Reviews

Batman: Detective Comics, Vol. 2: Fear State by Dan Mora, Mariko Tamaki

uparrowhead's review

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

imakandiway's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

aabaileyauthor's review

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

The story seemed all over the place

thebaronrob's review

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

bimenace's review

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No

3.75

jmbz38's review

adventurous medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

angelwolf45's review

dark fast-paced

4.0

billyjepma's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

3.5

A very solid 3.5 stars, and a notable improvement of Tamaki’s debut volume. I still don’t love the creature-feature elements, especially since the creatures themselves are pretty generic, design-wise. But the pacing is pretty great, and Tamaki’s scripts are a lot of fun. The standout is a storyline focusing on Batman and Mayor Nakano “teaming up” in the Gotham sewers. It’s the first time I’ve felt like Nakano was an actual character, which might not be a high bar, but is still nice to see. 

Dan Mora’s art is a consistent highlight in these issues, and he does a lot of great stuff with the darker environment of the sewers and the more explosive bits of spectacle sprinkled throughout. Even if the plot moves too quick for its own good, the art is reliably excellent. 

I’m excited to get into the Arkham Tower storyline Tamaki’s been building up to! Despite not yet loving her run on Detective Comics, she’s a refreshing change of pace for the Bat-Family and I’m very glad she’s sticking around.