Zdarsky’s time on Batman had some incredible highs and painful lows. This whole arc has felt like something of an afterthought, and this issue ends Zdarsky’s run on something of a whimper. Still, I’m going to miss Zdarsky because he had some great concepts—and I’m REALLY going to miss Jimenez, who has become one of the greatest artists to ever work on this title.

Really blown away by this one.

Good story and nice set up for the upcoming event, but the art was a bit lackluster.

A bit too chaotic for my tastes, but still very good.

I’ve generally been a big fan of this arc, and I like the story and twists Zdarsky has in this issue. It unfortunately just suddenly unspools in the middle, making the Riddler look bafflingly dumb. Maybe an extra issue would have been helpful, and part of me wonders if editorial was pushing Zdarsky to wrap this up to get on to Hush 2, or if this is what Zdarsky intended. On the positive side, I always enjoy Daniel’s art on Batman. more

Still impressed by the plot threads Kirkman is juggling, and while a couple seem to be moving closer, others are as far apart as ever. For now it makes the story feel big and alive, but I worry it will eventually make it feel tedious and disconnected. Devoting precious space to each plot also makes the story feel slower than it has up til now, but I’m still engaged enough mostly overlook it.

Dan Mora’s art is always impeccable, and the Martian Manhunter plot is very good. But I was disappointed that two other plot points, with the Atoms and Mister Terrific, were just setting up other books.