Endings

Batman: Streets of Gotham #21
Written by Paul Dini
Art by Dustin Nguyen

 

The final issue of Streets of Gotham marks the end of more then just this series. It marks the end of Hush posing as Bruce Wayne after Jane Doe rips his face off (How is he able to talk after that? Wouldn’t that be too painful) and it also marks the end of Dini’s writing in the Batman corner of the DCU which is sad. The House of Hush arc was no where near as exciting as the Heart of Hush storyline but it was still good and added a lot to the history of the Waynes and Elliots. I have a feeling it was cut a little short. I wonder when we will see Hush again or when Dini will return to writing Batman.

Streets of Gotham 19 and 20

Batman: Streets of Gotham #19
Written by Paul Dini
Art by Dustin Nguyen

 

The House of Hush storyline seems all over the place here filled with time jumps but I don’t mind cause it has been a good story so far and I loved the Joker stuff in this.

Batman: Streets of Gotham #20
Written by Paul Dini
Art by Dustin Nguyen

This was even more flashback to the Waynes and this time includes the Justice Society with Hippolyta on the team!! Despite comments by Didio and DCU Legacies, I knew she was still the Golden Age Wonder Woman! It is weird how Nguyen draws her here though.

Don’t Let The Bed Bugs Bite

Batman: Streets of Gotham #18
Written by Paul Dini
Art by Dustin Nguyen
Co-Feature by Fabian Nicieza
Art by Szymon Kudranski

The main story is so good it makes me sad that this book is ending in a few months. The BedBug is a great new addition to Batman’s Villains as Dini has yet to create a new villain who isn’t and the Hush storyline keeps my interest enough. In the Ragman backup, Ragman discovers the mayor is behind Firefly’s arson. I wonder where this story is going to continue now that DC is dropping its back ups??

Gotham’s Creepiest Couple

Detective Comics #865
Written by David Hine
Art by Jeremy Haun
Co-Feature by Greg Rucka
Art by Cully Hamner

 

The main story was prefectly creepy! I love good Arkham Asylum stories and the new pair of Jeremiah Arkham and Alyce Sinner will probably make stories in the future. Arkham is an inmate of the asylum now just like his ancestor – he even carves his intial into Zsas’s eyelid! But Alyce is now director of Arkham Asylum and she is equally insane and in love with Jeremiah Arkham! This was a great little story. The Question back-up comes to its conclusion and we are left with a cliffhanger. Odd, Rucka really must have left DC in a hurry but we are not told whether Renee Montoya has the mark of Cain now or not. I wonder if we will have to wait till Rucka comes back to DC or if The Question is too high profile to keep waiting for him. Hmmm. All Good Questions haha.

Masks

Batman #697
Written by Tony Daniel
Art by Daniel

 

The person behind the Black Mask is revealed and all-in-all it is not that shocking. I still loved the issue. Daniel’s artworks has been great since he started on this book and so has his writing. Battle for the Cowl was a total fluke. I was sad to see the splash page of the Network considering this was an organization began by Cassandra Cain – and she has been gone since August and no one seems to care to look for her (In other words DC’s editors are douchebags) The debut of Catgirl was unexpected – I hate the costume it looks really ridiculous but that doesn’t mean I hate the concept. I wonder what Holly Robinson will think? Will this be reflected in Gotham City Sirens? Time will tell.

Bringing Gotham To life

Batman #694
Written by Tony Daniel
Art by Daniel

I know  this will make me unpopular among bloggers for saying this, but Tony Daniel’s current run on Batman is BETTER then Batman and Robin by Morrison. There I said it! This is some great stuff! The art is fantastic I loved looking at every page! What an improvement! And that is not sarcasm, he has really stepped up his game. The story and writing is fantastic as well as he crafts a compelling mystery and involves so many characters but it never feels overcrowded. It really feels like Gotham has come alive when I am reading this, sort’ve like the old days when I first got into comics during No Man’s Land. I love having the Falcones back! The Penguin being awesome along with Doctor Death, Hugo Strange, the new Black Mask, The Reaper! This was a great issue.

The Falcones Come Home

Batman #692
Written by Tony Daniel
Art by Daniel

Um can I just say holy shit….this was better then I EVER expected. Tony Daniel’s Battle for the Cowl was an incoherent mess of a comic. So naturally when I heard he was taking over this book I rolled my eyes. I figured it would be awful. It turns out, it is actually pretty damn good. Daniel IS a good writer apparently. He does something I have wanted to see happen for a long time, follows up on the Falcone crime family as they return to Gotham led by Mario Falcone. He writes great Dick Grayson-Selina Kyle scenes. He creates an interesting group of villainous scientists led by Black Mask. All of this was completely unexpected. Well-done, Mr. Daniel, I think this is going to be a great run on Batman!