In the end this book is serving the imprint's purpose to innovate and challenge the storytelling norm, and above all else that's what I truly believe this business is all about. Lastly I would like to congratulate the creative team for turning this Spidey atheist into a believer.

This issue was very well paced, you can clearly see the decade long chemistry that Geoff Johns and artist Doug Mahnke share translate into the pages of this book, it brings back not too distant but ever so fond memories from their Green Lantern days (typing this as I'm getting teary eyed over it). One thing Johns is a cut above the rest is his character development so making this title the second fiddle yet the closest thing to the main event in order to relate to the antagonists of the main story was nothing short of a great idea. Unfortunately there is one bad thing within this silver lining and that's the fact that they've pretty much revealed the outcome of the story from the get go just like they did with trinity war, as if they did not want the reader to focus on the "what" per say but the "how" and though it is a fresh idea as a way to tackle the very first line-wide event of the New 52 it comes with a risk.

Though lacking in action and deriving from the core story, this issue for the most part clears up the who's who of the Crime Syndicate, as some of them have new origins, others have their origins redefined, which happens to be the writer's bread and butter. For what it's worth, it is a pleasant send off to 2013 as we receive the new year with the second half of the first event of the New 52 that will more than likely change the landscape of the company for years to come.

This issue, hell this story has been nothing but a roller coaster ridefrom the start. From the pacing, the dialogue, the chemistry and character developmenteven the transitions between the two plots not givingan inch keeping this title in borderline perfect harmony. The onlyflaws that I can safely statemainly come from the art itself, but as my other reviews state, thisis not the type of story "big two" caliber talent are used to, so ittakes a special type of madnessto organically craft this powerful story with ease, so I ampersonally whelmed withthe art though I can't shake the feeling that it could be polished alittle more if need be.Another flaw I noticed also happens to be the stories greatest strengthand that's the story itself.I know what you're thinking, "But dude! you were just praising thestory a minute ago! how can you go from calling it almost perfect toit's biggest weakness?!" Simple, the story is a masterpiece because ofwhat it is about, because it

So far, Andy Kubert's writing took me by surprise as he seems to be pulling out all the stops by doing something I once thought darn near impossible, he found the wedge Morrison left that connects the main time line with the 666 universe timeline, since we all know where this story is heading it is really fun being along for the ride. The panel work is amazing and you can tell that his line work (pencils) has shades of his father Joe (God rest his soul). I'ts been a while since I've had fun reading and analyzing a book and the many outcomes it could take along with the possibility of expanding this into a Beyond-universe type deal. so if you're a fan of Damian, and you enjoy a quality bat-book period. This is the book for you.

As action packed and moderately fast paced as this issue was, it had just as much character development. Andy Kubert is truly coming on his own as a writer right in front of us. There's only one thing that worries yours truly about this saga and it's the fact that the further in we get into the story, there's an extreme almost rushed feeling that's translated into the art. And while it is customary to give the benefit of the doubt to someone who does not both write and draw often, it feels like Mr. Kubert might be coming at a crossroads where he will need to choose to either tell one hell of a story, or draw one hell of a book. No matter what it turns out to be, rest assured that it'll be one for the history books.

This book brought some mixed feelings, thinking that it would bring closure to the Damian situation, but rather defecated on young Robins grave. It was meant as a final goodbye, yet it feels as if they just cant seem to stop beating an already dead horse, pun intended.

Out of all the lantern books I must admit that Charles Sole has done a great job of standing out and shining his light the brightest in terms of his storytelling, he accomplished what others before him have failed to do, he found a way to tap in the true potential of the Red Lanterns and lets not forget about Alessandro Vitti's solid line work, he was able to highlight the subtleties laid throughout the book making his style befitting for the task. though it seemed like this issue was meant to build a sense of dramatic tension within the story one can safely assume that the destination of this arc will change the way the DCnU and the readers look at its “blood hounds” for years to come.

Overall this issue wrapped up pretty well, there was a clean resolution and the climax of this issue speaks volumes as to how connected and well bonded the Red Lanterns are with one another under Guy's leadership. Though the regular artist Alessandro Vitti was not on the pencils for this issue, Jim Calafiore did a great job keeping the energy and momentum flowing throughout. So for a second arc, Mr. 7 monthly titles (Charles Soule) found a way to keep the reader on his toes with this one, despite the somewhat cheesy choices in dialogue and story devices at times, this issue maintained a great balance between the the main story and the B-plot. In conclusion, I applaud Mr. Soule and give his title my personal Lantern Seal of Approval (which would be awesome if it were an actual thing) it is well worth the readers hard earned money, and it showed us that any book with the right vision and direction can have a great turnaround.

From start to finish this issue had a solid stream-like pacing to it, the character dialogue to how the Red Lanterns play off each other and their guest stars has been a constant hit thus far. Vitti and Calafiore are doing a great job on the art and like last issue one can be certain that the reader would not have noticed if they were not told about it, that's how in sync their line-work is. Some of the parts on this story though great in the broad overview of things, tend to come off a bit shallow when isolated, it feels as if some of the major plot turns in the story could have had a more memorable impact if the character development was more than just funny sit-com like one liners and sometimes underwhelming character depth, which is something that can be solved by placing the right amount of screen time towards the true focus points of the book . At least this issue shows promise that the creative team has been pointed towards the right direction.

This issue really cracks down on the nooks and crannies of what it takes to build some real suspense throughout this “rural noir”. Spite the occasional unnecessary third plot from time to time Tim Seely keeps giving the reader consistent quality story telling from beginning to end (though he claimed his first volume to be sort of like his “first season” in a way) while teasing that the real fun has yet to come. And behind every great story teller there's an even greater artist in Mike Norton who is able to depict with a simplistic yet refined detail Seely's tension and predominately character driven story telling making his art style a perfect fit for the job. So keep an eye out for this title because it will take this creative duo places before you even know it.

Now a lot happens in this issue, and there's nothing wrong with that but the problem was that it was too rushed! This is a little disappointing since this is usually such an enjoyable series, but it felt like a bunch of important story lines were being stuffed into one comic book and it might keep people from indulging in it like the previous issues, but that is no reason to drop the title, this issue is still important and the story is headed in a good direction, but it was not the best considering that Tim Seeley can do better than this.

The pacing of the book was simple and the story itself was straight forward and the characters actions as well as their morale can be questioned, Venditti and Tan have yet to push the true boundaries of the book, hopefully they will go all out somewhere down the road. So for a wrap-up issue it left much to be desired in the end. But that is expected when your job is to follow up the comic book equivalent of Frank Sinatra on a monthly basis.

Overall, this issue had its plot holes that I am certain can be filled if you read Green Lantern Corps, so from a writing perspective it felt like we were missing something, and though the pacing and the transition was steady for the most part, though it look a sudden left turn towards the middle that left the reader with more questions than before. Art-wise, if one can get past the layouts were set towards the tail end of the book, Dale Eaglesham's art is stunning and (no offense to Mr. Tan) it is the best art that's been seen on this title since the Mahnkee and Van Sciver days. If it was not for the art and the fact that this segways into the dual-issue that will bring about a supposed change in the landscape of the franchise, I'd say don't bother with it, but as I previously stated it is a must-have in order to comprehend the grand scheme of things.

So a word of advice to the editors at Marvel and Brian Wood.. If you're planing on redefining a character to reach out a broader audience or to make things interesting, at least bother to look up the culture to see how the other half lives, and if you cant do that then don't bother changing the ethnicity.