Written by James Robinson
Pencils and Inks by Carmine Di Giandomenico
Colored by Ivan Plascencia

A meeting between three old friends atop a bridge in Gotham city reveals just how far Two Face will go to maintain a sense of meaning in his life. It’s also further fleshed out how Two Face views his relationship with his other half Harvey Dent, in issue 991 of Detective Comics.

The title of this chapter is “The Talking Man” and as Batman, Two Face, and Jim Gordon have all made their way onto a bridge that overlooks Gotham City, Two Face confesses to his two former friends that it wasn’t him who killed Karl Twist, it was Harvey Dent, and since then Two Face has done whatever it takes to cover up Harvey’s involvement because to him if Harvey is as dark as he is than what point does Two Face have with his life. In his mind Two Face and Harvey must be two sides of the same coin. I really enjoyed the way this quest that Two Face gave himself played out and liked seeing this side of Two Face and seeing what he did in order to maintain a sense of balance in his fractured and twisted mind, even when that meant saving Jim Gordon’s life and partnering up with the dark knight himself.

The artwork in this issue is amazing, dark and highly detailed. My favorite being anytime Two Face is on the panels, from the rage in his eyes, to his evil sinister grin, to his charred and decayed flesh, even the way his grey hairs flowed was all drawn and colored very well. It never once disappointed me whatsoever which to me definitely helps sell the story at hand.

Story wise I had a great time reading through the pages. The pacing was handled well and never felt dull or dragged down at any point. Seeing the way Two Face deals with his own duality was quite a treat and definitely makes this fourth chapter in this story arc all the more fulfilling after you’ve learned what Two Face’s motivations are. I really think this adds another cool layer to Two Faces overall character. It makes him more interesting and human to me, to know that even this mad man needs to draw his line in concrete and maintain a sense of purpose in life to keep his insanity from becoming meaningless.

Overall I really enjoyed this book, and I definitely think it’s worth picking up. It was great seeing Batman, Jim Gordon and Two Face clear the air and decide that their current missions have set them on a path that requires the 3 to work together once more as they used to do back when Harvey was the district attorney. I genuinely can’t wait to see how this story wraps up, and I wonder if this current partnership between the three will lead them to restoring their old friendship and allows the Harvey Dent personality to regain control over Two Face or if something else will happen to drive Harvey so deep into his own madness that only Two Face will remain. But only time and a flip of the coin will make that truth be revealed to us.

I give Detective Comics #991 a 8 out of 10