Wednesday's Finest: 'Detective Comics’ #875

By Don M. Ventura

Detective Comics #875

DC Comics

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Detective Comics #875 is a flawless book.

Scott Snyder has produced one superior script after another during the course of his so-far short run on the classic title, but this issue is a very special thing.

Here we’ve been served the perfect confluence of words and pictures; Snyder is joined here again, as in the last issue, by Francesco Francavilla. Issue #874 was the printing of two stories that were intended to be back-ups before DC trimmed the page count across their line. Francavilla, subjected to an economy of space, presented typical gorgeous layouts, but was not free to spread his wings.

Francavilla’s wingspan is impossible to measure in this issue.

There’s the first two page spread where Commissioner Gordon is tailing a suspected child murderer, the Peter Pan killer, while he is flashes back to less than fond memories of his son James as a child. These two pages are a visual masterpiece. From the colors Francavilla incorporates—purples and blues as we explores James’ unsettling childhood behavior. Oranges, reds and yellows are employed as an isolated James’ curiosity leads to a day that will haunt the Gordon family forever.

But what could inspire such stunning artwork? A confident and powerful script by Snyder. The writer opened his strong work on Detective with the introduction of an exciting new Batman villain and an imaginative yet short arc. This second story follows Commissioner Gordon as his two greatest failures come smashing—totally unexpectedly—together. The results are haunting. This is a tragic and captivating chapter in Gordon’s life, and things only seem to be getting started.

The book opens with Harvey Bullock standing atop the Gotham Central Police Department and commiserating about what it takes to live in a place like Gotham. There’s some interesting foreshadowing here, as we see that building a nest in Gotham can sometime mean things aren’t destined to be pretty.

We then get into Gordon’s story as he reflects on his distaste for winter and the snow it brings—and the crime scenes it covers up. “All I can think about is the footprint in the alley filling with white. The cotton thread on the windowsill loosening with every icy drip. Clues lost.”

Snyder is a great storyteller, but he also keeps us strung in with each wonderful turn of phrase and perfect choice of words.

Last week was a heavy week for comic books, so it’s possible you decided not to pick this one up—maybe you thought to yourself, “Meh, it’s not a Batman story.” If you haven’t picked this one up yet, I strongly suggest you do.

Detective Comics #875 will remind you why you read comic books.