It should come as no surprise that DC provides the Comic Book Bin with advance copies in digital form. I normally don’t comment on the debate between digital and physical editions. But when those PDFs consist of individual pages, rather than spreads. In this issue of Detective, over half of the pages are two-page spreads, complicating the reading/enjoyment of the books. I hope those that prefer the digital format have a better reading experience.

But for Detective Comics, there is precious little Batman involved. There is Lucas Fox (Batwing), Jean Paul Valley (Azrael), Kate Kane (Batwoman), and Bruce Wayne (in civvies). But to its credit, it features a last-page appearance by a dear friend.

This issue launches a new story arc, involving the Order of St. Dumas. Apparently, they have created a new Azrael, a living weapon, and it’s come to Gotham City where the ever-growing community of Bat-people are about to do battle. I honestly haven’t picked up a bat-book in years, so I’m a bit lost. Is Lucas Fox a newer version of Lucias Fox? Maybe his son? And Clayface seems to be on the side of the angels now, though going by the name Basil – as in Basil Karlo, the original Clayface from Detective Comics #40.

Naturally, for a bat-book, there is a lot of black. Paul Fernandez no doubt has a delicate balancing act to achieve, but he very capably aided and abetted by Brad Anderson’s colors.