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Batman: Detective Comics Annual #3
Writer: Brian Buccellato
Artists: Werther Dell’Edera, Jorge Fornés, Scott Hepburn, John Kalisz, Lee Loughridge, and Jon Proctor
Cover Artists: Guillem March
Publisher: DC

Annuals in general are tough to write. Half the time writers end up writing a one-shot story that unfortunately has no relation to the main story. Luckily, Brian Buccellato is not one of these writers. This annual focuses on the introduction and spread of the drug Icarus in Gotham. Essentially, it works out as a prologue for the current Icarus story line in Detective Comics. It is directly connected to the bigger story being told in the main series, but it’s also not a repetition of what is happening in the main series. The biggest complaint about this issue was the fact that there were multiple art teams that shared duties. Separately, each team was decent and nicely executed their pages, however as a whole the multiple art styles did not mesh well together. Nevertheless, the issue was still wonderfully executed and fun to read. 4/5

Batman Eternal #17
Writers: Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, Ray Fawkes, John Layman, and Tim Seeley
Artists: Dustin Nguyen, Derek Fridolfs, and John Kalisz
Cover Artists: Dustin Nguyen, Derek Fridolfs, and John Kalisz
Publisher: DC

In this issue of the weekly series, the story focuses mainly on Deacon Blackfire, a villain whom Batman previously took down, but has returned more powerful than before. While this part is written well, the Blackfire/Arkham story itself feels a little out place in context with the rest of the Batman Eternal plot. There seems to be no discernible relation between this plot thread and the Gordon story, or the Stephanie Brown and Red Robin stories. That, plus the addition of the Spectre and the magical aspect of the story, makes it a strange fit in this title. The other thing about this story that was particularly annoying is the repetitive nature in which Alfred and his daughter interact. After six issues, their relationship, and their story, has had little to no plot development whatsoever. The highlight of this mini arc continues to be the art, produced by Dustin Nguyen, Derek Fridolfs, and John Kalisz. The three of these guys have done an outstanding job with this story. Nguyen’s art is perfectly suited for the dark/horror aspect of this story. 4 /5

Be sure to check out previous editions of Crisis of Infinite Reviews by clicking here!

Arnab Pradhan
arnab@comicattack.net