Ram V's "Elegy of Sand" continues in Detective Comics #1083 with the arc’s best issue to date. This latest installment maintains V’s operatic narrative that has defined the arc so far & finally ratchets this arc into an exciting territory.

Once again, V balances the story between Batman's struggle against Doctor Hurt's insidious mental manipulations & The Question's quest to expose the Orghams for the evil frauds they are & finally seek revenge for her fellow officers. Even though these two narratives have felt a bit disparate in the past, they come crashing into each other by the end of the issue.

In Batman’s story, we witness the Caped Crusader trapped in the same desolate dreamscape, forced to confront twisted versions of his past & grapple with his deepest fears, namely what he might become if he were to give into his most primal urges. The psychological torment feels palpable, but Batman is finally able to break free of Hurt’s hold & return to the land of the living where he meets back up w/ an awaiting Talia to quickly defeat one of their common enemies. Meanwhile, The Question finds herself on a reconnaissance to obtain evidence of the Orgham’s dirty deeds. She’s able to get phone recordings & tries to hand them off to Jim Gordon but is stopped in her tracks by Orgham forces ready to kill them both. What happens next (won’t spoil it here!) was truly an awesome moment & sets things in motions for “Elegy of Sand’s” next phase.

The visuals this week continue to be nothing short of phenomenal, perfectly capturing the distinct tone of each interspersed story. Ricardo Federici & Stefano Raffaele’s art, along w/ Lee Loughridge’s colors, are integral parts of Ram V’s story, especially Federici’s dramatic renderings of Batman’s journey.

Dan Watters’ backup takes the “His Name Was Doctor Hurt” story to a new, paranormal level w/ impressive visual storytelling by Jorge Fornés. While it all adds to build the villain up as a formidable mental adversary, I do wonder if it was slightly less effective after seeing Batman seemingly defeat him earlier in the issue.

Rating: 9/10