Detective Comics #33
Detective Comics (Vol. 2) #33 represents a high-water mark of the Manapul/Buccellato era on the New 52 incarnation of the title, with the creative team deliberately steering the book back toward its roots as a detective procedural rather than a pure action title. Their 'Icarus' arc placed Bruce Wayne at the center of a morally textured murder mystery layered with gang warfare, human trafficking, and corrupt Gotham institutions — themes more indebted to crime noir than superhero spectacle. The issue also demonstrates how DC's New 52 satellite Bat-titles were being used in 2014 to complement the concurrent 'Batman Eternal' weekly series, weaving a coherent Gotham-wide narrative tapestry. Manapul's watercolor-influenced, visually experimental art — which he also used on The Flash — gave this corner of the Bat-universe a visual identity entirely distinct from other titles of the era.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato took over Detective Comics with issue #30, having previously collaborated on DC's New 52 Flash series, and brought with them a crime-fiction sensibility and a painterly art approach uncommon in the Bat-titles. The Icarus arc, which this issue continues as its fourth chapter, was developed under editors Mark Doyle and Darren Shan at DC and ran through issues #30–34 plus an annual. The issue was published July 9, 2014, with a September 2014 cover date, placing it squarely in the final weeks of Scott Snyder's 'Batman: Zero Year' event, an editorial environment that encouraged other Bat-book creative teams to engage with the broader Gotham mythology.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Story: 'Icarus, Part Four,' written by Brian Buccellato and Francis Manapul, with art and cover by Francis Manapul — their acclaimed run began at Detective Comics #30.
- Published July 9, 2014 (cover date September 2014) under DC's New 52 continuity; rated Teen; 32 pages, full color.
- Central plot: Batman investigates a Gotham gang war between The Squid and the Kings of the Sun biker gang, while also tracing a radioactive designer drug called Icarus back to the old Kane Laboratories plant on Gotham's East End waterfront.
- Harvey Bullock interrogates a Wayne Industries executive named Jeb Lester, establishing that Bruce Wayne is not responsible for the human-trafficking operation — the culprit is Congressman Sam Young.
- The issue explicitly cross-references the concurrent weekly series 'Batman Eternal,' with Bullock positioned firmly as an anti-Batman figure consistent with that book's status quo.
- The issue contains bonus pages of behind-the-scenes creative process material — pencils, inks, layouts, and character sketches by Manapul and Buccellato.
- Reprinted in two collected editions: Detective Comics Vol. 6: Icarus (2015) and the Batman by Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato Deluxe Edition (2018).
- Variant covers for this issue include a Batman 75th Anniversary variant by Jim Steranko and a 1-for-25 retailer incentive variant by Tony Moore.
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Reprints
Reprinted in Batman Saga #35 (2015), Batman #36 (101) (2015), Batman - Detective Comics #6 (2015), Batman - Detective Comics #6 (2016), Batman by Francis Manapul & Brian Buccellato The Deluxe Edition #[nn] (2019)
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