volume collects DETECTIVE COMICS #957-962.

• ISBN10: 1401274978
• ISBN13: 9781401274979
• Publish Date: 26 December 2017
• Publish Status: Out of Stock
• Out of Print: 21 December 2021
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: DC Comics
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 144
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9781401274979

Reviews

[Quirky Cat]

From the minds of James Tynion IV (Batman/TMNT), Eddy Barrows (Nightwing), and Alvardo Martinez (Batman Eternal) comes the fourth installment of the Batman: Detective Comics line. I know some people think that there are too many “bat” characters already, and while I don’t necessarily disagree with them, what’s done is done, and thus I’m happy for a series that actually takes time fleshing the lot of them out (or occasionally killing them off).



There are two main plots for this volume. The first is more of a one-shot story, as it’s only one issue long. However it is focusing on Stephanie and how she’s handling (spoiler warning) Tim Drake’s death. Hint: not well. To her credit, she tries to turn what happened into something positive, in a way. Instead of being a vigilante that takes all the crime fighting credit, Stephanie has become a silent crime fighting vigilante, one who makes sure the police take the credit. In this way she hopes to bring something good back to the city. I respect this so much. I hope this becomes a larger plot later, though I doubt it will.
The main plot is a bit more chaotic, to say the least. It revolves very heavily around Batman, Zatanna and a few others. I honestly think the Zatanna part of this plot was probably the most stable plot – the other part just left me confused and feeling rushed. Perhaps that’s my bias showing, as I quite like Zatanna (and seeing a teenage Zatanna was pretty cool). The confusing part focused around Azrael and events specific to him. I’m not sure what it was about this, but I had the hardest time keeping track of what was actually going on and why. So needless to say I didn’t get much satisfaction out of the ending. Oh well.
I find it interesting how they spent so much time in this issue building up Bruce Wayne and Zatanna’s relationship in this volume; especially considering what is going on with Catwoman in the main Batman series. This leaves me a bit confused about where everything fits continuity wise. Sure, you could argue that the relationship isn’t sexual and is a non-issue, but it still raises a lot of other questions, so again, I’m left confused.
On the bright side I really enjoyed the artwork for this series. All the characters had these really nice little details on them (even ones that first appeared unimportant) and I enjoyed the mech designs shown. I particularly liked the magic effects and how they were drawn, but again that might be my bias showing.


For more reviews, check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks