Detective Comics 861 ramblings

[jaclynhyde]

First off: Renee! Of course i don't buy this just for her what are you talking about.

• I really, really like it when Renee has someone to play off in the field. Her relationship with Charlie is one of my absolute favorites, and her and Helena have another wonderfully snarky, yet effective relationship. The first Question storyline didn't really grab me, but I'm loving this one.
• Renee saying hello to Charlie's picture just broke my heart, as did Tot saying he'd be ashamed of them (WHY IS IT ANOTHER WEEK UNTIL THE SPECIAL). That's one reason why I adore Renee and Jaime as legacy characters--the stories are very respectful of their predecessors, especially the way they serve as mentors (posthumously in Ted's case) and the way their supporting characters play an active part in their lives. And yet they're definitely their own characters, with their own stories, and man I love Ted and Jaime and Charlie and Renee and ♥
• I find the difference between Charlie and Renee in regards to Helena very interesting--Charlie tried to encourage Helena to be a more moral person, while Renee goes along with her in a morally grey action. Tot's right that Charlie would be disappointed--after all, his original viewpoint was nothing if not black-and-white. I love it when the Questions tackle moral problems, so I'm looking forward to more.
• Is this a tie-in to the Blackest Night special? Either way, that's a hell of a lead-in for the last line. Ouch.
• "One of the few things I got out of going to church" confused me. My memory's pretty fuzzy, but Renee never actually lost her faith, did she?
  
• Zeiss is a pretty cool villain. Also, his goggles are snazzy.
  
• I continue to love Cully's art, even if the shading on Renee's mask doesn't really make her faceless enough. Tot is the cutest old man ever and I love his expressions.

Second, Kate!

• Dude, why does Batman get the cover?
• The art, luckily, is still awesome (even if it's not breathtaking like J.H. Williams). It seems like Batwoman is much darker, art-wise, here; instead of focusing on the contrast between her very white skin, very red hair, and black costume, she's in shadows most of the time. And that leads to a lot of comparison to Batman, since he's skulking in the shadows this issue. I'm not sure how I feel about that; it makes her feel a little more like just a Bat-clone, but her flaming red hair still contrasts the shadows. Eh, I'll see how I feel about it.
• Gordon and Sawyer! I love the GCPD. And I'd definitely like to see more Sawyer, because she wears a tux and is awesome. On a bit of a side note, has Gordon ever acknowledged that his buddy seems to be a different person? I'm hoping he says something about it when Bruce comes back...
• On the one hand, more realistic villains fit Kate (and Renee, and Rucka) very well. On the other hand, the Cutter isn't overly interesting yet. We'll see.

Also, I need First Wave right now.