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Batman: The Dark Knight #3
Writer: David Finch
Artists: David Finch and Scott Williams
Cover Artist: David Finch
Publisher: DC

After a long hiatus, we finally get the third issue in this series. Batman, while searching for his childhood friend, Dawn, is captured by Penguin and Killer Croc. Unfortunately for Killer Croc, Penguin is not so trustworthy as he blows up the building Croc and Batman are in. In case you didn’t guess it, they both survived. Batman then finds and saves Dawn while being so overly distracted by her beauty that he doesn’t even care that someone stole the Batmobile.
Is anyone else as confused as I am that they even released a third issue, considering this book is set to reboot in September? That’s right, after three issues (possibly four, but who can be sure given its track record) this series is getting rebooted. Anyway, this issue was OK. The art was fantastic. And as someone who appreciates art just as much as story, I think it’s very unfortunate that this book has been so inconsistent with being released. The story is slowly coming together, but it still feels a tad jumpy and a lot is left unanswered. If you’re a stickler for finishing arcs you’ll probably get this, if you enjoy great art you should get this, but otherwise your best bet would be just to hold off ’til September. 3.5/5

Birds of Prey #14
Writer: Marc Andreyko
Artists: Billy Tucci and Adriano Melo
Cover Artists: Billy Tucci and Nei Ruffino
Publisher: DC

The Birds of Prey, specifically Zinda and Dinah, play host along with the original Phantom Lady to war veterans from World War II. The issue plays out with flashbacks periodically showing a time when Zinda, the Phantom Lady, and Dinah’s mom were on a mission together. In the present, the now aged Phantom Lady and Zinda are kidnapped by what appears to be a faction of the villains they faced in the past.
I have sort of mixed feelings about this issue. The art was terribly inconsistent, which never does anything good for the story. The characters had a tendency of looking like one another. There were a number of times when I got Zinda and Dinah confused, and then there’s the fact that it took me a while to figure out who Kate Spencer was. Regardless, the writing was alright. I think the story told in the flashback was better than the one told in the present. Overall, I am glad that Zinda got some spotlight, which had not occurred this entire series, however, it wasn’t all that exciting. Hopefully the next issue will be more consistent with the art and more consistent with the tone and pacing of the story. 3/5

Detective Comics #879
Writer: Scott Snyder
Artist: Francesco Francavilla
Cover Artist: Francesco Francavilla
Publisher: DC

If you’ve been reading Scott Snyder’s work since the very beginning of his run on Detective Comics, you know just how creepy his writing is capable of being. This issue continues the story revolving around James Gordon Jr. and his psychopathic issues. Though he appears to have everyone at work fooled, including Dr. Thompson, he doesn’t have the two most important people fooled. Barbara and Gordon Sr. uncover the truth about James and go after him. If that wasn’t bad enough, the Joker is loose.
What makes James Jr. such a great villain isn’t some super power he’s acquired, or some thug army he’s built; it’s that on the outside he’s seemingly just another regular guy. Snyder has done such a brilliant job building up the suspense and creating an aura of terror around the character, that even the slightest glance or expression is amplified tenfold. In this issue he does a great job of switching up things with Gordon, who’s focusing on James Jr.’s and Joker’s escape from prison, because as different as James Jr. and Joker are, they’re also quite similar. Francavilla does a tremendous job here capturing the tone and mood of Snyder’s writing. 4.5/5

Green Lantern #67
Writer: Geoff Johns
Artists: Doug Mahnke, Christian Alamy, and Keith Champagne
Cover Artists: Doug Mahnke and Christian Alamy
Publisher: DC

The War of the Green Lanterns ends here. The showdown you’ve all been waiting for takes place here. The Green Lanterns, free of Parallax’s influence, set out to battle Krona. In order to get the full light spectrum into the fight, Hal suggests Kyle draw the other Lanterns escaping the book they are trapped in. So Carol, Sinestro, Saint Walker, Atrocitus, Larfleeze, and Indigo-1 are released, however, their rings do not return to them. Krona takes their rings and gets ready to fight everyone. In a show of impossible power (no really, it doesn’t make sense), Hal Jordan kills Krona. As a result, he is stripped of his ring and sent back to Earth.
Well, it’s official, Hal Jordan and John Stewart are murderers. For the most part, I could care less about this war. Based on the Guardians’ reaction post abduction, nothing has really changed, other than the fact that two of Earth’s Lanterns are killers. So what does this mean with regards to the rest of the superheroes? Is the Flash going to chase John Stewart around until he’s put on trial? Are the other heroes going to ostracize either of them? Will they shun Hal and John in the slightest? Based on the cover to JLA #1 I’d say no. But consider how Green Arrow not too long ago was vilified for killing Prometheus. Aside from all that, the only significant change that occurs may very well determine whether you will be buying Green Lantern come September. It all really depends on how much you like the color pink. 3.5/5

Green Lantern Corps #61
Writer: Tony Bedard
Artists: Daniel HDR and Keith Champagne
Cover Artists: Tyler Kirkham, Batt, Rags Morales, and Gabe Eltaeb
Publisher: DC

John Stewart, having recently killed Mogo, is pretty much the most hated man on Oa. Meanwhile, the Lanterns who earned their ring as a result of Krona’s doing decided to return their rings because they were shunned by the veteran Lanterns. (I sense a lot of judging occurs on Oa.) However, one Lantern does not wish to give up her ring. Qurina, a cop, wants to earn her ring and attempts to do so.
Unfortunately, this book wasn’t all that exciting. It was very clearly a filler issue, however, once you’ve established that it wasn’t particularly a bad read. Not much happens, there isn’t really that much action, and the story isn’t all that complex. It’s a nice little John Stewart book, much like the Guy story in Green Lantern Emerald Warriors a couple weeks back, but if you’re not much of a fan, I’d suggest holding off on it. 2.5/5

Red Robin #25
Writer: Fabian Nicieza
Artists: Marcus To and Ray McCarthy
Cover Artists: Marcus To and Ray McCarthy
Publisher: DC

Kidnapped and bound, Red Robin awakens to find himself about to be used for breeding purposes. Thankfully, for him and the world really, the Black Bat, aka Cassandra Cain, was in town looking after him. The two of them are able to infiltrate an ancient villain’s lair, or rather one of his lairs, only to discover that his power and his influence extends across time as well as across the planet. Barely escaping the rigged lair, the two settle some unfinished business, which for Tim included getting dumped by Tammy.
This issue was absolutely fantastic. The story was strong, interesting, and surprisingly humorous considering what was going on. That line about Tim being in the same situation that brought about Damian? Totally true, and totally hilarious. The action was great as well, particularly because of how great the art is. Cassandra and Tim make an amazing team and DC would be foolish not to pair them up in the future. And did you see the Robin-Cave? How flippin’ awesome was that? 4.5/5

Teen Titans #97
Writer: J.T. Krul
Artists: Nicola Scott and Doug Hazlewood
Cover Artists: Nicola Scott, Doug Hazlewood, and Jason Wright
Publisher: DC

To recap what seems like fifty issues now, the Teen Titans have come to Pakistan on a rescue mission, only to find themselves sucked into another dimension. After being briefly held captive, the entire team is freed and they set out to destroy the deranged god. For the most part, the team is barely able to to make a dent, but then Solstice decides to give it her all and is able to use her light to overcome the evil god.
The unnecessarily large amount of issues in this arc aside, this issue had its own set of flaws. First, even though I am aware of the fact that this arc was meant to bring in a new character, Solstice, it really just ended up feeling like the Teen Titans’ role was pointless. In the issue, Red Robin talks about how in a team everybody plays their part and together they succeed. But who are we kidding, the team didn’t even need to be there. My point being, Solstice is being portrayed as this powerful and strong character, so why would she even join a team? Second, I can’t stand Gar’s character. I think the character is too stagnant, and quite frankly, boring. Considering he hasn’t been a teen for ages, I think it’s safe to say that his departure is long overdue. 3/5

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Arnab Pradhan
arnab@comicattack.net