DC PRESENTS : BATMAN - CONSPIRACY : Legends of the Dark Knight 86 87 88 Detective 821 review

RATING 4.3 out of 5
This trade has two complete story-lines and both of them are artistically  wonderful, yet have the grungy detective feel to it.  You have writers well known for telling great Batman/Bruce detective stories along with one of the best comic book artist going, J. H. Williams III.  Williams really knows how to artistically tell a story. The panels and the placing just brings you into the stories and doesn't let you go.  If you don't have these issues, I would highly recommend them.
In the reviews listed below, notice the publication dates of the stories. There is a ten year gap between the two stories, which allows you to see how much Williams' style has changed.  He's art was fantastic back in 1996, but it's awesome to have these two works of his together just to see how much panache he added to his artistry by 2006.


The individual story reviews are below:

REVIEW 

CONSPIRACY: Legends of the Dark Knight 86-88: 
published 1996, writer Doug Moench, artist is J.H. Williams III, inker Mick Gray, colorist Dan Brown, letterer Willie Schubert, ass editor Chuck Kim, editor Archie Goodwin.  

Rating of 4.5 out of 5

This is the first Moench story in which I've been wowed. Most of Moench stories that I've read have been teamed with Kelly Jones as the artist. I like Jones' covers, but I'm not fond of his art for interior stories.

Moench ...with Williams... was a completely different story.  You can see it, hear it, and I'd say you could feel the action.  Moench is great with the SFX sounds... of which I take for granted until I don't have them.

SPIOLERS for Conspiracy. If spoiling not for you, go to the next review in blue.

You see... there's this cult...and there's this king of the cult, that sacrifices stray pets, until... now.  They've graduated to human sacrifices. Batman/Bruce Wayne traces the cult then finds a biker gang drug connection, then even more connections from LA.  Bruce actually does quite a bit of traveling and crime solving outside of Gotham in the story, but the grundy Detective feel of the story is never lost. He finds himself allied with a local reporter, who seems to have an inside scoop on what is happening.  Nothing is as it seems... and he is hunting in the dark for a killer, or is it killers with the same agenda.  The twist at the end show how evil can use even the best of us.

REVIEW

Cover by Simone Bianchi

The BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE: Detective 821 
Published 2006 written by Paul Dini, artist J.H. Williams III, colorist John Kalisz, Letterer Jared K. Fletcher, ass editor Michael Siglain, Editor Peter Tomasi,

Rating 3.9 

It's a great detective story but... I didn't like it as much as the other.  Which is funny, because I'm a big fan of the writer, Paul Dini, and not so much of Moench.  This detective story seemed a little dry, and it took me awhile to figure out what it was that made me like Moench more.  It was the SFX(sound effects). There were only two panels in Dini's story and Moench's is jammed pack full of them on almost every page.

Otherwise the art is wonderful...it definitely has the flare that the current detective stories with the current Batwoman that Williams is a big part of establishing. There is a lot of red and black backgrounds and panels.

SPOILERS: 
The accidental death of a mugger who is dressed in fine clothes, brings Batman/Bruce Wayne into a search for a new crime organization that prays on the  upper-crust by pretending to be part of that same upper-crust.