A fantastic Gotham PD title that could honestly use less time on the Batman, Detective Comics is a great return for a much-loved character in Renee Montoya, but perhaps an even better development of Harvey Bullock as well. Heres to seeing more of their place in the world as time goes on and less of the Batmans. We know where to find him if (really when) we want to. For now, I want to revel in these other characters for awhile. Read Full Review

Grade A. I usually love Detective in general for it's tone and I'm liking what I'm seeing here. La Morte isn't that interesting, and probably brings this down a bit. Everything else is gold. Read Full Review

I liked this issue much better than the last. It was exciting, moved the plot along and had a lot happen, but best of all were the great character moments throughout the issue. Read Full Review

If DC needs Batman, and specifically Detective Comics, then it is hard to see how this fits in. The idea of Jim Gordon as Batman is one which breaks certain base assumptions about the group of characters. Though both defined by a moral code, Batman is not Jim Gordon, nor can Jim Gordon be Batman. Others that have taken up the title have done so in the spirit of Bruce Wayne, but this new version is a bit bizarre, asking the reader to forget key parts of the publication history of the characters, so that an unconventional story can be told. Unconventional stories can be great, as any work of fiction should try to push the boundaries of what is the expected, but in this case it still doesn't quite feel right, as Detective Comics still feels like it is missing its Batman, even when it ostensibly has one. Read Full Review

Overall, this comic has a bit of a rough time with all the recent changes to the DC Universe. It's trying to establish a whole new status quo, which is quite a challenge. As such, this issue feels very expositional and has little action to it. Despite solid writing and art, there isn't a whole lot of excitement in the issue to be found. If you like shows like Law and Order, then this might be up your alley, however, fans of the typical Batman story are likely to feel a little let down. Read Full Review

Too many characters have unclear motivations at this point in the series. It's meant to be compelling but just winds up being yet another frustration in this book that could be and should be better than it is. Read Full Review

Light on action and heavy on dialogue. While not much happens, the issue really takes the time to allow you to get under the skin of the characters and live with them in the world they inhabit. Sometimes the pacing can feel a bit too methodical, but there are individual conversations that really capture the consciousness of the characters. While not one of the most thrilling issues of Detective Comics, it still manages to broach several worthwhile topics. Read Full Review

In the end this comic book is good. It is worth reading and,if it's Francis Manapul's last story on Detective Comics, it's a great one to go out on. I'm still intrigued to see where it goes and man, does the action keep me going! Read Full Review

Things in Gotham are a little messy right now and it feels like the writers really wanted to do a true Gotham PD series, but were forced to add in a silly Batman angle to please readers and fans. In the end it's all a bit disjointed, but there are bits where you can see greatness emerging. I only hope that comes soon because it's already starting to feel like this Batman Gordon thing is nothing more that a play to grab readers. Read Full Review

"Detective Comics" #42 has some problems that keep it from rising up to its potential but, at its core, I like some of the basic ideas that Buccellato, Manapul and Blanco tried to bring to the series. Wherever each of these creators end up after September, hopefully there will be a slightly greater connection between their ideas and the execution. Here, it's just short of succeeding. Read Full Review

More cops, less Batman focus and more interesting artwork, and we'll have a winner. Poor Detectice Comics. From Daniel to Layman/Fabok to this current team, to the next one - no one can find their footing on this title. We need a nice long consistent GCPD run with lots of detective work going on. And the occasional cameo from Bats. If the main book is summer blockbuster, this one has to be character-driven and more of a slow, intelligent build.