Review: Future State - Dark Detective #4
Writers: Mariko Tamaki, and Joshua Williamson
Artists: Dan Mora, and Giannis Milonogiannis
Color Artist: Jordie Bellaire
Letterers: Aditya Bidikar, and ALW’s Troy Peteri
Review by Steve J. Ray
This is it, Future State: Dark Detective #4 is the grand finale, before the regular Detective Comics returns next month… and what a great finale it is!
Mariko Tamaki has delivered a first rate four issue mini-series. We’ve met amazing new characters, had fresh and interesting takes on old ones, and seen a thrilling, intriguing and dangerous new world. This is a great take on Batman, and Bruce Wayne hasn’t felt this real, or this dangerous in a long, long time.
We also get to see beneath the mask of Peacekeeper 01, the man who “killed” Batman, and the brains behind the Magistrate. I’m not spoiling anything here, but if that’s who I think is, when Detective Comics returns we have a load of questions that need answering, in the run up to when events in that book catch up to what we’ve seen in Future State.
Dan Mora rules! Man, the art in this book has been so stellar that I have to buy it again when the trade collection comes out. This guy is a consummate storyteller, draftsman, and artist. I’ve loved his work since Klaus, but with every new book he draws, the better he gets. Of course, when partnered with the excellent colors and letters of Jordie Bellaire and Aditya Bidikar, this whole book feels like a wondrous gift, wrapped in a big, black, bat-shaped bow.
Book of Revelations
The Red Hood back up strip also shocks and surprises. I’ve had my suspicions about what Jason Todd has really been up to, and I was glad to see that I was right. What am I talking about? Read the comic, and then pick up Jason’s upcoming Future State based series.
Joshua Williamson writes an amazing Jason Todd, and please keep your eyes on the backgrounds, as Giannis Milonogiannis has hidden gems there, one of which adds a terrific twist to the tale. In my review for issue #2 I said I didn’t love his art, well I do believe that this guy’s growing on me. The look of this story (with colors completely unlike the ones that Jordie Bellaire gave us in the main strip, what a talent!), is pitch perfect. Troy Peteri, as expected, also does a terrific job with the lettering.
Conclusion
I hate that this series is over, and more questions have been raised than have been answered, but I’ve absolutely loved it.
Is Peacekeeper 01 who I think it is? If so… OMG WTF?!? How did things get from how they were in Detective Comics #1033, to what we’ve seen in Future State: Dark Detective #4? Furthermore, how does what we’ll see next month, in Detective Comics #1034, even begin bridge that gap?
I can’t wait to find out!
Images Courtesy of DC Entertainment
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