Lapham uses a detailed a traditional style for his drawings. And the color work of Mulvhill changes from bold to muted depending on location. This is a good looking issue that really draws you into the story. The action is well done, and the attention to detail in character expression and form easily elicits an emotional response. Read Full Review

Batman Secret Files: Huntress #1 is a fantastic horror story featuring one of DCs best characters. This is an intense book that doesnt shy away from making the reader flinch or avert their gaze. But this is also a beautifully written investigation into the mind of Helena Bertinelli. Tamaki tells a wonderfully woven story thats intimate, never leaving the main character for a second. And the magnificent art team creates insidious imagery that is glorious despite the revulsion it instills in the mind. Read Full Review

Mariko follows up on the work that shes done with the Huntress on her Detective Comics run with this one shot, and comprises of all the best parts of her run on that book over here. Mixed with Laphams solid art, a compelling take on Helena, this issue is a real highlight in the bloated market that is the Batman family of titles. Read Full Review

Batman Secret Files: The Huntress #1 demonstrates the varied storytelling opportunities in the DC Universe and highlights how deserving of a series the Huntress is. Helena has been an intriguing character for a long time and Tamaki, Lapham and Mulvihill capture that in this issue and leave the reader wanting more of Ms. Bertinelli. Read Full Review

Pick up this issue if you're interested in virus-themed stories, Huntress, the Secret Files series (which contains Batfam arcs that I adore) and of course, and an arc where the Bat is in trouble again. Read Full Review

I want Tamaki's Huntress to get her own ongoing series based on this one-shot, especially with Lapham art. It's the kind of book that'll get you back into the Bat-books again. Read Full Review

Detective Comics scribe Mariko Tamaki spins off her story into a one-shot that makes me wish she was also writing a Huntress solo series. Read Full Review

Though not a true one-shot, this chapter in Mariko Tamaki's Detective Comics run continues the fine work of characterization, tone, and atmosphere that began with her Huntress backups, and artist David Lapham gives the piece polish and well-rendered horror. Read Full Review

Batman: Secret Files: Huntress #1 is a solid and promising story that plays with a unique and exciting premise. Tamaki and Lapham have fun playing in the horror genre and deliver some creepy and intense moments that have me excited for the next installment of Huntress. But, you see, that's where this book's greatest problem lies. There may not be a next installment of this title. Instead, this plot will just carry on in the pages of Detective Comics as a subplot, making this issue nothing more than a bridge, or, perhaps, a collection of deleted scenes. As disappointed as that makes me, I still found the issue enjoyable overall, and look forward to seeing where Tamaki takes this. Read Full Review

These Secret Files One-Shots are becoming disappointing because either we don't have enough time to really dive into someone, like the last one-shot of the Signal or we have this one where we have an oversized issue that doesn't do anything that couldn't have been done in the regular Detective Comics series. The art was good throughout and if you've been craving some more solo Huntress time then maybe this is for you but I found this issue to be a tad boring in what little it gave us. Read Full Review

Tamaki lets her Detective Comics gig take priority over shining a true spotlight on Huntress. As such this is more so recommended for fans of this current arc than Huntress. Read Full Review

Pencil/Ink: Good
Writing: Meh
Story: Meh
Layout: Great
Color: Great
Lettering: Good

This is NOT a Huntress one-shot. It really has nothing to do with Huntress. It's a Batman story with Huntress co-starring in her own book. Sure, she gets all the screen-time in this side story but the main story starts and continues in Detective Comics. If you do NOT read this, you will miss nothing from the Batman story arc. If you DO read this you will miss nothing from the Batman story arc...so why bother? It feels like this could have been 4 or 5 books with a real story but they ran out of ink so had to cut out massive chunks.

That is some awful artwork in this book. Makes it not worth picking up.

+ Like • Comments (1)

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TSMack - Jul 28, 2021

The artwork turned me off too, so I skipped it. I liked Huntress' guest appearance in the recent Detective arc.

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Mariko Tamaki has that "magic touch" that can make any character feel dull and uninteresting, even though Huntress really isn't that way.

I bought this because I’m a fan of limited series, one-shots, and self-contained graphic novels. I like to avoid stories that require you to keep up with series X or Y to figure out what’s going on. This was advertised as a self-contained Huntress story, but was actually a part of whatever is going on in Detective Comics. Not much happens, and you don’t learn anything about the character. This went in the trash because I’m running out of room in my comic boxes and will never have a reason to reread it.

The art was solid.