About a page from 'Tec Annual #11
I'm not gonna try to showcase the story here since I want to do a post on Kelly Jones' Oracle story instead (prolly tomorrow!) and wouldn't have many pages to spare, but there were a couple interesting points I wanted to share.
If you read last week's Batman annual, you already know the story. Religious cult is doing some shit, Damien got kidnapped while masquerading as their planned victim. This one picks up with Dick calling in some outside help.
Nicieza certainly doesn't sell Renee's deductive skills short. If you recall, she was working with Nightwing in 52 when she finally put on the mask. I'm curious whether she was banking on him still being the only Bat to know her identity (an assumption i wouldn't put much weight in), or if there were other specific cues she picked up on, but she picked up on it all the same.
And she only does better from here. The next three pages are the two of them briefing, but Dick only gets her started mostly, and she run with it for most of the scene, catching her self up, filling in holes Dick's research might've missed (she does drop Tot's name once, but he's just her research, she does all the connecting), and making the final connections as she's talking. It's the level of Competence Porn you know she (and Vic before her) have always been capable of, but she's always to busy moving and drawing conclusions in her head for us to often see explicitly. I guess Tot's never been much of a Watson, but Dick, having been created to fill that role in the first place, is kinda back in it for these three pages (though he makes his own contributions, of course). I kind of feel like a jerk for talking about the scene without an scans. Sorry.
Anyway, as the story moves on, the Question comes across Harvey Bullock once again. Not quite as hostile as their meeting in Crime Bible #3, but Renee's not the only person who get to be a detective in this issue.
I get the feeling Harvey's selling himself short to make a joke, kinda. These two had been partners for years, they were good friends before the fallout from Officer Down. Plus, he's one of the GCPD's most senior detectives, Harvey should be able to pick up on Renee's habits, especially since no one who's worn that mask has ever been too terribly careful about their identity.
What did you guys thinks?
(and i'm sure i'll do a full post on this story once INAtA gets that far, but that won't be any time soon. months, maybe years!)