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Batman
Batman: Detective, No. 27
Bruce Wayne becomes a member of a secret society of detectives to battle the decades old criminal conspiracy that left him an orphan in this stunning original hardcover graphic novel! Babe Ruth, Teddy Roosevelt, Selina Kyle and others are just a few of the players in a Batman story unlike any before.
96 pages, Hardcover
First published December 1, 2003
3 people are currently reading
124 people want to read
About the author
Michael E. Uslan
120 books22 followersMichael E. Uslan (born June 2, 1952) is a producer of the Batman movies and was the first instructor to teach an accredited course on comic book folklore at any university.
Uslan is best known as a producer of all of the modern Batman films to date, starting with Tim Burton's 1989 film, and continuing to 2012's The Dark Knight Rises and also including various feature-length films based on the Batman: The Animated Series and The Batman.
Uslan is best known as a producer of all of the modern Batman films to date, starting with Tim Burton's 1989 film, and continuing to 2012's The Dark Knight Rises and also including various feature-length films based on the Batman: The Animated Series and The Batman.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
March 20, 2011
For my money, alternate history works best when the reader already knows a certain set of facts. The writer then tweaks just a few small things, and the story diverges from the known path, getting farther and farther into something completely distinct.
This graphic novel does this well. Now admittedly, some of the "known facts" have actual historical basis while others are established only within the canon of accepted Batman lore. But it certainly made an entertaining tale.
Here are a couple of the significant tweaks introduced:
- Bruce Wayne is born much earlier so that he is a young adult by 1939
- Bruce Wayne is distracted by the doorbell as he sits down to ponder how he can strike fear into hearts of criminals, so he misses the bat flying by the window
The huge difference this causes: there is no Batman!
In this whole book, there will only be Bruce Wayne, Detective 27. You will not see him dress up as Batman. But there will be multiply many Bat-references, and at the end of the book he will ponder over the saying "Carpe Nox" (seize the night) as a motto.
Now... there's one more tweak to the established timeline that I can't share, as it is huge and it will remain as a bit of shocker at the end. The surprise is something you may not see coming, and definitely shows the craft and skill in the author's work.
A very fine read. I thoroughly enjoyed all the references to actual history, and learned some things too. The art is clean and fluid and the story moves fast and is easy to follow.
5 well-earned stars!
This graphic novel does this well. Now admittedly, some of the "known facts" have actual historical basis while others are established only within the canon of accepted Batman lore. But it certainly made an entertaining tale.
Here are a couple of the significant tweaks introduced:
- Bruce Wayne is born much earlier so that he is a young adult by 1939
- Bruce Wayne is distracted by the doorbell as he sits down to ponder how he can strike fear into hearts of criminals, so he misses the bat flying by the window
The huge difference this causes: there is no Batman!
In this whole book, there will only be Bruce Wayne, Detective 27. You will not see him dress up as Batman. But there will be multiply many Bat-references, and at the end of the book he will ponder over the saying "Carpe Nox" (seize the night) as a motto.
Now... there's one more tweak to the established timeline that I can't share, as it is huge and it will remain as a bit of shocker at the end. The surprise is something you may not see coming, and definitely shows the craft and skill in the author's work.
A very fine read. I thoroughly enjoyed all the references to actual history, and learned some things too. The art is clean and fluid and the story moves fast and is easy to follow.
5 well-earned stars!
June 24, 2021
To far afield from Gotham, no Bat suit in sight, plus an author more enamored of historical trivia than intricate plotting.
July 15, 2017
A disappointingly empty Elseworlds story. Uslan's not a bad writer, and the book's clearly evoking the Golden Age-style of setting and dialogue, but it just had so little substance or anything to keep me engaged as a reader.
September 27, 2017
An entertaining what if? / alternate universe tale, the "Detective No. 27" story-line jumps between the Lincoln assassination and the eve of America's entry in WWII. It is re-imagined that Bruce Wayne bypasses suiting up as The Dark Knight and simply becomes one of the world's greatest detectives for a secret society that is combating an on-going criminal conspiracy. The allusions and in-jokes to the well-known Batman origin and characters were amusing, and the book is peppered with cameos from various real-life figures and incidents. The 'big reveal' towards the ending is a little shaky, but otherwise this graphic novel / historical fiction mash-up is worth the read for fans of either genre.
April 29, 2012
One complaint I have with the otherwise awesome Batman franchise is that the hero goes by the epithet “the world’s greatest detective,” and yet, in recent years, doesn’t seem to do much real sleuthing. I guess I’m a bit old-school; when I think detective, I think of clever deductions and riddles and so forth, while in today’s crime-drama obsessed culture, detective work always implies magnifying tiny objects on a giant computer screen. As it so happens, Batman has a giant computer screen in his Batcave, and that conveniently seems to solve most of his cases for him. What I loved about Detective 27, a sort of ‘alternate history’ take on Bruce Wayne, is that it’s set around the late 1930s , a time when Bruce’s greatest tools are his eyes and his mind.
to read my full review, go to: http://paneldiscussions.wordpress.com...
to read my full review, go to: http://paneldiscussions.wordpress.com...
September 9, 2012
I really enjoyed the Elseworlds concept when it popped up consistently in the DC line of comics. This work from nearly a decade ago puts the character of Bruce Wayne back in the '30s, but in a very different story world. This world is repleat with famous historical figures dating back to Lincoln and the original Pinkerton, up through Mengel, Freud and Babe Ruth. There is no Batman, this time, as Bruce becomes a noir detective pursuing a decades long conspiracy, born out of the Civil War. There is a complexity here that is unnecessary, but it is a fun romp through an alternative history. Peter Snejbjerg's art is clean and a touch cartoony, but dynamic and dramatically dark at times. This is a graphic novel to be enjoyed for its novelty and cleverness, if not plot.
October 31, 2014
Now, compared to Batman: The Blue, the Grey, and the Bat this is way way better. Bruce Wayne and a different Alfred as well as Robin's hood were perfectly enmeshed in history. Now we get to see how the Crimson Avenger, the "Dark Knight" (carpe nox!), and other familiar figures that don't seem so familiar enter the history of the United States.
And you know what makes this cooler, beside the plot? Footnotes.
And you know what makes this cooler, beside the plot? Footnotes.
July 25, 2025
It’s not perfect, but I can see what the intention was behind this Elseworlds.
Story time, Batman began his life in the pages of Detective Comics #27. The comic was originally just that, pulp detective tales, but Batman was a game-changer. But what if the Batman story was more in line with the original Detective Comics style?
Written in an age similar to the 1940s Detective Comics stories, we’re introduced to a really convoluted plot to rule over society...I guess…
This plot catches up decades later to one young Bruce Wayne, who sees his parents gunned down in front of him in an alley. As in the main timeline, he travels the world for 10 years getting training in combat and detective skills, however, the Bat incident that inspired his superhero persona never happened, and he was recruited by a detective society with the goal of stopping the conspiracy.
It’s a cool reinterpretation of the Batman characters and plot lines, but I think you’d appreciate it more if you were somewhat versed in the specific Detective Comics era, the callbacks to historical figures were unnecessary and it feels more like bloat
Very fun.
Story time, Batman began his life in the pages of Detective Comics #27. The comic was originally just that, pulp detective tales, but Batman was a game-changer. But what if the Batman story was more in line with the original Detective Comics style?
Written in an age similar to the 1940s Detective Comics stories, we’re introduced to a really convoluted plot to rule over society...I guess…
This plot catches up decades later to one young Bruce Wayne, who sees his parents gunned down in front of him in an alley. As in the main timeline, he travels the world for 10 years getting training in combat and detective skills, however, the Bat incident that inspired his superhero persona never happened, and he was recruited by a detective society with the goal of stopping the conspiracy.
It’s a cool reinterpretation of the Batman characters and plot lines, but I think you’d appreciate it more if you were somewhat versed in the specific Detective Comics era, the callbacks to historical figures were unnecessary and it feels more like bloat
Very fun.
December 18, 2022
A few years prior to the Marvel Noir take on Spider-Man that launched a frenzy for pulpy, noir-inspired takes on classic superheroes, writer and movie producer Michael Uslan took Bruce Wayne back to his roots in the noir-inspired 'Detective 27'.
This reimagining of the Batman lore takes everything readers know about Batman and turns it into a fast-paced, action-adventure that feels along the lines of something like 'The 39 Steps'. Gone is the cape and cowl, and in its place is more of a secret agent / spy narrative that sees Bruce Wayne don the moniker of "Detective 27."
The art is beautiful, and the reimagined characters, like Hugo Strange, Jonathan Crane, Selina Kyle, and the Waynes, feel very much at home in this storyline. There are also plenty of allusions to The Joker, alongside other rogues, and final twist is a doozy!
Honestly, with seeing how later "noir-inspired" stories spawned spinoffs and sequels, I wish 'Detective 27' would have received a follow-up. It deserves it. Carpe nox!
This reimagining of the Batman lore takes everything readers know about Batman and turns it into a fast-paced, action-adventure that feels along the lines of something like 'The 39 Steps'. Gone is the cape and cowl, and in its place is more of a secret agent / spy narrative that sees Bruce Wayne don the moniker of "Detective 27."
The art is beautiful, and the reimagined characters, like Hugo Strange, Jonathan Crane, Selina Kyle, and the Waynes, feel very much at home in this storyline. There are also plenty of allusions to The Joker, alongside other rogues, and final twist is a doozy!
Honestly, with seeing how later "noir-inspired" stories spawned spinoffs and sequels, I wish 'Detective 27' would have received a follow-up. It deserves it. Carpe nox!
May 29, 2020
4.5/5
Historia de elseworld, situada en otra época en circunstancias muy distintas a las que conocemos a los superheroes, mezclando historia con una trama detectivesca propia de una novela negra con un final sorprendente y la magia entre Bruce y Alfred intacta. Carpe nox.
Historia de elseworld, situada en otra época en circunstancias muy distintas a las que conocemos a los superheroes, mezclando historia con una trama detectivesca propia de una novela negra con un final sorprendente y la magia entre Bruce y Alfred intacta. Carpe nox.
June 26, 2019
All the history references made up for many "yea-rights" (even on the capes-and-tights scale) that plagued the plot.
January 17, 2021
2.5 stars, but I'll round up. A decent Elseworlds tale, but a little too on the nose with some of the winks and nods to the canonical material.
January 23, 2009
Mainly set in the late thirties/early forties, this starts with the assasination of Lincoln and the discovery of a plot by southern holdots that will unleash havoc on the north in fifty years.
Turns out that Pinkerton has started a secret group of detectives tasked with preventing this fiendish plot from happening--sort of like the league of extraordinary gentleman with Teddy R. and others--and Bruce Wayne is recruited. The bad puns should have made me smile--there's Babe Ruth giving Wayne the name "Bat Man" for his use of the wooden club on a baddie--but the story was just weird, poorly plotted, and he never dresses up like a bat. Call me picky, but I want my batman dressed up in his costume.
Turns out that Pinkerton has started a secret group of detectives tasked with preventing this fiendish plot from happening--sort of like the league of extraordinary gentleman with Teddy R. and others--and Bruce Wayne is recruited. The bad puns should have made me smile--there's Babe Ruth giving Wayne the name "Bat Man" for his use of the wooden club on a baddie--but the story was just weird, poorly plotted, and he never dresses up like a bat. Call me picky, but I want my batman dressed up in his costume.
November 11, 2007
This one's an impulse borrow from the Library. It's an imaginary tale of Batman--I think they're still calling them "Elseworlds" tales. It combines the ideas of a secret society of detectives and a post-Civil War plot of revenge with a Bruce Wayne who has chosen a different road than to become the Batman. Like most "Elseworld" stories of the Batman, it pays homage to the character's 68-year-old mythology, but this is the first one I've read that evokes a bit of the 1960s television show and laces the tale with puns and in-jokes. (Not as bad as the TV show, mind you, but enough that you can't take the story too seriously.)
October 3, 2008
I didn't learn much from this book and was actually kind of disappointed with the climax. I don't know, maybe it's because I'm in a funk today, or maybe I'm just too stubborn, but I don't like the twisted history very much. I like my Pinkertons separated from my capes, my plot twists darker, and my Dark Knight more in the loop. And all the bad guys looked like, well, psycho Confederates. I'm also not sure if you'd like it more or less if you were more of a Batman fan, or if the kids in my comic book club will have enough background knowledge to make this work.
November 13, 2013
A Batman story that does not actually feature Batman? Well, it works. Uslan anchors the character of Bruce Wayne deeper into the genre of detective fiction with this Elseworlds tale, while not wholly removing him from the world of superheroes. Batman's publishing history is here intertwined with actual history and other detective stories to present a solid pulp mystery. Peter Snejbjerg's art is in top form, being moody and emotive as it needs to be. If you like stories with "Easter Eggs," you'll really enjoy this one.
February 26, 2015
This “alternate history” story puts Bruce Wayne in 1939, as part of group of detectives trying to solve the 75-year old mystery stretching from the assassination of Abraham Lincoln to their present. The “Footnotes to History” in the back give a page by page description of the real historical elements and events these fictional characters work through, making it a must-read for kids and history buffs alike.
June 3, 2011
I really really liked this tale. It was a shame he never dons the cowl and the twist at the end was great, surprising, and kind of sad. Catwoman was perfect, that's actually one of the best costumes I've ever seen before. And I like the Carpe Nox at the end. Although, how did Superman not here Bruce and his father fighting on top of those towers? Oh well, guess it was Bruce's story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 1, 2008
Loved this. Love the entire Elseworlds thing. As a fanfic writer, this is the stuff dreams are made of. The entanglement of historical characters with fictional ones is not new, but always entertaining. Must read more of these!
July 29, 2010
It was a very interesting look on a Alternate Universe. At first when the storylines were flipping from 1800's - 1920's i was geting confused but that cleared up. Did not see the end coming. Good Read
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 27, 2015
An alternate universe Batman, with no Batman. Bruce grows up to become part of a secret society of detectives to thwart a world destroying germ. It's an ok plot, nothing outstanding. Seems an excuse to use Lincoln and Freud in a story. Alfred fairs quite well in this though. A good read.
December 19, 2020
4.5, I really enjoyed this one. I'm not qualified to make any critical judgments, but I did think it was a lot of fun. I love the setting, which was right up my alley, the Easter Eggs, and I enjoyed the story. I kind of wish there were more stories set in this universe.
September 19, 2007
Clever use of historic events and figures in an alternative Batman world. Sort of reminds me of League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.
July 31, 2008
Hadn't read any batman for a while. This piece was rather underwhelming, but takes a messed up twist at the end.
August 18, 2009
absolutely horrid
March 5, 2009
A wonderful reinterpretation of Batman's beginnings, and use of actual historical character's, delving into a sinister past.
August 8, 2009
An interesting Elseworlds title. Not a Batman title, but a Bruce Wayne story. It's a combination of Wild Wild West and the Untouchables. It was a fun read.
March 22, 2012
Batman without Batman... Great insight to Alfred and a twist that i didn't expect. You could feel the influence of the 1989 Batman film but over all it was quite an entertaining read.
April 20, 2016
Worst Batman comics ever?
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews