Sneak Peek & Review: Det. Comics #806

[/\/\att]

Detective Comics #806
'City of Crime' Part 6
writer: David Lapham
pencils: Ramon Bachs
inks: Nathan Massengill


^{click to enlarge!}

I'll be perfectly honest, I'm not a fan of this 'City of Crime' arc. Not one bit. Its come across drab and off-key for most of its run...this issue is no exception! I wouldn't even review it, had LoG not been provided with a copy for such a purpose. However, the shining light in the whole book is actually the backstory, an Alfred tale written by Scott Beatty. I'll explore that story instead......


^{click to enlarge!}

'Regnum Defende'
translated: 'Defend the Realm'
an Alfred Pennyworth Tale
writer: Scott Beatty
art: Jeff Parker


^{click to enlarge!}

What struck me first about this companion story is the art..it resembles a crude, early version of Tim Sale...which bodes well on me. The 8-page read (part one of two) is full of intrigue and espoinage from Alfreds early days in her majesty's secret service.

It shows Alfred, a humble teacher of spies, whisked off to an adventure in espoinage, when he's sent to to recon on a former nazi. Caught in the middle of a cold-war era meeting of villians, his job is to keep the nazi 'Parsifal' alive...which proves to be a difficult task!

I won't go into spoilers, since its only an 8-page story to begin with..but rest assured, this well-written, uniquely illustrated tale makes this issue well worth buying...in fact, I'll be picking up Det. #807 ONLY for the conclusion of this story....its that fun.

I love the idea of more in-depth exploration of Alfred's past. He's a highly underrated character in the Bat-universe, and its high time he got some more character development. I, for one, enjoy seeing what made the man.

[JokerFC]

/\/\att said:

Detective Comics #806
'City of Crime' Part 6
writer: David Lapham
pencils: Ramon Bachs
inks: Nathan Massengill


^{click to enlarge!}

I'll be perfectly honest, I'm not a fan of this 'City of Crime' arc. Not one bit. Its come across drab and off-key for most of its run...this issue is no exception! I wouldn't even review it, had LoG not been provided with a copy for such a purpose. However, the shining light in the whole book is actually the backstory, an Alfred tale written by Scott Beatty. I'll explore that story instead......


^{click to enlarge!}

'Regnum Defende'
translated: 'Defend the Realm'
an Alfred Pennyworth Tale
writer: Scott Beatty
art: Jeff Parker


^{click to enlarge!}



!


I love the idea of more in-depth exploration of Alfred's past. He's a highly underrated character in the Bat-universe, and its high time he got some more character development. I, for one, enjoy seeing what made the man.

Agreed more explanation of Alfreds multi skills is always great as are any stories about him really

[Preacher]

I'm not a big fan of City of Crime either, but the Alfred story sounds cool........I wish they'd do more back stories on characters and things like the Cave, the Manor or the Batmobile..............

[Batlaw]

Agreed, I, and I'm sure most fans would prefer these additional back up tales to be more relevent, fun and informative to the Bat-family and related aspects of the mythos. These are best when they are little "treats" for the fans, rather than launching pads or testing grounds for new characters Etc.

[gotham95]

[shadow=blue,left,300]Speaking of backstories. You guys hav to read 'MUD' from 'Tec 805. It was great![/shadow]