Speaking of Ed Brubaker, here he is again with a story that appeared in Detective Comics #777 - 782 in 2003. Dead Reckoning is a great little mystery, starring a number of the Rogues Gallery who are brought together by a mysterious new villain masterminding events from the shadows. Sound familiar? If you think this sounds at all similar to the plot structure of Hush, then you would indeed be correct. Ironically, Dead Reckoning was being published in Detective Comics at the very same time as Hush in the pages of the main Batman title. Unfortunately, this meant that the story was somewhat lost as everyone was swept up in the hoopla surrounding Hush, but we think it's time to heap some praise on it. A small time crook turns up dead wearing the costume of the little-known villain Killer Moth. The only clue left at the scene is a double-sided coin bearing scratches similar to the one used by everyone's favourite scarred former District Attorney, Two-Face. As the story develops, it becomes apparent that someone is targeting a selection of Batman's villains, including the Penguin, Riddler, Joker, Scarecrow, Mad Hatter and Killer Moth and Two-Face is central to this killer's motivations. The killer is revealed to be Paul Sloane, an actor with disturbing ties to the villains, who had impersonated Two-Face at one point. He is now known as the Charlatan, a master of disguise. It's sad that this story has mostly been forgotten, as it is a great read, with an intricate plot and fitting artwork from Tommy Castillo. Oddly, comparatively little of Brubaker's Batman material from this period has been re-printed in trade paperback format, including none of his Detective Comics run. It's well worth tracking down the single issues, however, or downloading the digital copies. We still hold out hope that Brubaker will revisit the character of the Charlatan at some point as well.
