Detective Comics #51

All in all,Detective Comics#51 provides an exciting read at a time when the final two issues of its New 52run could have been simple filler material. Let's hope the conclusion packs just as much of a punch. Read Full Review

Though DC is headed toward a "Rebirth," it is nice to see that the classic titles still have milage left in them. Read Full Review

The setup is sound as Tomasi proves the detective part of Batman is great reading. Unfortunately it spends more time telling us why we should care about Jim's soldier buddies and past rather than show us. Read Full Review

As stories go, this is perfectly acceptable. It has intrigue, tension, good art, and a story that unfolds just fast enough to keep you moving forward at a steady pace. While I do have a few legitimate minor criticisms, my major beef with the story stems from outside elements that have no real bearing on the evaluation of the story itself. Having said that, I feel like it would be unfair of me to reprimand the story for not sticking to my subjective preferences. Thus, while I personally didn't really enjoy the issue that much, I'm going with an evaluation that only takes my objective criticisms of the story into account. Technically, it's fine, but it's not what I need or want right now. Read Full Review

The mystery does meander a bit too much, and the lead up to Gordon's reveal should have come earlier, but it's still a nice mystery. Read Full Review

DETECTIVE COMICS is a book I want to like. It's got a great creative team with a golden opportunity to really flesh out Jim-Bat in a way that Scott Snyder didn't. But with only one issue to go, all we can hope for is that the second part of this story is better than the first and that Tomasi and Pasarin take this chance to do something that will make their time on the book memorable. Read Full Review

More adventure than mystery, "Our Gordon at War" concludes in the next issue. The creative team will likely give this story a turn for the creep-tastic next issue as we learn just what Gordon's old unit found in the desert and what's come back for revenge. While this issue isn't a good jumping-on point for new readers, it is a treat for Jim Gordon fans, whether or not you're in favor of him as Batman. Read Full Review

While this is hardly a throwaway issue to keep pace until Rebirth hits, it was just a setup issue for next month's finale.  I love the idea of having an actual mystery in Detective Comics and it's a pretty good one, but the timing of it is off and the character of Jim Gordon suffers a bit because of it. Fernando Pasarin and the art team do a kick ass job and even with my complaints, I'm interested in how it all turns out.   Read Full Review

Closing Thoughts: This issue is pretty straight forward. There are times when it seems to jump back and forth in terms of storytelling, but in terms of narrative, it's a linear story. I'm not sure if that was an accident or not, but it worked out okay. And that's how this whole run has felt… just okay. I think Tomasi blew us away with Batman and Robin — he had something to say in that series. But here, it just feels that he's being forced to write some stories. We have one more issue with this team before Rebirth starts, and we get all new creative teams across the board, and I must say, I'm very excited for what we have coming in a couple of months. Read Full Review

Overall,a good read and an exciting glimpse into the history of Sergeant James Gordon! Read Full Review