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Batman: The Dark Knight Detective #7
Batman: The Dark Knight Detective, Vol. 7
The iconic Batman adventures we know and love from the 90s continue in the latest collection of Detective Comics!
Follow Batman as he investigates a bombing with the GCPD—as Batman is investing one lead in the business owner, another unrelated bombing happens. The bomber is destroying for the sake of destruction…this is the introduction of the Destroyer! Batman will have to face off against more than just the Destroyer though! In this collection featuring appearances from the Joker, Two Face, and more—Gotham’s need for Batman is far from over!
Batman: The Dark Knight Detective Vol. 7 collects adventures from Batman #474, Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #27, Detective Comics #634-638, Detective Comics #641, Detective Comics #643, and Detective Comics Annual #4.
Follow Batman as he investigates a bombing with the GCPD—as Batman is investing one lead in the business owner, another unrelated bombing happens. The bomber is destroying for the sake of destruction…this is the introduction of the Destroyer! Batman will have to face off against more than just the Destroyer though! In this collection featuring appearances from the Joker, Two Face, and more—Gotham’s need for Batman is far from over!
Batman: The Dark Knight Detective Vol. 7 collects adventures from Batman #474, Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #27, Detective Comics #634-638, Detective Comics #641, Detective Comics #643, and Detective Comics Annual #4.
282 pages, Paperback
First published February 14, 2023
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84 people want to read
About the author
Louise Simonson
965 books101 followersLouise Simonson (born Mary Louise Alexander and formerly credited as Louise Jones, when married to artist Jeff Jones) is an American comic book writer and editor. She is best known for her work on comic book titles such as Power Pack, X-Factor, New Mutants, Superman, and Steel. She is sometimes referred to by the nickname "Weezie".
Since 1980 she is married to comic book writer and artist Walter Simonson
Since 1980 she is married to comic book writer and artist Walter Simonson
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
March 18, 2023
An early 90s collection of engaging stories. The inclusion of an issue of 'Legends of the Dark Knight' shows starkly the cross over between the old and new styles of comic art. Lacking some of the regular Gotham cast that surround Batman, but a good selection nonetheless.
January 28, 2024
This was a pretty dreadful era for Batman comics. He's made great by his amazing rogue's gallery, none of which are present here. Instead, a handful of writers give readers stories with one off antagonists that will never bee seen again for very good reasons. It was so forgettable and did not hold up well at all, especially the video game arc. The art was also not very good. Overall, this is not where you go to enjoy Batman.
September 8, 2025
This volume started off with a light, cheeky Puckett story about two elderly amateur detectives that keep charmingly disrupting Batman's detective work. Simonson follows this with two pretty terribly written storylines; one a cheesy schlock fest about an Arkham inmate who can project video game levels into the real word, and a far more tedious and soapy "Armageddon 2001" event storyline about Batman raging against the Al Ghuls in old age. These storylines were my first exposure to Louise Simonson and boy was it harsh. While the first storyline was enjoyable for its raw stupidity, the latter was a total bore and neither of the two have much internal logic nor craft in their telling.
Things start to pick up however with a simple but effectively told military corruption tale by Milligan that has a nice bit of heart. The Destroyer crossover storyline is probably my favorite of the collection, featuring an ideological madman demolishing Gotham's architectural blight to restore the visibility of the gothic masterpieces he sees as protection against the immoral filth of the outside world. Lastly, the volume concludes with another Milligan & Aparo joint about a mad librarian who starts hearing voices after the death of his mother and decides to populate a "library of souls" to bring order to the afterlife.
Nothing in this collection was particularly interesting, but the back half saved it from being a total loss.
Things start to pick up however with a simple but effectively told military corruption tale by Milligan that has a nice bit of heart. The Destroyer crossover storyline is probably my favorite of the collection, featuring an ideological madman demolishing Gotham's architectural blight to restore the visibility of the gothic masterpieces he sees as protection against the immoral filth of the outside world. Lastly, the volume concludes with another Milligan & Aparo joint about a mad librarian who starts hearing voices after the death of his mother and decides to populate a "library of souls" to bring order to the afterlife.
Nothing in this collection was particularly interesting, but the back half saved it from being a total loss.
July 29, 2023
I did not like this collection much at all. Some excellent covers and such, but beyond that, this was a drag to read through from writers I USUALLY really enjoy. A 1 out of 5.
November 16, 2023
Batman: The Dark Knight Detective, Vol. 7 kicks off with two elderly ladies stumbling upon a crime scene. Their curiosity gets the best of them, and they decide to look into the killing—a crime that Batman is also investigating. What do these old ladies do when they cross paths with the Dark Knight? They hit on him. This is a nice detective story. The two elderly ladies are adorable. It's a good way to start the book.
The next story delves into the realm of science fiction. An inmate escapes Arkham Asylum and attacks Jim Gordon and Sarah Essen. Something has spooked the inmate. Batman rescues Jim and Sarah but gets attacked by a 'monster robot' (that’s how it's called in the comics). Meanwhile, in the Batcave, Tim Drake and Alfred Pennyworth are playing video games. Batman takes a look and states that the robot in the game is the same one that attacked him. Is Batman hallucinating, or is reality being altered? While the story may have been a bit dull, it was fun to see Jim Gordon and Sarah Essen getting hooked on video games.
My favorite story in the book is the Armageddon 2001 tie-in. It’s like an Elseworld story, which I love. Waverider goes back into the past to try and figure out and kill the person who will become Monarch one day. He zeroes in on Batman because of his dictator tendencies, a fair assessment. I know the Armageddon 2001 event is just a two-issue limited series, but they really need to collect this story in graphic novel format. Just collect the story with all its tie-ins or its two follow-up miniseries.
Peter Milligan has a living bomb story, which was pretty decent considering that I’m not a fan of his writing.
The next story is a three-issue Batman, Detective Comics, and Legends of the Dark Knight crossover entitled "Destroyer." There is a person who is blowing up buildings in Gotham. Batman tries to figure out if this is an insurance scam or if someone is doing this for the sake of art. While I know Jim Aparo and Norm Breyfogle illustrated Detective Comics and Batman, respectively, I enjoyed Chris Sprouse’s art in Legends of the Dark Knight more. Kudos to his colorist, Steve Oliff, as well.
The last story was a Peter Milligan tale, which I wasn’t fond of. I am really not a fan of supernatural stories. This marks the end of Peter Milligan and Jim Aparo’s run in Detective Comics.
Overall, this is a good book that, as the title implies, involves a lot of detective work. It just goes to show that you don’t need to rely on Batman’s rogue gallery to write compelling stories.
Collects Detective Comics (1937) 634-638, 641, and 643 and Annual #4; Batman (1940) 474; and Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight 27.
My Batman Collected Editions Instagram page
The next story delves into the realm of science fiction. An inmate escapes Arkham Asylum and attacks Jim Gordon and Sarah Essen. Something has spooked the inmate. Batman rescues Jim and Sarah but gets attacked by a 'monster robot' (that’s how it's called in the comics). Meanwhile, in the Batcave, Tim Drake and Alfred Pennyworth are playing video games. Batman takes a look and states that the robot in the game is the same one that attacked him. Is Batman hallucinating, or is reality being altered? While the story may have been a bit dull, it was fun to see Jim Gordon and Sarah Essen getting hooked on video games.
My favorite story in the book is the Armageddon 2001 tie-in. It’s like an Elseworld story, which I love. Waverider goes back into the past to try and figure out and kill the person who will become Monarch one day. He zeroes in on Batman because of his dictator tendencies, a fair assessment. I know the Armageddon 2001 event is just a two-issue limited series, but they really need to collect this story in graphic novel format. Just collect the story with all its tie-ins or its two follow-up miniseries.
Peter Milligan has a living bomb story, which was pretty decent considering that I’m not a fan of his writing.
The next story is a three-issue Batman, Detective Comics, and Legends of the Dark Knight crossover entitled "Destroyer." There is a person who is blowing up buildings in Gotham. Batman tries to figure out if this is an insurance scam or if someone is doing this for the sake of art. While I know Jim Aparo and Norm Breyfogle illustrated Detective Comics and Batman, respectively, I enjoyed Chris Sprouse’s art in Legends of the Dark Knight more. Kudos to his colorist, Steve Oliff, as well.
The last story was a Peter Milligan tale, which I wasn’t fond of. I am really not a fan of supernatural stories. This marks the end of Peter Milligan and Jim Aparo’s run in Detective Comics.
Overall, this is a good book that, as the title implies, involves a lot of detective work. It just goes to show that you don’t need to rely on Batman’s rogue gallery to write compelling stories.
Collects Detective Comics (1937) 634-638, 641, and 643 and Annual #4; Batman (1940) 474; and Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight 27.
My Batman Collected Editions Instagram page
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June 13, 2025Coming off the heels of non-stop awesome Batman stuff, this is... so painfully middling. Peter Milligan was so odd and special in The Idiot Root in a way that I really loved but these stories are just not at all on par with his usual stuff.
The Third Man: Been a bit since I've read it but I remember it being quite fun. Batman mixed with old ladies solving a mystery reminds me of a certain someone here on Goodreads. Probably 3 stars.
Mind Games: Not very special but fun in a lot of ways. I mostly just like the spotlight it gives Tim. 3.5 stars.
Succession, Annual #4, 1991: It's pretty good but God, it's so bleak. I was just so sad reading it. Don't do that to my beloved characters! Dark Knight Returns is already far enough. 2.5 stars.
The Bomb: Extremely predictable and too dated even for the 90s, as these Milligan stories are becoming, but it's very purely Batman. It's sweet and I can honestly say I enjoyed it. 3 stars.
Destroyer: This one's really exciting because it starts with a Grant/Breyfogle Batman issue that I thought wasn't ever printed! I bought the single issue at a comic shop before I realized it was in this collection, because I thought the Grant/Breyfogle stuff ended for good a couple volumes back. Glad to see it again! The story itself is still just okay, but it has held up very well socially. I kind of feel for the villain other than the whole insanity part. And the murder. I hate those buildings too! Architectural sin!
Library of Souls: Still just mediocre. So, so mediocre. 3 stars, maybe 2.5.
The Third Man: Been a bit since I've read it but I remember it being quite fun. Batman mixed with old ladies solving a mystery reminds me of a certain someone here on Goodreads. Probably 3 stars.
Mind Games: Not very special but fun in a lot of ways. I mostly just like the spotlight it gives Tim. 3.5 stars.
Succession, Annual #4, 1991: It's pretty good but God, it's so bleak. I was just so sad reading it. Don't do that to my beloved characters! Dark Knight Returns is already far enough. 2.5 stars.
The Bomb: Extremely predictable and too dated even for the 90s, as these Milligan stories are becoming, but it's very purely Batman. It's sweet and I can honestly say I enjoyed it. 3 stars.
Destroyer: This one's really exciting because it starts with a Grant/Breyfogle Batman issue that I thought wasn't ever printed! I bought the single issue at a comic shop before I realized it was in this collection, because I thought the Grant/Breyfogle stuff ended for good a couple volumes back. Glad to see it again! The story itself is still just okay, but it has held up very well socially. I kind of feel for the villain other than the whole insanity part. And the murder. I hate those buildings too! Architectural sin!
Library of Souls: Still just mediocre. So, so mediocre. 3 stars, maybe 2.5.
April 6, 2023
Some solid Batman stories but going back and reading these again now I can't believe how few villains there are. It's typically a hitman or a crazy person in one of these. The only member of Batman's Rogues to appear is Ra's al Ghul in the annual that was part of Armageddon 2001 which I always have a soft spot for. Wave Rider was a cool addition to DC's canon and I thought the stories set 10 years in the future was a good gimmick for the year's annuals as Waverider tried to determine who Monarch was. Even the three part crossover just had a crazy bomber as the bad guy. I did really like how he made over Gotham. I really enjoyed the first issue where the old ladies played amateur detective alongside Batman. It was like a cozy mystery.
October 5, 2023
Je voulais essayer les Batman de Louise Simonson et... disons qu'ils sont très typiques des comics DC des années 90. Trop de textes inutiles, des intrigues en papier mâché. On a ici un Batman plutôt fade, un peu ridicule même.
J'évite normalement la période, mais j'essaie de découvrir les trop rares autrices de comics et.... voilà.
J'évite normalement la période, mais j'essaie de découvrir les trop rares autrices de comics et.... voilà.
September 28, 2023
A really great set of Batman stories.
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January 6, 2024the story from armageddon 2001 is great. as is the three part Destroyer and the three parter about the video game kid. batman at its best is - near future "end of batman" cases, cases that delve into gotham's past (often in a mystical/spiritual way) and batman vs world altering evil.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews