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Hello everyone! For this last edition of the year, I’ve got three Bat-titles and a Green Lantern review for you all. Have fun celebrating the New Year, stay safe, and I’ll see you all next year!

Minor spoilers ahead!

Batman Annual #28
Writer(s): David Hine
Artist(s): Agustin Padilla, Andres Guinaldo, and Lorenzo Ruggiero
Cover Artist: Stanley Lau
Publisher: DC

The story that began in Detective Comics Annual #12 continues here. The two Batmen are in France, hoping to create a local division in their war on global crime. Renee Montoya was brought in to assist in taking down a powerful criminal, which would in turn prove Batman’s worth. Her training in Nanda Parbat made her the perfect choice to take down the villain whose powers stemmed from mental manipulation. Meanwhile, Nightrunner overcomes his claustrophobia and gains the Batmen’s respect as he also aids in taking down the treacherous villain. The main story was followed up with two second features, one focusing on Veil and the other a followup on Nightrunner’s progress.
I thought that this issue was very good. The overall story, with the inclusion of Montoya and Nightrunner, was interesting and well paced over the span of both issues. The Batmen were written and portrayed very distinctively and were utilized in varying ways, which kept the story from becoming monotonous. 4/5

Batman Incorporated #2
Writer: Grant Morrison
Artist(s): Yanick Paquette and Michel Lacombe
Cover Artist: J.H. Williams III
Publisher: DC

Starting off immediately from where the last issue ended, Batman and Catwoman are in Japan in Mr. Unknown’s replacement’s apartment taking on Lord Death Man’s men. Batman, with a bit of aid from Catwoman and Mr. Unknown, defeats a giant octopus. After the dust settles, Mr. Unknown’s girlfriend leaves him and Batman rejects him because of his use of guns. Fueled by this rejection, Mr. Unknown later assists Batman in taking down Lord Death Man without a gun, and gains a three month probationary period on team Batman Inc.
This issue was fast paced and filled with great action. These two first issues are a great start to this new series. The portrayal of Selina and Bruce’s relationship is handled well. They interact and work well with one another, without having to relinquish any of their own personality traits. Morrison and Paquette do a great job of creating a sense of depth and history for the characters, including newly introduced ones. I am, however, left wondering if the bulk of this series will be Bruce traveling the globe setting up camp in different locations. Overall, from the looks of it this series looks to to be excellent. 4/5

Batman Streets of Gotham #18
Writer: Paul Dini and Fabian Nicieza
Artist: Dustin Nguyen, Derek Fridolfs, and Szymon Kudranski
Cover Artist: Dustin Nguyen
Publisher: DC

With the “House of Hush” arc well in swing, this issue takes a daring gamble having the second feature take up more of the book than the main story. (If you’ll recall this has happened once before.) In what little story there was, Batman takes on a new villain, Bedbug, who appears to be as vile as his namesake. Using the bedbugs, Bedbug is able to create an army of mindless drones by taking over the minds of civilians.
While the second feature did take up most of the book and therefore should probably be reviewed, I can honestly say that a story about Ragman doesn’t really interest me. I think Bedbug could eventually become a strong villain, in the ranks of Firefly, Killer Croc, or the Madhatter. Unfortunately, this issue really doesn’t have the opportunity to progress the story much further. With only three more issues until this series is canceled, I can only hope to see some of the great stuff we’re accustomed to reading. 3/5

Green Lantern Corps #55
Writer: Tony Bedard
Artist: Tyler Kirkham and Batt
Cover Artist: Patrick Gleason
Publisher: DC
War has come to the planet Qward as Kyle Rayner and his fellow Green Lanterns arrive to save the kidnapped Soranik. Unfortunately, while Kyle is searching for Sora, the Weaponer quickly and efficiently dispatches Ganthet, John, Boodika, and Hannu wielding the power of the White Light. In the most inopportune of moments, Ganthet’s secret alliance with Guy and Atrocitus is revealed to his teammates. Just when things seem like they can’t get worse, the entire Sinestro corps, sans Sinestro, arrive at the battlefield.
This was a really good issue. Seeing the Weaponer in action, using his White Lantern essence to take out the Green Lanterns, was all kinds of good stuff. With Ganthet revealing his secret plans, much like Guy did in Green Lantern Emerald Warriors #5, Bedard does an excellent job of progressing that part of the story, which must be in preparation for the Green Lantern event that is coming up. 3.5/5

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

Arnab Pradhan
arnab@comicattack.net