Batman #28
Writers: Scott Snyder and James Tynion IV
Artists: Dustin Nguyen, Derek Fridolfs, and John Kalisz
Cover Artist: Dustin Nguyen and Jesus Aburtov
Publisher: DC Comics
Taking a brief break from Zero Year, Scott Snyder and James Tynion co-write a wonderful story featuring Batman and introducing Bluebird, aka Harper Row. The two infiltrate an underground criminals den, led by the always fabulous Catwoman. Batman and Catwoman’s relationship must have made a detour in another series, which unfortunately resulted in the two of them being remarkably antagonistic towards one another. The final surprise at the end of the issue, marking Stephanie Brown’s first appearance in the New52, will probably be the most talked about part of this issue. A fan favorite with a huge following, Stephanie Brown has been surprisingly missing from comics for the past two and half years, so it’s exciting to have her back. Dustin Nguyen, who is currently doing a great job on Batman: Lil Gotham and did an amazing job on Streets of Gotham, continues to impress on this issue. His graphic, dynamic style is perfectly suited to the fast paced stories told in the Batman Universe. 4.5/5
Nightwing #28
Writer: Kyle Higgins
Artists: Russell Dauterman and Peter Pantazis
Cover Artist: Will Conrad and Peter Pantazis
Publisher: DC Comics
With only one more issue to go on Kyle Higgins’s run and only two more until the end of the series, all the loose ends are quickly being tied up. This issue has Nightwing facing down a criminal from his past, mending ties with Sonia Zucco, as well as dealing with a kidnapped friend. That’s a lot to handle for one person, especially given what we already know about Dick Grayson’s future. His fate is set to be decided in the pages of Forever Evil, and unfortunately this series is just along for the ride. Tragically, that has been the case for the better part of this entire series. Every time Higgins would get on a roll with the series, another tie-in and its aftermath would appear, and the series kept struggling to overcome the shadow of those tie-ins. That being said, Higgins has done a great job keeping up with the tie-ins, and working his story around them, as difficult as that may have been, especially with the Forever Evil one. 4.5/5
Rogue’s Rebellion #5
Writer: Brian Buccellato
Artists: Scott Hepburn and Nick Filardi
Cover Artist: Jordie Bellaire and Declan Shalvey
Publisher: DC Comics
There is no doubt that Brian Buccellato can write the Rogues. He did it during his run with Francis Manapul on The Flash and he’s doing it here. However, considering this mini-series has had little to no impact on the Forever Evil event, six issues seems a bit long. At this point we can pretty much assume that while the Rogues most likely won’t be killed, they also won’t be integral in taking down the Crime Syndicate. As such, this series could have very well been wrapped up in four issues, five max. The story is solid and at times a much more interesting read than the headlining Forever Evil title, and if you’re a fan of the Rogues, you will love it. As long as that’s all readers are hoping to get out of this series, it will have done its job exceptionally well. 4/5
Be sure to check out previous editions of Crisis of Infinite Reviews by clicking here!
Arnab Pradhan
arnab@comicattack.net
