We are on to the second part of the Hells Bells storyline written by Scott Kolins. I read both chapters #70 and #71 of this story at the same time and right from the start we see that this is a pure detective story. The action in the story really does have a building effect. By the end of Chapter #71 we have several mysteries on hand. The central story is about the building that people have been murdered in over the past 100 years. It is an interesting central idea and I always have a soft spot for stories that stretch back into time. We are given some kind of beast that looks to be the actual killer but there is a lot going more going on in the story. The Penguin shows up and kisses the hand of the old man passing his final days in this building. We know that Penguin is not the type of person to show this type of respect. The mystery builds with the fact that something is going on with Gordon who seems to be having his health fail in some way. Has he been infected by the building itself? I honestly am not sure but the story itself has a lot of twist and turns and really gets you thinking. Did I mention that we also get the body of someone who was suspected of the crimes body found of an apparent suicide in the swamp with the date of the breakout of the Black Plague in the 1300’s tattooed on him? This story really is a detective mystery. It works on several different levels and does have my waiting in anticipation of the next chapter.
The art is not my cup of tea in this issue. It does a good enough job of letting us know what is going on but is not my type of style. Just to lay my cards on the table I prefer the art of artists like Reis, Finch, Daniels, and Lee. This style of art I am sure many people will love just not me.
This is the type of story I want to read every month in the pages of Detective Comics. One of the reasons I enjoyed Batman stories so much when I was younger is because I love a good mystery and a good detective story. This story fits the bill for both of those things. Pick it up.
Legends of the Dark Knight Chapter #71:
Reviewed by Ed Graue
