Although a final issue in an arc is difficult to grade on its own, Detective Comics #34 still stands strong. Sure, if this is your first issue you might be a little lost, but Buccellato and Manapul have crafted an amazingly striped-down-to-the-core Batman story in the six-part Icarus story. Read Full Review

Manapul and Buccellato's first Detective Comics arc comes to a fantastic conclusion, with the Icarus case getting put to rest. Highly recommended. Read Full Review

While the end didn't quite sit well with me as a reader, that seems to be the intent. Even the gang leader, whose main goal was to deal the Icarus, seems to be caught off guard by this news when we see him demanding to know what happened. The inconclusiveness of what exactly happened may potentially feed directly into future story lines of this team's run. Whether that's the plan or not, I personally found myself flummoxed and let down by the whole ordeal at the end of this arc. Read Full Review

Stripped of any super-villain, or larger-than-life Bat-villain, the Icarus arc sets a tone for an intriguing book on Batman's battle with the street-level criminal element of Gotham, while highlighting his reliance on his detective skills, that I hope to see continue as well. Worth a look. Read Full Review

Everything gets tied up rather quickly in this last issue to the ICARUS story, but were still met with a Batman willing to push himself for the sake of justice while trying to save everyone at the same time. This issue doesnt pull any punches as it delivers action and bookends it with the emotional buildup. Read Full Review

The art in this book is some of the best in comics today. That by itself is a reason to pick this book up. For the most part, Icarus has been a fun, exciting ride, but Manapul and Buccellato crash in the end because DC didn't give them the room they needed to land. That said, this creative team till has me excited about the future of this title and I can't wait to read more. Read Full Review

"Icarus" has been a great debut for the new Detective Comics creative team. Unfortunately, they don't quite stick the landing with issue #34. All sense of subtlety gets thrown out the window as Batman dons his mech suit and the conflict devolves into a punch-fest. Read Full Review

I never want to write reviews for books when I've been disappointed by them, even less so when it's by creators that I absolutely adore. Detective Comics #34 misses so many opportunities and leaves so much of the nuance at the door. It gives us the reveals and developments that pull the plot to a close, but stops at that providing nothing extra. Nothing to chew on. Nothing really to care about or get emotionally invested in. This was the final hurdle that could have seen Icarus become one of those must own Batman collected editions that there are so many of already. As it is though, in the end, it was just okay, and okay is okay, but it isn't great. Read Full Review

Freaking gorgeous art, but the story leaves some to be desired. Read Full Review

There isn't much that can be said about the art that hasn't been said countless times. Francis Manapul's art is one of the best in the industry and he continues to astonish. His art is undoubtedly the high point of the issue and each page is nothing short of beautiful. Despite it feeling out of place the action sequences are incredibly well drawn and spectacular to behold. Manapul gives a fluid and almost cinematic flow to them while the colors are rich, moody, and evocative. Read Full Review

Manapul and Buccellato tried to fly high on this conclusion to their first Detective Comics adventure, but "Icarus"'s wings melt at the last minute. Read Full Review

While we started this story with great detective elements driving the issues, it seems that all the evidence throughout didn't mean anything and we're given a completely contrived conclusion that conveniently places characters and squids where they're most useful and just leaves you wanting something more..  Read Full Review

For a story arc that opened so well it really let itself go in that finale. Lots of crazy action that didn't fit well with the tone previously established and several key elements of the story glossed over or completely disregarded. If you're only picking up this issue and haven't read any of the others you're probably going to have a blast but for those who have been keeping pace you're going to be left wanting more (or less) and most likely confused. At least this Batman fan was. Read Full Review