Top Of The Pile: Detective Comics #854

After their brief, post-Final Crisis hiatus DC's range of Bat-books are back and for the first time in about 60 years Batman isn't the lead character in Detective Comics.

That honour instead goes to Batwoman, aka Kate Kane, the flame-haired socialite and crimefighter, whose story really began in the epic 52, when she became a target for a perverse religious cult who worshiped "crime".

This story arc is clearly to be the central driving force behind the early issues of Batwoman's run in Detective Comics, but as strong as the story is , what elevates this issue above all others this month is JH Williams III's stunning, in-your-face, dynamic artwork.

I've never seen anything like it in a comic book, combining illusions of animation and three-dimensionality with creative use of panel designs and - for Kate's stints in costume - a limited palet consisting primarily of shades of black, white and red.

Batwoman is tracking down the new leader of the gangster religion who turns out to a wonderfully freakish young goth woman called Alice who talks in bizarre Lewis Carroll quotes.

If you weren't hooked on Detective Comics by the first few pages of Williams' amazing art, then Greg Rucka's stylish characterisations and interactions will surely grab you.

Bruce Wayne may be "dead", but at this rate, Detective Comics can only flourish in his absense. As long as the dynamic duo of Rucka and Williams stay on this comic it could well become one of DC's top titles of the year.

Backing up the main story is a secondary feature about The Question, another character who, through the events of 52 became entangled with The Religion Of Crime. She is approached to track down a missing woman and the trail leads to some sordid gangsters and a suggestion of snuff movies.