After factoring in the previous issues of Detective Comics pre-New 52, the series has reached issue #900. It is an eighty page special consisting of four stories, all but one written by series writer John Layman (Chew).
The first, "The 900" is the first appearance of Kirk Langstrom as Man-Bat. The affluent 900 block has been infected by Langstrom's Man-Bat serum, thanks to the machinations of the lame Emperor Penguin. The involvement of Victor Szasz is all too brief and not memorable. Not sure if there are such things as overriding pathogens but it is a pretty cheap plot device. The promised return of a character from the last good Detective Comics story arc ends the first tale on a higher note. This is followed up with a nice little back story about Langstrom, his wife, and research. The book ends with cops commiserating post-outbreak.
The two best stories are sandwiched in between the Man-Bat arc. "Birdwatching" hopefully is laying some groundwork as Layman's most interesting plot comes in "Birdwatching". We see the inclusion of Mr. Combustible and how he fits in with the original Penguin's plans.
"War Council" comes courtesy of James Tynion IV, who has been writing Talon and the back-up stories in Batman. He will also be taking over Red Hood and the Outlaws. Bane has been gone for a year but is readying an army against the Court of Owls and, ultimately, Batman. This arc will continue in Talon. Way to whet the appetite with this five pages.
Ultimately, that's what this issue was, an appetizer. There is some quality here, enough for an issue #19, but this is hardly a significant story for what would have been #900. There is the added bonus, however, of pin-up art from most of the recent Bat book artists inside.
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