Detective Comics #1094 review

Detective Comics #1094 starts with Batman lying next to a dying teen — the handiwork of our mysterious Asema from previous issues. The page is colored in heavy red, as flames almost engulf our two characters. And when the Batmobile arrives just in time, its blue headlights set off a striking mix of hues. Mikel Janin’s control of colors continues to stun, showing the interiors of the Batmobile with a range of pink and blue values.

The colors pink and red seem especially important for the series, always included by Mikel. I can only guess that it refers to the effect of Scarlett and Asema, being felt on every page, even when they’re not present. Tom Taylor’s dialogue is also a highlight, capturing the Dark Knight’s friendly neighborhood side as Batman saves this young teen.

The identity of Asema is all but confirmed, but the issue spends most of its time on Bruce and Damian doing some detecting, as per the comic’s title, and they follow clues that lead them to a juvenile detention center. While the mystery itself leaves more to be desired, this setup gave way to some interesting character moments, with Damian going undercover and Bruce doing his best billionaire investor impression.

This shift of focus lets the title explore more grounded street-level struggles with stripped-down stakes. It’s not end-of-the-world material, but it does a great job of illustrating that even one life is still the end of the world to Batman. They all matter equally to him, his responsibility and attention don’t discriminate. They carry the same weight, and this issue portrays that beautifully. 

Even though there haven’t been a lot of surprises since the first issue, which we have yet to see the full consequences of, Detective Comics does its best to lead its characters to interesting places, through its more intimate and small-scale plot, with a good father and son relationship as the cherry on top.

Detective Comics #1094 continues to unfold its mystery slowly, with Batman overseeing Robin as he goes undercover to a prison for youth. I can’t talk about this comic without mentioning Mikel Janin’s covers, this one in particular, has all the important players spread out under Batman’s wings, beneath the shadow of the mysterious Asema and Scarlett. Their pink and red colors light up the sky, which makes for an intoxicating cover to look at.

‘Detective Comics’ #1094 lets Batman and son enjoy some quality time undercover

Detective Comics #1094

‘Detective Comics’ #1094 continues to unfold its mystery slowly, with Batman overseeing Robin as he goes undercover to a prison for youth. I can’t talk about this comic without mentioning Mikel Janin’s covers, this one in particular, has all the important players spread out under Batman’s wings, beneath the shadow of the mysterious Asema and Scarlett. Their pink and red colors light up the sky, which makes for an intoxicating cover to look at.

Mikel Janin’s covers deserve a shout-out, as they continue the trend of Detective Comics being a standout series that pop out from the shelves

Grounded undercover antics and emotional father-and-son moments

The main mystery of Asema loses momentum