Detective Comics #965

Writer: James Tynion IV

Artist: Eddy Barrows

Inker: Eber Ferreira

Colourist: Adriano Lucas

Letterer: Sal Cipriano

This is it.

I was disappointed with the recent issue of Action Comics, so I looked to this arc of Detective Comics in order to get my Mr. Oz fix, as well as to see what's going on with Tim Drake. Both James Tynion IV and myself are big fans of Tim, which is why I've been looking forward to this story for a while. Does it deliver on the Tim Drake front as well as continue the Oz mystery?

Mostly, yes. Unfortunately the first half of the issue is recap. It doesn't recap Tim's capture, instead we see the genuine origins of Tim Drake as Robin, and why he's such an important character. I didn't mind this section of the story. It reminded me of Tim's unique position in the Batfamily, and why he's my personal favourite; he's entirely self-made and doesn't require such an ornate and tragic backstory to fit in. When it all comes down to it, he's the most relatable Robin and that's why I love him. The second half of the book is quite great, as Tim and Oz have a tense conversation which also reveals exactly why Oz is interested in Tim. This all leads to an incredibly tense final few pages which have me really excited for the future of this title.

Eddy Barrows is back on art. He hasn't been seen on the series since that short snippet he drew for #950. It's been 15 issues since then, so I've very much been missing his art. I'm happy to report that he and his team of Eber Ferreira and Adriano Lucas deliver mightily. Their style seems to fit Tynion's storytelling more than any artist he's worked with. The dramatic colouring certainly lends to the stunning nature of the book.

It's great that we have two Mr. Oz stories going on simultaneously in both Action and Detective, which it seems the latter simply has the more interesting story. I'm not saying to stop reading Action, but the story presented here is much more personal and compelling than others. This seems to be more integral to the series itself rather than the whole Rebirth initiative, which I admire.