Weird Detective
Dark Horse Comics
Written by: Fred Van Lente
Art by: Guiu Villanova
Inks by: Mauricio Wallace
Cover Price: $3.99
This was the book that I was anticipating most this week. Even with all the Rebirth issues that DC has been putting out, I wanted something different and that I can just jump right in on. This is not the first appearance of this character, but if you never read his arc in Dark Horse Presents you will not be lost. Fred Van Lente does a good job of filling in the details as the story unfolds.
It starts off with some kids playing in the local swimming pool trying to have a good time, but they soon discover a body on the pool floor. They all take of like bats out of hell and the cops show up. We are then introduced to our star if the show Sebastian Greene and learn that the body is just the outer skin. As Greene is putting the pieces together he learns that he is being forced to have a partner due to a new "policy" within the department. It appears not everyone is convinced that Green is exactly how he presents himself. Greene is able to piece together the conversation his new partner Sana Fayez is having with the Chief of Detectives using his "powers". The chief thinks something is up since Greene was a less than average detective for 15 years, then all of a sudden he is a "supercop". We learn that she is assigned to be his partner to keep tabs on him and report back to the chief of her findings.
Fayez is questioning the janitor at the pool when Greene asks him why there is a hidden camera over the boys showers. The perv freaks out and bolts. Green tells Fayez to circle back, but it was to keep her from seeing how he will take care of the freak on his own. He is able to see through the wall as the janitor goes by on the other side, then reaches through the wall grabbing the bastards hair and cracking his skull into it. Fayez thinks the janitor fell and that Greene was no help at all.
Take that, you perverted pony tailed bastard!
It turns out that the janitor was selling the video tapes to other creepy bastards as he is lugged off to jail. Fayez asks Greene to go get lunch and get to know each other better, but he is not interested. He heads back to his apartment and talks to his cat. HE TALKS TO HIS FREAKIN' CAT! It is all telepathically, but this part raised my interest even more. Creepy deaths, a Weird Detective, and a cat with an attitude, what's not to love?!
This cat rules he "speaks" his mind, and the dialog between him and Greene is to this point the most interesting part of the book.
If my cat was this cool, I wouldn't feed it canned food!
So we are introduced to two new characters who are about to have a date in a building that was "destroyed" by flood damage, but looks fine. From the dialog it appears it could have been part of a bogus insurance scam. The dude heads into the restroom to take a dump and starts screaming. As the girl opens the door she sees her boyfriend getting pulled down the crapper. She spazzes and tries to run away, as some unseen force seems to send her sailing off the building and she breaks her neck on the fire escape stairs.
Looks like he needs more than Pepto!
It turns out that the girl is the daughter of a crime boss and he is about to get revenge. The dad has no idea that the boyfriend is dead, so he gets the guy's father and calls his cell phone. It turns out that Greene has the phone and he answers it to hear the crime boss screaming his ass off and threatening to kill him if he doesn't show up.
Meanwhile, Fayez is talking to her wife about their jobs and their baby and we transition over to the crime boss with two creatures as they beat the boyfriend's dad up pretty bad. They say her mom wants revenge and we see a creepy female creature come out of a chamber and chews on the poor bastard.
Now Fayez is doing a stake out on Greene, and it appears he is aware. He goes out for a stroll and Fayez follows, unaware that she is now in over her head as she is attacked by a group of creatures. It looks like Greene has some important business to conduct and he can't have someone getting in the way. I actually feel bad for Fayez here, since she had no idea what she got mixed up in.
I left out a few points, since I did not want to do a full spoiler review. So, how would I rate this book, and did it meet my expectations? I would have to give this book a 9/10 beards and it meet my expectations with the "weird" story line alone. The cat and the true appearance of the Weird Detective pushed it above my expectations and has me wanting more. One of the things that I did not like was the running gag or the reoccurring "joke" throughout the book. It didn't ruin the book in any way, I just thought it could have been a little bit more creative or just left out completely. I would say this book is a must buy, and a good alternative to super hero books as most Dark Horse books usually are.
http://www.darkhorse.com/Comics/24-123/Dark-Horse-Presents-8
DHP vol. 3 #8 is the first appearance on the Weird Detective. It is basically the first few pages of the #1 issue. It will also give you a feel for a DHP book, if you have never read one before. Check out the link for a preview:
So until next time, DatBeardedBastard is out...
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