Detective Comics #849

I have a prediction in the last issue catwoman tears the tape off of hush's face and is shocked at what she sees. my prediction is that hush is using plastic surgery to make himself bruce wayne.

@micahmyers - It is very possible that hush is making himself Bruce, but why do you think Catwoman is going to tear off the tape?  She is currently quite incapacitated.

I have no idea whats going to happen but after the last issue I'm digging this a lot more then I was.

@stuclach: she tore the tape off in the last issue before hush knocked her out and took her heart out.

This issue should be awesome.  Last issue was fucked up, but in a good way.

I am loving these covers too. Dustin Nguyen is a talent that I've recently warmed up to. I think it was his portrayal of Zatana that did it for me. He's got a very fluid style, but a very deliberate line at the same time.

Um....sorry to say but, I think this cover will win the award for 'Ugliest Cover of the Year' if there is such an award.

I've been very annoyed at the art on this arc. It isnt terrible but it's too sketchy in a lot of places and overall it's kinda messy to look at. Still the story is soild and Dini is trying to hard to make Hush work...he's so close but yet so far.

@TheNextChampion yeah the cover is pretty bad.  Hush looks like he has Clown-style tufts of blonde hair on either side of his head.

However, I think Nguyen's been ripping it up like a madman on this arc.  Apart from just plain looking beautiful, I think the aesthetic matches the tone of the book perfectly. 

@KZA: Well I think Nguyen's style has made the tone and enviroments perfect for this arc. It's morbid, dark, and overall a depressing story of Batman, perfect! I just think overall the character models and faces have been a mixed bag. Sometimes it looks really good (the first page of last issue with Catwoman looked great!), while other times it is sketchy and lines appear for no reason.

Believe it or not, I think the cover with this Batman is the best he's drawn of the man since he started this arc!...and that's saying something.

I think this cover is fantastic, like they have all been.

I love this cover. I know what I like, and I like this.

And Dini isn't "trying too hard to make Hush work". He is making him work. But I'm saying that as one of the few that like Hush. But then I'm also not back-tracking, so I guess I better wait until someone says something that contradicts me, then I can agree with them instead.

I also like this cover. Circular composition is maybe not the best choice for the subject matter but it has good contrast and storytelling. Very manic.

looks good, looks good

@michamyers - I thought your first post was saying that catwoman would do that in the "last issue" not in last issue (#848).  If you get what I am saying.

I don't care what the cover looks like as long as the writing and art are as strong as they were in #849.

Here is a recent Dustin interview to get you pumped for this week's read:

http://www.girlsentertainmentnetwork.com/?p=3196

I guess it's really Hush on the cover that is bothering me. I will conceed that Batman and those two nurses look pretty nice...Then you see this big and ugly head with twisty fingers and I'm thinking to myself: Did two different artists draw the cover? Why is Batman detailed and Hush look like something a four year old drew?

@TheNextChampion: Yeah I agree.  But, I guess as far as covers go lately, this is a pretty good one.

actually the entire cover's theme is skewed perspective. Look at the size of those nurses. Everything is supposed to look bizarre except Batman.

So.... please tell me this story isn't going to some how retcon things in Final Crisis or R.I.P.  I mean I'm pretty sure there is no way but I still am a little scared of it.

@Charlie: What that it's actually Hush that is going threw RIP and FC and not Wayne? Huh....that is actually a big twist if you think about it.

But if that were the case then I go run up to DC's HQ and blow it up for giving me such a f**king stupid plot decision. But I doubt that'll happen Charlie, none of this is really effecting the RIP story or Final Crisis for that matter.

@TNC: Yeah I don't think they would do that anyways.  It wouldn't work for RIP because Hush wouldn't know jack about Dr. Hurt and batmans crazier hidden self.

I was right

@micahmyers:  Here's a cookie... it has sprinkles.... chocolate ones... you'll like it.

@charlieblix: thank you. it was yummy.

This storyline cotninues to entertain me each month.  I really love the art (although I can understand how it may not fit some readers' tastes), and Dini's scripts are very complex yet accessible and focused.  It's not clear where this story falls within the overall RIP timeline (I assume before Bruce's mental break?), but the weak continuity with RIP hasn't hurt my enjoyment of the story.