There are good and bad glimpses of stories here. I'm not looking forward to Bendis' JL, Becky Cloonan's Wonder Woman, Tim Sheridan's Teen Titans, Geoffrey Thorne's Green Lantern or Geoff Johns' Stargirl. The rest though, I'm optimistic about for now. This read much more like a previews magazine than like another DC Universe: Rebirth. But it wasn't too bad.

With this Future State -nonsense DC has been releasing these past months, this book is currently the only one I'm really invested in. While I really liked this one, I'm a bit annoyed hopw miss-leading the cover is. As a huge Red Hood fan, it's a bit disappointing to see Jason here when they aren't really doing anything with him. That seems to change in the next issue.

And the biggest annoyance is that due to Murphyverse being so different, I'm really interested to see Jason's backstory.

But that problem aside, it's still a really strong series. Collins writes Harley so well and this version is so much better than the one we have in the main universe. more

Dark Detective "Finale" (eye roll) Issue #2 (I mean #4) ends with a bang, but no real conclusion (of course), after stretching out 2 issues worth of story into 4 issues at $6 each. Was it worth $24? DC and writer Mariko Tamaki thinks so. And we have gotten interesting art from Dan Mora and great coloring from Jordie Bellaire. The lettering is intended to be "futuristic," and Aditya Bidikar continues the same annoying lettering from previous issues.

It wasn't as bad or as expensive as "The New Batman." So there is that. But of course, there was never any intent to have a "story" with any real conclusion.

We have a Bruce Wayne who is struggling with uncertainty, guilt, self-blame, doubt. The same Batman who defeated countless world threats, organized teams to defeat threats to entire Earth, struggles to find the resolve to defeat the punk of The Magistrate regime.

Bruce Wayne continues his efforts to undermine The Magistrate and stop its surveillance system of nanobot drones everywhere. Supporting character Hannah ends up aiding Bruce and has been secretly recording The Magistrate's own work. She believes she has information about The Magistrate that will help to prevent "the end of all democracy in Gotham." Peacekeeper-01 wants to fight "scum" like Bruce Wayne to the end.

And the carnival barkers tell us "Bruce Wayne's adventues continue anew next month in Detective Comics #1034."

When the key is the art and coloring, you are losing your reader, but we need to be honest, there really is no serious intent to engage the reader. Just push them forward, get along little doggie, towards buying the next issue in the latest "event."

Part of the broad story line (beyond just Future State DD) is that the struggle is much of the people WANT The Magistrate, they want security at whatever cost that regime will bring. DC describes the Magistrate regime as being all-knowing and powerful, being able to clone (Batman/Superman 2) parts and versions of Superman, as a rationale to keep Superman or any other powers to stop "The Magistrate." The sci-fi storyline is intended to suspend disbelief, because the only real goal is to drive stories to the next "event."

We have writers with lean plots to serve as carnival barkers to gin up suspense and enthusiasm for the next "event." Because that is really all that DC wants to sell, "events."

In the 20th century, the events were in between periods of storylines. Now the events are really everything, and storylines are just placeholders or road signs to events. This allows DC to hire inexperienced writers to learn on the job writing major comics, because they will keep fanboys coming back with a hint that another "clue" in the next "big event" will be there. This is especially valuable for AT&T to keep internal costs down of knowledgable DC Comics talent.

This is a trick television has been doing for years. So you end up going from mysteries like Columbo (with beginning/middle/end) to semi-soap opera, constant cliff-hangers like The Blacklist. Exchange interest with plot and mystery, and replace with brutality, value abandonment, and constant "shock" value. So those of us really expecting stories will be constantly disappointed.
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You know what annoys me? The fact that Tamaki wasted the entirety of issue #1 of this series, leaving us with only 3 to tell a story that clearly needed more time to unravel and offer us a satisfying conclusion. Funnily enough every Dark Detective comic dragged at times and featured overwhelming amount of stagnant filler. Even this one, which makes its ending even worse than it actually is, because if it wasn't for the nauseating amount of exposition and filler, maybe it could have dealt with actual consequences of Bruce's actions throughout the series. Where did it all lead? To one big bang, and that's it?
Imagine A New Hope ending with Death Star blowing up. That's it. One gigantic explosion and nothing more. No conclusions to main character arcs, no (temporary) happy end, no feeling of relief, because the galaxy is (temporarily) safe once more.
That's how I feel about this short run. Complete and utter waste of time which had potential, but ultimately was wasted due to writer choosing exposition over much needed content.

As for Red Hood's additional story, I can't say I cared about its first half, and I certainly couldn't care less about this half either. While it's not the worst comic I've ever read, it just feels... cheap, like w low budget indie title made to promote a TV sitcom or something. Both art and script wise. more

This whole event starts without a solid story, with a chronological disorder, a lot of bad new characters with the exception of Yara and terrible unfinished endings. Which brings us to the story of Bruce THE REAL BATMAN.
The idea was really good, a Bruce without fortune, struggling to survive, a Batman in the dark doing the impossible to end a fascist government and Dark Detective started very well, it even looked much more interesting than what it had been doing in its usual series. But then the writing becomes sluggish and like the other books it doesn't get anywhere "Much ado about nothing."
In return we have the counterpart, the backup story despite a lousy art the twist was not bad, Red Hood is playing a dangerous game with a mysterious character are trying to unravel what is behind the magistrate, obviously they had to give him impetus to the FS Gotham. Still it has been a story devoid of emotion and the pretty bad art doesn't help.
FS was a complete disappointment for me. more

I've had a issue with Tony's characterisation this run and this issue highlighted it.

Hellcat's well written which is to be expected since she's Cantwell's fav, but I don't know why Tony comes out looking the worst in his own title.

Honestly this fell like a block of concrete from a tenth floor. The encounter between the Batmen was completely bland, with a Covid pandemic-like stay-at-home tip that made me laugh at the ridiculous comment between the two. It all felt so stagnant and a Bruce not being Bruce.
Then we have Lucius' situation where he decides in a very macabre game to betray Grifter and Huntress is the only thing that raises this number even though it is leaving the Fox family very badly off, possible breach of trust, perhaps theft (resources, technology together with a cloak that has not shown to have actually earned it, the only thing that leaves good is that he is trying to help people but putting aside the Batclan does not look good or maybe they will fix it in Nightwing in some way) and now justified betrayal or no.
The gaps in the story are not good because they allow us to say a lot about the true reasons. more

Can't wait to read what's next for Superman, Mister Miracle and Midnighter!

I don't like the substitution of the batfamily for this batman, a completely corrupt Lucios and they insist on this man. In the end the sales will speak.
The backup story was the only thing I liked to read.

It's really hard to enjoy this. I usually enjoy Mann's art very much but I see he was once again horny when making this art. Happens to the best of us and I would let it slide if that was my only problem with this issue.

But it's hard to say anything good about this. I really don't get what the narrative is that King is trying to write. We have, what, 3 stories going on and I honestly can't remember anything else except the future parts. Nor do I get what is going on in them.

And I don't get what is the hook King should throw at us to keep coming back. I mean, nothing really happens here. Why should I be interested in the 4th issue now? more

I try to be as open minded as possible, and even, or especially when I encounter something I don't like, I try to give it a fair chance, and understand why I don't like it if I still don't like it after giving it said chance. It was the case with post I Am Bane Batman series by Tom King, which I grew to dislike only more and more with every passing issue. Enter Batman/Catwoman, which made, to say the least, a very unfavourable opinion on me with its first two issues. And here I am - giving it the last chance to capture my attention and imagination, make me see something more in it, because as of now, I'm completely conscious about what I dislike about it.

All my good will was gone when Catwoman says "I became a cat. I met a bat". I shaked my head asking myself in disbelief why am I even exposing myself to this trash? But yet, I proceeded. I continued reading this comic, just to find some action in it. Yeah, that's new, isn't it? Action. Too bad it features more inarticulate meowing, growling and hissing, making me shiver in disgust and cringe, and rather comically oversexualized fight sequence, which whilst not bad, reminds me of the infamous panel from Heroes in Crisis featuring half naked Lois Lane being half naked for the sake of being half naked. 90's called, they want their porn influences back.

I'm done with this series, it's time I stop wasting any second more on it. I've seen too much already. Screw the bat. And the cat. And my life as well, because I could have read something half decent instead. more

Aaand eventually the story goes into classic Tamaki territory with cringy dialogue, super boring exposition and huge plotholes. It was a matter of time, as always when it comes to her. Rosenberg's story is not good either.

very decompressed.
no actual information is given.
there's no stakes to invest in.
nice art though.

I didn't like this one. The first story is messy and suffers from the same problems as Superman of Metropolis from last week. It's too much. The second story is better, but ultimately doesn't tell a story we've never seen before with Jessica Cruz. It's very safe. The third story had potential, but ultimately wasted it.

Tired of the cock teases Nick Spencer. Just tired

Who the hell are these critics on this site that give 90% of everything they read 10 stars? Everything can't be a 10. Its hard to take the critic reviews on here seriously sometimes. But this was a solid comic and series. Definitely not a 10 but was worth the read. But I am so glad this event is finally over. These huge events that span for months and have multiple tie ins and effect every storyline is really starting to turn me off in both dc and marvel. Sorry for the negativity but these events lose so much of their potential by dragging it out into nothing but a cheap cash grab. more

I was really, really afraid this comic will end up being just a reskin of what was before it already, and what was, to put it simply, pure unadulterated trash. And while it suffers from a lot of problems and some questionable design choices, it is not a waste of time. No. For once Harley uses her psychiatric skills instead of being just a dumb Mary Sue with annoying accent. She looks different from her main continuity counterpart, of course, but differences also are noticeable in her personality, intelligence and skills. Something that I wish more writers would actually take to account.

Now, obviously there's the elephant in the room, which is the comic's fixation with The Silence of the Lambs. It's not the first time in DC's history when a comic takes inspiration from this absolute masterpiece. Remember The Long Halloween? One hell of a story worth reading. Difference is, Calendar Man was a genuinely good idea for an in-continuity equivalent of Hannibal Lecter and he had time to shine. Here, with Harley, we see two baddies being defeated pretty much off page, and that's a bummer. I get it, Stephanie Phillips didn't want to take too much time setting the story up and letting Harley rot in a cell before she inevitably walks out of it. But still, I would much rather read longer series telling the same story, dedicating at least one issue to Pyg and Firefly respectively, to build the atmosphere and actually tell us a deeper, darker tale, maybe touch the subject of loneliness and isolation, comment on police brutality and toxicity of private prison systems, explain what happened in Gotham in the last few years and why characters are where they are and why they looke like they look. Dunno, anything to avoid skipping the action several times in the span of just one issue, to quickly move to the big fish Harley's gonna hunt. There's so much background material that could be stuffed here, and now I'm scratching my head because I realized I actively want to see more filler detailing this story. Something that wouldn't make it feel like I'm reading a brief summary instead of an actual tale.

Of course since Future State is going to las merely 2 months, it'd be impossible to dedicate more time to what ultimately is a set-up, an aperitif before the main dish, but what I'm trying to say is, if this comic was longer, like 7-9 issues, I'd read it. I'd totally read it. It may not be on the same level as White Knight Harley solo series written by Katana Collins, but nonetheless, it's way better than any other Harley comic I've seen in years. And any movie as well, that's one more footnote to add, because there's never bad time to mock the awfulness of the face tattooed Hot Topic trailer trash live action Harley. more

One of the main reasons DCEU is so loathed and ridiculed is not that it just goes against the source material and tries to change it completely, mold it into something that its directors would personally like, but because it never improves. Its directors don't learn their lessons and are allowed to repeat the same mistakes over and over again with no consequences other than box office failures and poor reception. And now, clearly, DC Comics does the same too, doubling down on things that were univerally rejected. Enter evil Wally West. Again. I can already imagine Dan Didio sitting in an armchar, drinking a beer and giggling, knowing DC's editorial is stupid enough to continue what he, himself, became infamous for.

And look - I don't have anything aganst creators taking characters wherever they want, especially if it's merely a short lived elseworld comic like this one. I do, however, have a lot against telling an awful, hollow story, especially when its writer has hardcore experience with DC animation. What the hell happened here? This is embarrassing! How is it possible someone with such rich resume came up with this cheap nonsense? How did he manage to write something so empty, emotionless, despite featuring at least two scenes that normally would be considered to be very, very heavy and impactful on the main cast, especially Barry himself?

What a sad excuse for a comic... more

For me that was a great last issue to be honest. I know that there is a huge amount of hate going on toward Death Metal, and I understand where it's coming from, but i think that there are a lot of great qualities, that gets overlooked when we talk about death metal. Ofc art is subjective, but sometimes you have to look at some art deeper to understand it, as most of you probably know.And ofc even after that, you sometimes don't like it, which is totally normal. All i am saying is that sometimes you have to look deeper and looking at some the users reviews here, I get the feeling that some of them don't. Then again i could be wrong. Just don't jump on the hate train, without trying to enjoy it.

However, i think that the themes and the symbolism are amazingly well presented. This really is the trinity's darkest hour. Evil is stronger, because it does not restrain itself.
But even in the darkest hours, when the good guys are pretty much destined to lose, they still fight united , showing us that there is always hope.

Batman fighting army of infinite number of evil robins, which seems totally impossible for him to win, without having a thought about giving up, mirrors his own infinite fight with the injustices in the world, but with patience and determination he wins .

Superman facing his own worst fear, and choosing to sacrifice himself, only to be saved by Lex, shows us that even one of the worst villains , can be inspired to do the right thing by Superman, which is pretty much the goal of Superman existence.

And wonder woman decision to finally follow the truth and her morals instead of conforming to the evil, which can give her a fake paradise, saves everybody.

i think that all of these moments are close to the characters core, and shows us their most inspiring traits. Even in a way, all the heroes wins because of those traits.

I know that sometimes Batman or Superman's missions seems impossible to accomplish with their morals , but here we see that there is hope for them.
By saving the universe, Dc is pretty much directly telling us that those are traits, that they appreciate.That's why we get the talk between the 2 wonder womans . Dc wants to respect the past , but also look at the future, which i think it's the right way to go.


A true inspiring and hopeful superhero comics. That for me is a 10. more

Uhhhhh, alright

It is... fine I suppose? I really like Capullo's art and I really didn't hate anything. Maybe I just don't care anymore. Or maybe because there isn't so much mumbo jumbo in here that makes me question everything. There is some, but not too much.

And BWL starts to act like himself. A bit. I finally see the Joker and Bruce in him. It doesn't make me care about him or anything, but it's nice to see.

So, 6/10 could be worse? more

I don't usually give low grades but I just didn't enjoy this. I haven't enjoyed any of the 1million BC issues, but this was a chore to get through. Comics shouldn't have me wanting to skip bad dialogue and feel like the entire premise is stupid (keep in mind that comics often have wild subject matter and that is awesome!).

And did the comic actually suggest people have been killing vegans? Even bigger issue, if this is literally 1 million BC, there were no humans at this stage of development with this language capacity. Comics, fiction, okay, still bugs me. Mutants were around also now, apocalypse being the first mutant isn't a thing anymore? Maybe that was long ago done away with, I'm not up on everything.

And Odin can't lift Mjolnir even though he put the very enchantment on it? Are we going through a story of how Odin becomes worthy now?

This whole Avengers run has frustrated me. There's a glimpse of something awesome at times but never a proper follow through. Remember Manor? That looked like it was gonna be good. Oh, go buy another series to follow up. Then Agents of Wakanda - go buy another series again. Evil Coulsen and squadron supreme, let's barely touch on it every other year or so.

I prefer Bendis Avengers at this point. more

It is much easier to read these ones I am familiar with. The twist here is very interesting and the execution is very well done. I like how Thawne was written and the ending of this all is a surprising one. Like Hush it is good and it is nice to see good issues of these Tales.

I feel like this issue really expected me to have read the original story, but I didn't. The whole thing feels so crammed, and I usually like Ariel Olivetti's art, but the layouts and perspectives here were very off at times. I don't know why, but this all feels like a rush job.

Uhhh, this was something! I really didn't think much of it. I found that the constant switching of the timelines was more annoying than interesting. Not a ton happens in this issue, even still. I know it's only issue one, but there's no hook here for me. Maybe if I had seen Mask of the Phantasm, I'd be more interested in what's happening in the present timeline? I don't know. The only part of this issue that I really think was worth the read was seeing future Joker pop out of his makeup and wig. That's it. The rest, unfortunately, just feels like more of Tom King's Batman, which I found unbearably vapid. I was hoping, for some reason, that his writing would change or be better. Something about the constraints of having 12 issues may have helped keep things more consistent or something. But as of now, I can only walk away from this feeling like we're in for another twelve months of Tom King's Batman, and that's not a good thing, even if Tynion IV is over there making the main book just as unfortunately trite. The art is good, at least. Clay Mann isn't my favorite artist, but he's very competent and that at least gives the book some standing.

Side note: When they first introduced the differing timelines, I thought the past timeline would have cold blues, the present timeline would have warm reds and that the future timeline would be colored standardly. But then that was thrown out immediately, and I honestly think that was a missed opportunity. more

Better than the last issues.

I think that the problem with DC is that their Universe was never like Marvel. There is a lot of stuff and characters that changed too drastically over the years and it´s just impossible to imply that everything can be canon, because there would be a lot of nonsense.

Pretending all this characters are the same they were from before flashpoint (like they imply on Doomsday Clock) is nonsense. more

Better than I thought. Better than last 2 issues and all the side ones.

However, the Bat Castle really sucks. What an idiot design.

Maybe later I will have enough willingness and energy in me to write a detailed and polished review. For now, let me just say this:

I'm SO sick of Harley Quinn in Batman run.