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Batman Incorporated #4
Writer: Grant Morrison
Artist: Chris Burnham
Cover Artists: J.H. Williams III and Yanick Paquette
Publisher: DC

The second chapter in this arc brings Batwoman, both of them, into the realm of Batman Inc. The modern day Batwoman, Kate Kane, tracks a gangster to a circus which just happens to be previously owned by Kathy Kane, the original Batwoman. While pursuing the gangster, Kate encounters a “ghost” of Kathy, which turns out to be an assassin in disguise. Her intel leads her to South America. Already in South America, Batman and El Gaucho are forced to do battle in order to save three blind children. During the battle, El Gaucho reveals to Batman that he was not only involved in the death of Kathy Kane, but that he had loved her as well. Suffice to say, Batman is not pleased to hear either of these things, as he had once loved Kathy Kane.
This issue was fantastic on many levels. Morrison did an excellent job with the story in this issue, continuously moving from the past to the present, while also changing locations without getting confusing. The flashback portions of the story felt lighthearted and humorous, which was a nice contrast to the heavy, grim depiction of the present. While Morrison does retcon some information, it works with the entire Batman story he has created. The art in this issue was just as great as the story. Chris Burnham does an excellent job with the entire issue, bringing forth different styles for different portions of the story. The art reflected and enhanced the story by communicating Morrison’s tone in a visual execution. 4.5/5

Batman: Streets of Gotham #21
Writer: Paul Dini
Artists: Dustin Nguyen and Derek Fridolfs
Cover Artist: Dustin Nguyen
Publisher: DC

The series comes to an end in astounding fashion. Hush is ready to make his final stand against Bruce, but before doing that he decides to take out his accomplices. Unfortunately for Hush, something he did not plan for came out of the dark and, well, cut his face off. Jane Doe, who had been MIA for a while now, apparently had the same idea as Hush and tried to take Bruce’s face as her own. Luckily for Hush, Batman arrives in time to save him from being murdered by the faceless lunatic.
I thought that this issue was great. I’ve been a fan of this series from the beginning and am terribly saddened to see it end. That being said, I thought this final arc was great. Much like the majority of Streets of Gotham, this arc reads more like a story of Gotham and less like just another Batman book. I think Dini did a great job maintaining that aspect throughout the series. I loved the twist having Jane Doe appear and take away Hush’s last bit of power, his appearance. While it has been interesting to have a Bruce look-a-like running around, it was about time to see him go. The art, as it has been for the entire run, was great stuff by Nguyen. It’ll be a shame to see this creative team go. 4.5/5

Batman The Dark Knight #2
Writer: David Finch
Artists: David Finch and Scott Williams
Cover Artist: David Finch
Publisher: DC

After a long hiatus, Batman: The Dark Knight is back. Batman, searching for Dawn Gold, a childhood friend, gets cornered by Penguin and his goons. After separating Penguin, he breaks him in three locations, only to be stopped by an escaped Killer Croc, who proceeds to smash Batman’s head into the wall. Batman awakens to a video of Penguin, and finds himself strapped to a large amount of dynamite.
It’s been months since the last issue, and unfortunately that only makes it harder to remember what is going on. There seemed to be an excessive amount of gratuitous violence in this issue, and while some of it is explained, it still lingers with you. I don’t normally have anything against violence, but it just felt out of place, which could be because so much time has passed between issues. I found it especially strange, however, that some random girl could hack into the Batmobile, especially without anyone noticing. Overall the story was decent, while the art, as expected, was excellent. 3/5

Green Lantern #64
Writer: Geoff Johns
Artists: Doug Mahnke, Christian Alamy, and Keith Champagne
Cover Artists: Ivan Reis, Oclair Alber, Rod Reis
Publisher: DC

The next Green Lantern event starts here. This issue pretty much takes place on two fronts. Hal and his rainbow coalition have found Krona’s lair and with it, the mysterious Book of the Black. The group was tricked into approaching the book, only to have Lyssa Drak reveal herself from within the book. She uses the book to capture the New Guardians with only Hal Jordan escaping her grasp. Unfortunately for him, a batch of Green Lanterns arrives just then to arrest him, per the orders of the Guardians. Speaking of the Guardians, back on OA, Krona arrives wielding the entities and all their power. He unleashes the entities, who each take a Guardian as their host. Parallax, the only entity without a host, is ordered into the Green Lantern Battery, corrupting Green Lanterns across the universe.
Aside from the fact that it seems like the Green Lanterns are just moving from event to event, I thought this issue was pretty good. It seems almost ridiculous at this point that the Guardians continue to have no faith in Hal. It seems to me that all he’s been doing recently is cleaning up their mess. In fact, am I the only one who was rooting on Krona and glad that the Guardians are finally getting what they deserve? 3.5/5

Green Lantern Corps #58
Writer: Tony Bedard
Artists: Tyler Kirkham, Batt, and Rob Hunter
Cover Artists: Tyler Kirkham, Batt, and Neil Ruffino
Publisher: DC

Part two of the War of the Green Lanterns begins with a short recap of sorts revolving around how Kyle Rayner became chosen to be a Green Lantern, and how he and John are perceived by their contemporaries. The action truly starts after Ganthet opens a portal back home. They arrive in a world where Parallax has already corrupted the Green Lantern Battery, and as a result all the Green Lanterns except for John, Kyle, and Ganthet are corrupted. Their previous brush with Parallax left them immune, though not for long. As Kyle and John become corrupted, they fight each other in a flurry of green light. Ganthet, realizing what must be done, exerts all his energy to remove Kyle and John’s rings, losing his own arm in the process. The two mortals escape into the city, while Ganthet attempts to stall the army of Green Lanterns now under Krona’s control.
While it has felt like the Green Lanterns have been through one event after the other, this one is so far a really good one. I thought this issue was better than the first part. It’s been a while since John has played a major role, so that was nice to see. I liked the way the issue started off with Kyle expressing concern over his being chosen to be a Green Lantern, and having the issue end with Ganthet saying Kyle was the right choice. With both Kyle and John ringless, it will be interesting to see how they handle their new roles, as well as how they handle going up against their powerful enemies/friends. 4/5

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Arnab Pradhan
arnab@comicattack.net