Jayson’s Reviews > Batman: Dark Detective > Status Update
Jayson
is finished
Notes:
(1) Like a lot of latter-day Englehart, there's a lot to like, but also a lot of filler.
- A tilting floor sequence, for example, in Joker's booby-trapped house is essentially an RPG mini-game.
(2) If there was any doubt about this being the basis of The Dark Knight film, it's gone by the end.
(3) One last Easter egg: Lieutenant Schiff is a nod to Jack Schiff.
— Aug 08, 2026 10:10PM
Notes:
(1) Like a lot of latter-day Englehart, there's a lot to like, but also a lot of filler.
- A tilting floor sequence, for example, in Joker's booby-trapped house is essentially an RPG mini-game.
(2) If there was any doubt about this being the basis of The Dark Knight film, it's gone by the end.
(3) One last Easter egg: Lieutenant Schiff is a nod to Jack Schiff.
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Jayson’s Previous Updates
Jayson
is 83% done
Notes:
(1) This issue was a lot of talking.
- Joker talking with Silver.
- Evan talking with Bruce.
- Batman threatening numerous low-lives.
(2) More Easter eggs: Giella, Friedrich and Robbins are Joe Giella, Mike Friedrich and Frank Robbins, respectively.
- The Joker lives at #1 Jerry Lane, which refers to Jerry Robinson, who drew Batman #1 and co-created the Joker.
— Aug 08, 2026 09:10PM
Notes:
(1) This issue was a lot of talking.
- Joker talking with Silver.
- Evan talking with Bruce.
- Batman threatening numerous low-lives.
(2) More Easter eggs: Giella, Friedrich and Robbins are Joe Giella, Mike Friedrich and Frank Robbins, respectively.
- The Joker lives at #1 Jerry Lane, which refers to Jerry Robinson, who drew Batman #1 and co-created the Joker.
Jayson
is 67% done
Notes:
(1) If you follow my updates, you know I hate hallucination/dream sequences. It's just symbolic filler.
- Here it's framed as a repressed memory, so I'll give it a pass.
(2) More Easter eggs: Mr. Liebowitz, Murray and Adler are Jack Liebowitz, Murray Boltinoff and Jack Adler, respectively.
- At this point, I just assume every random name tributes some DC Comics alum.
— Aug 08, 2026 07:50PM
Notes:
(1) If you follow my updates, you know I hate hallucination/dream sequences. It's just symbolic filler.
- Here it's framed as a repressed memory, so I'll give it a pass.
(2) More Easter eggs: Mr. Liebowitz, Murray and Adler are Jack Liebowitz, Murray Boltinoff and Jack Adler, respectively.
- At this point, I just assume every random name tributes some DC Comics alum.
Jayson
is 50% done
Notes:
(1) This is pretty much a retread of Englehart's famous Joker Fish storyline.
- Joker marks men for death and finds a way to kill them in spite of heavy security.
(2) More Easter eggs: Warner Park, Giordano and Mr. Novick are nods to Warner Bros., Dick Giordano and Irv Novick, respectively.
- I'm also pretty sure the Sheldon-Waldorf hotel is a nod to Sheldon Moldoff.
— Aug 08, 2026 06:30PM
Notes:
(1) This is pretty much a retread of Englehart's famous Joker Fish storyline.
- Joker marks men for death and finds a way to kill them in spite of heavy security.
(2) More Easter eggs: Warner Park, Giordano and Mr. Novick are nods to Warner Bros., Dick Giordano and Irv Novick, respectively.
- I'm also pretty sure the Sheldon-Waldorf hotel is a nod to Sheldon Moldoff.
Jayson
is 33% done
Notes:
(1) It might just be me, but this seems a whole lot like the plot of Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight.
- Evan Gregory's in the Harvey Dent role: honorable and running for elected office.
- Silver St. Cloud's in the Rachel Dawes role: a past with Bruce but involved with Evan.
- The Joker and Two-Face are the main villains.
- Batman is an enemy of the police.
— Aug 08, 2026 07:10AM
Notes:
(1) It might just be me, but this seems a whole lot like the plot of Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight.
- Evan Gregory's in the Harvey Dent role: honorable and running for elected office.
- Silver St. Cloud's in the Rachel Dawes role: a past with Bruce but involved with Evan.
- The Joker and Two-Face are the main villains.
- Batman is an enemy of the police.
Jayson
is 17% done
Notes:
(1) Despite heavy callbacks, this doesn't seem to directly follow the initial Englehart run.
- It isn't a flashback or alternate history. Time has passed.
(2) References in this first issue are all over the place!
- We have characters named Neal and Haney, nods to Neal Adams and Bob Haney.
- The Joker references John Wilkes Booth, Alanis Morissette and American Idol.
— Aug 08, 2026 06:35AM
Notes:
(1) Despite heavy callbacks, this doesn't seem to directly follow the initial Englehart run.
- It isn't a flashback or alternate history. Time has passed.
(2) References in this first issue are all over the place!
- We have characters named Neal and Haney, nods to Neal Adams and Bob Haney.
- The Joker references John Wilkes Booth, Alanis Morissette and American Idol.
Jayson
is starting
Notes:
(1) Having read every single Batman story by Steve Englehart hitherto, I have guarded expectations.
- While his mid-to-late '70s work is pretty much universally praised, his '90s and 2000s stuff has been hit or miss, ranging from great to middling to awful.
- I have decent hopes for this one, since it seems free of the weird gimmicks emblematic of his lesser efforts.
— Aug 08, 2026 06:00AM
Notes:
(1) Having read every single Batman story by Steve Englehart hitherto, I have guarded expectations.
- While his mid-to-late '70s work is pretty much universally praised, his '90s and 2000s stuff has been hit or miss, ranging from great to middling to awful.
- I have decent hopes for this one, since it seems free of the weird gimmicks emblematic of his lesser efforts.