DETECTIVE COMICS #668 - November 1993

Runaway
Credits:  Chuck Dixon (writer), Graham Nolan (penciler), Scott Hanna (inker), John Costanza (letterer), Adrienne Roy (colorist)

Summary:  Batman spins the canopy of his car around and uses its jet engine to escape the oncoming train.  Meanwhile, Tim Drake receives his driver’s license in the mail.  He sneaks into the Batcave to retrieve the car Bruce Wayne promised him, the Redbird, and is ambushed by Batman.  Elsewhere, “Dirty” Dan Doyle lays out the plans for a subway robbery to the Trigger Twins, while the Joker contacts a Hollywood producer.

Irrelevant Continuity:  Tim Drake isn’t sixteen, but he’s been granted a special driver’s license due to his father’s disability.

I Love the ‘90s:  When Tim’s housekeeper is disturbed by a news report, he asks her if Tom Brokaw is off tonight.

Review:  I still don’t understand the appeal of a Bat-subway car, but I have to admit Dixon comes up with a clever way out of last issue’s cliffhanger.  The rest of the issue is spent touching on some subplots and setting up a Batman vs. Robin fight, a fight that doesn’t appear to have a resolution.  I know that these Knightfall trades skip numerous stories, but surely they didn’t skip the issue that resolved this cliffhanger -- Batman strangling Robin.  I’d kinda like to see how that turns out. 

While this fight scene is presumably irrelevant in the larger scheme of things, it does look very nice. I haven’t spoken enough about the art while reviewing these issues, but that’s because most of the artists do consistent, non-flashy work each time. I prefer Eduardo Barreto inking Graham Nolan to Scott Hanna, but this remains one of the better-looking issues of the storyline. Robin hasn’t been in action (outside of his solo book, largely left out of these collections) in a while, so it’s fun to see him facing off against the new Batman. Nolan and Hanna do a great job on his ‘90s costume, which has certainly aged better than AzBats’.