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Batman: Gates of Gotham #2
Writers: Scott Snyder and Kyle Higgins
Artist: Trevor McCarthy
Cover Artists: Trevor McCarthy and Dustin Nguyen
Publisher: DC

The secrets behind the Gates of Gotham, what or who they are, continues to unravel in part two of this grand tale. The issue starts us off with a flashback to the early stages of Gotham’s development, detailing the lives of two stepbrothers who are responsible for the appearance of Gotham as we have come to know it. In the present we get to see nearly all of Bruce’s kids working together to resolve this problem, who goes by the name the Architect. Dick and Tim go at it solo, while Damian and Cassandra are paired up as they all attempt to prevent further disaster throughout Gotham.
This issue is excellent stuff by the entire creative team. The art is really great. Not only is there improvement from the last issue, but the architectural illustrations are absolutely gorgeous, which is important for this book. The story is smart, it’s fun, and it’s interesting. The connections to the past are smoothly integrated into the present, the large cast effortlessly flows from one part of the story to the next, and best of all the story continues to twist and turn in exciting ways. The scene between Cassandra and Damian, which if I’m not mistaken is their first scene alone together, is particularly well done. While I’ve known for a while now that Snyder can do no wrong, which is why I expect Batman come Sept. to be fantastic, I am getting the feeling that Nightwing, which Higgins will be writing, will be good stuff as well. 5/5

Green Arrow #13
Writer: James Patrick
Artist: Agustin Padilla
Cover Artist: Joshua Middleton
Publisher: DC

With things settling down in Star City, Green Arrow’s banishment seems to be old news. A federal marshal personally asks Green Arrow to escort a prisoner during transport. Simple enough, right? Turns out the prisoner, Reverend Billy Miggs, has friends in high places. En route, Green Arrow and the transport are attacked, which eventually leads to the reverend’s escape.
This issue was good, quite good. Without Brightest Day around to handicap the story, James Patrick is able to come up with a solid story that works out really well. Ollie is still wracked with some guilt over the death of Prometheus, and this story spotlights his internal struggle in a great way. The part of the book where he recollects his experiments with cadavers, regarding the effects of an arrow tearing into a person, is extremely well done. And it does a good job of setting up the plot twist at the end of the issue. With the entire creative team off the book, no doubt getting ready for the reboot, it’s great that the art is just as strong as the story. The interior art was great and I loved the cover art as well. 4/5

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Arnab Pradhan
arnab@comicattack.net