An explosive issue, plot-lines converge in pretty interesting ways. We discover why the vampires were growing so much human food, and it's clever, surprisingly but also horrifying.

Love the interactions between Scott and Barda, love the Constantine routine of working to pull of a deal in increasingly dangerous ways, love the twsits, love the tone, the writing is great, everything is just top tier story telling.
more

Another month, another chance for me to say that I really like this book. More of a setup issue, admittedly doesn't have the impact of the prior ones, but I still loved it.

Damian Wayne finds himself in a position where he has to choose between to people he cares about and I thought it really worked. Damian's a hit-or.miss character for me and I feel writers struggle making him a lot more black-and-white than he is: they either write him as an asshole or soften him up to make him more palatable, resulting ina nothing-burger version.

Not this. Dude's surprisingly on-point in this. Rosenberg nails the balance honestly. He's acerbic and assertive, but also caring, thoughtful and vulnerable and the part where he basically curses everything that's happened to him throughout the series was pretty powerful. more

HEAVY SPOILERS

I repeat myself every month but I really like this series. Is it perfect? No, in fact you can really see the seams often, but it's compelling, well constructed and it really wants to tell a story, instead of just a bunch of cool elements happening for no rhyme or reason.

And what a story. You've getting intriguing set-ups that feel natural, the character banter is fun and the reveals mostly hit. I'm intrigued about Barda, about the vampire from the future, the woman that appears in the throne room... I wasn't even that big a of a fan of Damian in this series before, I'm not even a big Damian fan. And I'd be lying if I told you I didn't find those scenes of him being cornered and alone in the forest compelling. They got me, I teared up.

And if they make RA'S AL GHUL the Batman. Holy sh*t, that's peak!


There's stuff I don't like. I still would love a better role for Wonder Woman, for example. She's fun, but stuff like Alfred lecturing her about a life of service felt a bit disingenuous (specially given that, in this series, Alfred could have told her about the vampries before she got turned and didn't, because Bruce told him not to).

But in general, I'm loving this. more

SPOILERS AHEAD

Very strong issue. Stronger than the first imo.

I'm pretty intrigued by all the plotlines in all honesty. I wonder what they're doing re-growing the plants, the magic side looks like it will finally get some focus which is great (and not for a second did I ever believe Spectre had been killed in the first series lmao) - Perhaps we will find something about the nature of vampirism?

And I'm pretty interested on who is that baby. At first I thought they were Jack Hawksmoor and Jenny from the All-Out War mini story but he seems to Mister Miracle here (and calls her his daughter). Maybe it's just a title thing though.

And that final part was brutal woah.

On the one hand, I still find it just too convenient that Diana can't resist the vampirism (Damian isn't exactly an angel, but he seems to handle it better) but on the other hand I have to admit she makes for a pretty good and fun villain.The moment she appeared sent shivers down my spine and the moment she turns around and she asks Alfred if he loves Damian was amazing.

Plus, she's funny. Reminded me of Spike from Buffy in his early seasons The little moment where she tanks a stake was lol I hope she never dies lol Have her around doing fun evil stuff or find a way to give her her guilt back so that she can have a redemption arc or something, I'm having too much fun with this character. more

SPOILER ALERT



We come back to this universe with a pretty solid setup issue. The premise itself is pretty intriguing, as we have a three-way fight between factions, as well as people on those factions disagreeing with each other and the graying morality that implies (Damian seems to abstain from human blood like before, but he now realizes his personal vampire army have no such qualms; the humans seem to prefer to continue fighting even though that would cause unwarrented deaths and while Queen Babs is evil, she seems genuinely troubled by her position).

Then little stuff like this New Batman makes the comic-book-y fan inside me feel pretty giddy, I really liked that introduction with that little comment at the end.

My only criticisms are that the vampires dialogue seems a bit too... Flowery? They were always smug but I don't remember them being so pompous - They sounded like Targaryens and Hightowers on a meeting. Also, the ending... I'm of two minds with it honestly, while I get the story prides itself on its "no one is safe" writing style like many dark fantasy series, killing Babs so early (if she's dead) would feel a bit like a waste, specially because Ollie and Dinah's conversation hinted at an interesting conflict due to her...

I admit I wouldn't want to be in writer's position, as I wouldn't know how to balance the story having consequences with the perceived notion that you're wasting potential characters if you kill them, but I think it risks becoming something of a crutch if you mostly kill characters left and right (the scene itself tho, was good).

All in all, pretty good, I'm still a big fan of this universe.
more

Good start. Quick pacing but not in a negative way. Like the detail of focusing on the KC counterparts of characters that have appeared through the WF's book, helps it feel anchored.

Mora was a beast in this one.

This run is at its best when it focuses on the relationship between Lex and CLark, and this issue delivered :D

So uh, this kind of completely deflated all of sudden. The characrer work is strong but the resolution to the plot too rushed adn Deus Ex Machina-ish.

I originally read this when the trade came out, in one go, and enjoyed it a lot. Having re-read it in tandem with the second part, it's still awesome.

Tense and surprisingly fun, its best asset is the ability to both keep you guessing and built up a bigger story as it goes on. You can go back to the very beginning to see the seeds of the themes of the story and it's a book that isn't afraid to actually incorporate elements of another genre (in this case, vampire fiction) into its own story.

Highly recommended. more

Faster-paced than the first, but still very good. Clark's relationship with Lex and Mercy is the highlight here, the story is very simple, but the tone reminds me of Superman The Animated Series and it's cool to see him navigate a situation in full-on having to use his powers with creativity.

A pretty good start.