Best Shots review - Future State: Dark Detective #2 picks up momentum

It's Future State: Dark Detective #2, and suspicions are running high in Gotham City! Mariko Tamaki and Dan Mora delve into Bruce Wayne's post-death identity as 'Jeff,' while Joshua Williamson and Gianno Milonogiannis' Red Hood back-up story tackles the brighter side of state-sanctioned murder.

Future State: Dark Detective #2 credits

Written by Mariko Tamaki and Joshua Williamson
Art by Dan Mora, Jordie Bellaire and Gianno Milonogiannis
Lettering by Aditya Bidikar and Troy Peteri
Published by DC
'Rama Rating: 8 out of 10

Tamaki covers a bit of old ground here, recounting some more details of Bruce’s dance with death. It initially feels like she's retreading the last issue's ground, but once we're introduced to his paranoid new housemate the issue begins to pick up momentum. Tamaki loses herself in big chunks of clunky narration towards the end here, spending the bulk of the issue's page-count fleshing out the new state of Gotham. Still, it's necessary set-up, leaving loads of room to pay off over the third and fourth issues.

Turning the page over to Red Hood, Milonogiannis' loose and sketchy, manga-influenced style immediately makes itself known. His pencils and inks are dynamic yet minimalist, only putting exactly what he needs on the page and coloring in a light palette of blues, reds, and white. His characters are equally simple, drawn in a uniquely cartoony style that recalls Tintin of all things. Joshua Williamson keeps pace with a sassy script that offers a light take on some grim happenings.

Working as a Mask Hunter on behalf of the Magistrate, Jason Todd is hot on the trail of a new incarnation of the Red Hood gang. It's a solid script, carried by Jason's flirty and antagonistic chemistry with Ravager as well as the surprise appearance from the skeleton of a Batman rogue.

Even though Bruce Wayne's suffering a case of the sophomore blues, Williamson and Milonogiannis' punchy and fun take on the Red Hood means there's still a lot to like in Future State: Dark Detective #2.

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Oscar Maltby has been writing about comics since 2015. He has also written comic book scripts for the British small press and short fiction for Ahoy Comics. He resides on the South Coast of England but lives in the longbox.