The "Dark Knight Detective" series is projected to reprint the post-Crisis in Infinite Earths era of Detective Comics. (The "Caped Crusader" series covers the Batman book of the same era.) This volume contains Mike Barr's run on Detective Comics, which began that era of the book. In retrospect, it seems like a transitional period for the character, prior to the darker and more original approach that would follow when John Wagner and Alan Grant took over Detective, and Frank Miller would exert his influence over the character. Barr's stories, then, seem like a bit of a throwback, competent and entertaining, re-introducing all the major Bat-villains to the post-Crisis continuity. This is also the period with a young Jason Todd as Robin; his irritating puns help explain why fans would soon vote to kill off the character. Barr put major emphasis on the Batman/Robin relationship in these stories. Davis's art is a good complement to Barr's straightforward approach, and Norm Breyfogle's appearance in two issues toward the end of the volume are the first appearance of the artist who would be the most important Batman artist of the late '80s. Jo Duffy's Millenium crossover issue at the end of the book seems superfluous, but is apparently included for the sake of compleness. On the other hand, issues 575-578--the Batman Year Two storyline--are missing from this book. Fine old-school Batman (nostalgic for me), but pales in comparison to what will come next (see Volume Two!). ( )