Batman: Private Casebook

Batman: Private Casebook HC
Written by Paul Dini
Penciled by Dustin Nguyen. Inked by Derek Fridolfs
Published by DC Comics. $19.99 USD

Paul Dini has been something of an anomaly in comics for well over a decade now. His superlative Batman and Justice League cartoons (with Bruce Timm) gave him instant cred with comics fans once he tried his hand writing them, but, quite possibly due to having the lucrative and demanding television gigs, he really hasn't used his success to crowd the market with a lot of product. When Dini writes something, it's usually a bit of an event and feels like he did it because he wanted to do it.

Things have changed a little bit with a regular gig writing Detective Comics, as Dini has previously focused on one-off stories set in their own universe. This time he has to stay in accord with Grant Morrison's concurrent Batman series, as well as editorial decisions, and keep the scripts cranking every month. This led to the rather disjointed "Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul" storyline that crossed into the various Bat-related series. Picking up at the end of that story, Dini gets the last word, with Batman's cruel and not very clever method to, if not drive Ra's out of Gotham, at least render him harmless. This isn't the last time Batman expresses some guilt over tampering with or intruding on private information--a point explored brilliantly in the Dark Knight film, but Dini does nothing with these feelings, at least not in this volume. The complicated father-son material from the last storyline will confuses readers finding it touched on here for the first time, and so it's not a great beginning for the collection.

Next up is a seemingly halfhearted new crime spree from the Mad Hatter, but it turns out he's really under the mind control technology he created, now wielded by ambitious henchmen Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum. Dini seemed to read some Carroll for inspiration for his Hatter story, but came up a bit empty. Peter Milligan fills in with a story about the armor/costume Ra's gave him, which seems to inspire him to be more violent than usual. Considering that in the previous story he shocked one thug and then set off a small explosive with another--both in the face--his behavior here wouldn't be that noticeable if Batman himself hadn't been alarmed by it. Batman's search for the "terrible secret" behind the suit leads him to a small religious order in the French Alps, and the secret ends up being terrible if not very interesting. As a fill-in issue, it's fine, but points out a common weakness in those who write Detective--not being able to write very good mysteries. Batman analyzes some things but the answers lead him exactly where he needs to go, and further answers will require a bit of punching or wild coincidence.

Dini returns with a two-parter featuring Scarface and his new Ventriloquist, a smart but unlucky young woman with just the right mental illness to be able to take over Scarface when the old Ventriloquist is killed. With a couple issues to work, Dini finally gets cooking with some fun scenes with supervillain-turned-nightclub-owner Penguin, plus Batman teaming up with Zatanna. Dini obviously likes the character as he's written a one-shot before (he's also married to a magician), so it's not surprising he toys with the idea of bringing her up from second-tier character status by teasing the possibility of a romance with Batman. As Dini and Timm tried to pair Batman with Wonder Woman before, clearly Dini is not that interested in the 50 year old idea of Bats with Catwoman.

But just when one is thinking of the possibilities, Catwoman shows up in the next issue to act jealous and bounce away (hard to figure how she could possibly have known about Zatanna making a play for Batman as no one saw them), leaving Batman to investigate a gruesome case while trying to beat Riddler, who has reformed and become a TV sleuth. The idea of Batman in a detectives chatroom with an unknowing Riddler is amusing enough, but add obscure DC character Detective Chimp (with an online handle referencing old Today Show chimp J. Fred Muggs) and it's clear Dini is in his comfort zone. As with the Milligan-written issue, the actual detective work is tremendously coincidental, but one supposes it's difficult to wrap up a case in one issue without some short cuts. The final story is very short and tells of a bit of Halloween revenge exacted by Zatanna. It's a weak effort but features some nice art by Nguyen coloring himself. His art for the other stories shows he's developed a distinctive style, synthesize influences from Mignola and many others in a fresh way. Not altogether my cup of tea, but consistency and confidence go a long way. As for Dini, while his lows are not as low as a couple Morrison's hiccups on Batman, neither are his highs as high. Three of six issues here are good, the others okay. Depending on how much one likes Batman this is either a pleasant chapter or a forgettable one, but it's hard to imagine many readers ranking it very high for eiter a Batman or Dini project. Also, the washed-out palette on the cover is ghastly and the design is boring.