Either way, it’s a strong issue, and that’s something to be thankful for, as it’d be quite easy for the Bat Family books to just go through the motions until they get their hands on the Joker. Read Full Review

All in all, you can safely pass on this issue and pick up #14 which I'm sure will contain the show-down. There really is nothing of great substance in this issue and it almost just feels like filler. Save your $2.99 and wait til next month. You won't miss anything I promise. Read Full Review

Overall, this issue feels like it has a lot of dead ends. We see one scene, and then see it come to an abrupt end and serve virtually no purpose. The motivation behind Lady Shiva's appearance in Gotham is not even hinted at, which makes this feel strange. It's as though you could switch in anyone in Batman's rogue's gallery for Shiva, which is kind of disappointing. The relationship between Dick and Barbara as well as Dick and Sonia is bizarre. Dick alluding to Batman's relationship with Catwoman and comparing it to his relationship with Sonia felt a bit off too. I think the important thing to remember is that Dick Grayson is not Batman, and DC doesn't need to make him Batman to make him interesting. Do something new with his character that hasn't been done before; don't dwell so much on Batman's history. Don't let Dick ride on Batman's coat tails, so to speak. Read Full Review

Issue #13 is alright. It looks good and I like Andres' straight forward page layouts and the way he showcases Nightwing's acrobatics. The story regarding an incredible threat coming to Gotham that has all the mob scared is very good too, but I just felt that it was handled poorly. Everything that's Shiva related could have easily been conveyed in far fewer pages. Most of the comic is spent watching Dick figure out that Lady Shiva is coming to Gotham and that's not very exciting when we as readers already know it's Lady Shiva. We've known since we saw the cover and we've known since we saw the teaser at the end of last month's #0 issue. Saving her up for a final page reveal is fruitless. I just wanted them to get on with it. The next issue is probably going to be pretty cool, but this one simply stated the obvious. Read Full Review

In short, while there's some interesting material at play in this issue, the execution tends to fall flat. I'll be glad to welcome the regular creative team back in a couple months. Read Full Review

The While it's not Catwoman #0 terrible (which is my new base line reading of absolute shit), there's not a whole lot to like. Subpar art, forgettable story, bad characterization, it's all just pretty bad, but not awful. Read Full Review