Written by Chuck Dixon.
Art by Graham Nolan; Bob McLeod; Adrienne Roy; & John Costanza.
Cover Art by Graham Nolan; Scott Hanna; & Bob LeRose.
SUMMARY:
Entitled “Yesterday’s Gone,” DC Comics released this pre-Zero Hour tie-in for September 1994. Returning to the Batcave shortly after midnight, Batman inexplicably discovers he is now trapped in an alternate reality’s past. Specifically, it is the night that a young Bruce Wayne is killed by an unknown mugger rather than his parents.
Having briefly convinced this altered reality’s Alfred of his identity, a bewildered Batman flees Wayne Manor and goes after the killer he has long suspected: Joe Chill. Upon discovering a shocking truth, the Dark Knight desperately races home from a police pursuit to find another unpleasant surprise awaiting him.
REVIEW:
Due more to likable artwork than its predictable plot, Detective Comics # 678 is a relatively satisfying read. Its best moments belong with the poignant Bruce/Alfred sequence and a bleak truth Batman learns of Joe Chill – it leaves one to wonder if this tantalizing revelation now applies to Batman’s true reality?
Overall, as with Batman # 511, the storytelling in Detective Comics # 678 holds up well almost three decades later as a Zero Hour crossover.
ADDITIONAL CONTENT:
There is a two-page “Detective Comments” letters-and-answers column.
BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING: 6 Stars
