When Spectre Needs a Detective, There Will Be Blood

Detective Jim Corrigan is the human host for the Spirit of Vengeance known as The Spectre. But that's a secret that someone has figured out, and they've enacted a horrific, bloody plan to separate the ghost from the host, and hiding him where the supernatural spirit cannot find him.

You would think that when one "good guy" needs the help of another "good guy," it's a simple matter. That's not the case when The Spectre is involved. Because Spectre operates on a different plain, and reports to a higher authority. So when Batman visits the scene of the crime, he finds an abbatoir of death -- a dead police and the several bodies Spectre left behind that allowed the villains to steal away Corrigan. This is not the kind of "justice" Batman can get behind.

Batman has gone toe-to-toe with Superman -- but does a mere mortal have a chance against the Wrath of God? And what plans are in store for Jim Corrigan, and why do the acolytes who kidnapped him all dress like The Spectre?

It's a grand scale mystery from master scribe Peter J. Tomasi, with art by Kyle Hotz, whose style is somewhere on a scale between Sam Keith and Kelley Jones. There are no crossover events intruding on this issue, and no lengthy backstory leading up to it. Yes, it's the first of at least two parts, but it's classic Batman storytelling, the kind sorely needed in the market these days with DC's flagship character.

This issue also includes a healthy-sized backup promotional piece from Sean Gordon Murphy, whetting our appetites for the follow-up to BATMAN: WHITE KNIGHT.