I love this book. Sadly, I keep forgetting to put it on my Top of the Pile list every month, but it's one of my favorite reads. It's a book I get excited about because I know it's an aspect of the DCU I've never known too much about and I feel like I'm on the same page with the rest of the DC fanbase.This was probably one of my favorite issues from this series, thus far. I love the Spectre, and even though he's not the Spectre I am used to, I still really like the character. I love the story and art, and I always like talking dogs... Well, almost always. Overall, I'm a big fan of this book, and I recommend it. Read Full Review

The art, as always, has been serviceable. There is clear room for improvement, but as it stands it does the job and it does it competently. The draftsmanship that Anderson brings is eye catching and very dynamic in its execution. Philip Tan's embellishments perhaps go a bit too far and could have been toned down, if just a little. The team will be supplanted by Gene Ha for the next two issues, and while it would be nice to say that I will miss them in the meantime, I'm more excited about what Ha can bring to the table. The Phantom Stranger keeps making strides in improvement and I hope that it continues to do so as J.M. DeMatteis makes his proper co-writer premier next month. Read Full Review

The artwork in this book is as jumbled as ever. As usual, Philip Tan lends a welcome dose of texture and darkness to Brent Anderson's pencils. But the overall quality is haphazard at best, and the facial work grows very wonky at times. Even with so many artists contributing to the finished look, the book has a very rushed quality to it that never quite seems to go away. Read Full Review

The Phantom Stranger #5 is a perplexing issue if only because it's such a drastic shift from the slow-burn of the previous issues to the rapid-fire storytelling seen in these pages. It's quite clear this series is starting the long journey toward "Trinity War", but it's doing so clumsily at this point and that somehow makes the entire endeavor feel a little less special. I don't want to have a bias going into DC's first 'New 52' major crossover event, so I'll take this issue's events with a grain of salt. Read Full Review