Batman: Dear Detective (2022) #1 (Detective Comics (2016-))

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Batman: Dear Detective is for any fan of the comic book medium as it relies on the art telling the story with some incredibly detailed and beautiful images from Lee Bermejo. The letter itself feels very gritty and tonally feels at home with Batman as it describes his greatest enemy. One part prestige art book, one part compelling noir tale, this one-of-a-kind edition collects some of Lee Bermejo’s most jaw-dropping Batman covers woven together to tell a story that strikes right at the heart of the Dark Knight’s never-ending crusade. This isn't a comic, it's a collection of Bermejo's cover art stuck together in a book, which is fine if that's what they were saying it is.

This is a bunch of variant covers Lee Bermejo did for Detective Comics and other titles reprinted into a magazine-sized one-shot that’s accompanied by a couple of pages of letters addressed to Batman by a mysterious someone/something. It's a simple story (and quite good), but the presentation is wonderful and that's enough for this book to please me.The bit of story throw in is a fun little puzzle and perfectly paired with the gritty cover art telling the rest of the story. The letter deems Bruce a scared, lonely child, stating that he belongs in Arkham Asylum with all the other inmates he put there. The 103 third parties who use cookies on this service do so for their purposes of displaying and measuring personalized ads, generating audience insights, and developing and improving products. One part prestige art book, one part compelling noir tale, this one-of-a-kind edition collects some of Lee Bermejo's most jaw-dropping Batman covers woven together to tell a story that strikes right at the heart of the Dark Knight's never-ending crusade.

In fact, the author teases they'll always own Gotham, and ensure that the city will make Bruce become what he hates most. Batman: Dear Detective is going to be a divisive comic book because it's neither a true comic book nor an art book, exactly, but tries to land somewhere between the two concepts.

You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice. This issue is primarily a showcase of the art of Lee Bermejo and every page of art is brilliantly designed and filled with bold, beautiful detail. I looked up the answer to who wrote the poem online and it makes total sense and even elevates the message of the poem for me. Lee Bermejo is one of my favorite Batman artists, and certainly one of the most prolific ever to touch the character.