Need a place to talk about Future State individual titles. We’ve got it here with Future State: Dark Detective
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Well, come for the Batman, stay for the Grifter. Loved this book. First, Batman caught with no money, no backup in Magistrate’s Gotham City? Fan-fricken-tastic. You often get people asking for a stripped down, leaner version of Batman, well you’ve got that here. Bat’s doesn’t get jets and all the fancy toys and the greatest computer in the world, or even it looks like any allies. Writing this, I realize not that much actually happens action wise, that this issue is mostly set-up, and I just don’t care. I was immediately into the story and finding out how Bats/Bruce fits into this world and how he’s going to fight back. Art, is great. Another FS title I would have loved to be around for 6-12 issues.
I’ve read some Wildstorm including Grifter, and the New 52 Grifter so I was ready to be entertained. What I wasn’t ready for was to be blown away by the story. It’s funny, it’s a perfect example of Cole Cash. And what better setting than a dystopian Gotham for him to play in. Add Luke Fox and the Magistrate on their heels, loved every second of it.
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You know @msgtv… I think you & I would get along in real life just fine, my friend 
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As much as I liked everything I’ve read from Future State so far, this may just be my favorite. The art, yet again, is outstanding. The zoomed out landscapes of future Gotham City, with all the lights & colors are a sight to behold. Also, Mora captures the nuances of Bruce Wayne’s battered facial expressions very nicely. Like you said, the story merely sets things up, but it immediately sucks you in. Almost a cinematic experience, in my very humble opinion. I almost wanna see Bruce go ape#%*€!, 90s action movie style, and take down the whole Magistrate army 
. And who thought we’d ever see Bruce have a Clark Kent moment, ripping his shirt off to reveal his insignia? That will stick with me for some time.
Grifter? Only vaguely familiar with him from Futures’s End (I think). The humor, the action… almost like a buddy cop movie… I loved everything about this. If this creative team is doing a Grifter comic after Future State, I am sure to check it out.
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Cinematic is the right word, need to turn this into a film. Or, I’d suggest DC start looking at these for animated movies.
Sure, we could have a cold drink and talk comics for hours,
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Pretty good issue here. I’m curious to see what is up with Bruce, how he seemingly survived and what he’ll do in this strange new Gotham. I absolutely LOVE this take on Gotham, BTW. Between this and seeing footage of 2077 has made me think that a cyberpunk environment is perfect for Batman.
The Grifter story was also really fun. Cole’s quips and antics (like him saying Flash’s “secret identity”) were hilarious, but still balanced with some great action.
What’s funny is that’s actually close to where Bruce is right now in current continuity. Tynion has specifically said is downgraded to a millionaire from a billionaire (with the Fox family now owning all of the Wayne wealth). He’s at the point where he has some of the gadgets, but he has to rely more on his wits.
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Does mesh to a certain extent on current Bats. Grifter’s humor really makes me think he’d really work when on the screen
Very solid primary story as we dig deeper into the death of Bruce Wayne/Batman, and how he now operates in Gotham. But, the gem of this issue issue is second story with Jayson and Rose. Deadly serious story with a humorous touch and “cute” art that I found fascinating. The relationship between the two, why Jason is working for the Magistrate, and now how they’ll handle having a price on his head. Really looking forward to part 2.
Sold! I’m gonna check this out.
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Tell us what you think
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This and Suicide Squad have been my favorite of the FS books. Mora is just flat-out killing it on the art. I hope they keep this flavor when they take over Detective.
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Second issue continued to be fun. It was interesting seeing Bruce Wayne of all people having to deal with stuff like having a crazy conspiracy theory roommate.
The way they explain Batman’s “resurrection”…I’m not sure I’m feeling. On one hand, I like that it wasn’t some BatGod contingency plan or something and was some stroke of luck. But I think from the solicits I was figuring there was something more to it, like maybe the Magistrate cloned him for some reason. This is still possible, I think, It might explain a certain big thing that came out of Catwoman’s FS issue, but right now it feels a little sloppy.
The Red Hood story was surprising. If there was one guy in the Bat-Fam I would NOT think would side with the Magistrate, it would be Jason Todd. Like, it almost feels completely out of character. Still, the story seems interesting and there’s definitely more going on than we know right now, so I’m willing to give it the benefit of the doubt.
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The way I see it, Jason is working with the magistrate but isn’t on their side. He’s only doing it because the alternative is other mask hunters killing the people while Jason only captures them. The alternative would be watching all these people get killed for trying to get by. You could argue that he could just not catch them, but they’d be hunted until another mask hunter gets there. They’re safer is Jason’s there (like we saw with Rose)
He also keeps doing detective work, finding the underlying causes to all that, like with the mad hatter tech
When I first heard of magistrate Jason in Robin Eternal I was worried, but now that I’ve read this I understand where Jason’s coming from. It just sucks that it damaged his relationship with his family.
(also I loved the line about dying his hair, which i guess would either reference the white streak or his Earth-One red hair…personally I’m a fan of the white streak)
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This is the way I took it, Jayson is on the inside because that’s where he can do the most good by keeping others from doing the job. I think, hope, Rose’s affection for J will override any desire to work for the Magistrate
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