The characters are flat and 1D. The colors are insanely shiny constantly. I did like how much story they packed into this one issue. I did not enjoy the predictability of that story.

They're fighting alternate versions of themselves!? That's never been done before! And all of the characters (or should I call them 'husks'?) are entirely interchangeable anyway.

Still really shit. Why did Garth survive that magic-smash? It would have been a win-win situation. DC drops a boring character, the audience can see that the stakes are high. Then DC just doesn't revive him ever, and mentions him once in awhile. Dude's bones were literally glowing through his skin when that last cliffhanger hit. Now he's just 'a little cooked'? Lame. And I mean, I don't want senseless death. I just want to know that the writers really are willing to take risks and make these stories consequential, and that they aren't just writing because they're former big names who can sell books based on that.

Echoing another review I saw, this comic had some intensely drab colors. The writing was impersonal, seeing how not a single character was introduced until past halfway through. I kind of dig the idea, this is more a comic about relations between humans and all these diverse alien species rather than a constant firefight, 'aliens are bad'-type thing. But this first issue was ineffectual and uneven.

Let's hope something happens with these new freaky dudes next issue, and DC doesn't sit on the hands, as usual. I like the tying together this book does of history running back through Grant Morrison's own well-researched run. Some pretty cool sequences, like star Batman or demon Damians chewin' on owls. A useless Swamp Thing cameo. A bunch of hopping around from place-to-place with minimal explanation. And baby Darkseid? When did that lame shit happen, and why did Batman have easy access to him?

With every new issue, my eyes glaze over again. Pretty soon, my eyes will just be white. I'll have gone blind with boredom. It's all just semantics and dreams. Never a good call because nothing ends up happening in reality, something that has become the status quo in comic books. Black Mirror, then Court/City of Owls were such fresh, engaging storylines, and Snyder has mostly gone downhill since then. Though I did enjoy issues 6-8 of All-Star Batman (the finale, 9, was underwhelming). Metal, sadly, is mostly tepid crap, and I don't know why I keep reading. (And seriously, are all of those tie-ins necessary?). You tell a story when a story has to be told. This is all just wallet-milking.

Gorgeous, strong coloring by Andy Troy really separates the scenes well. Perkins tosses on some decent pencils. The plot is old, 'kung fu master is compelled to remote and mysterious island and tested. The stakes? His title! His life!?'. Not a strong story to pull out of the gates with.

*Spoilers* Sean Murphy has a sharp and moody art style. The faces for men and women are all very similar though. I couldn't tell the difference between Jack Napier, Bruce or Dick at times because Murphy doesn't go out of his way to make their faces distinctive. Murphy seems to be mistaking easter eggs for engaging content. Giving old characters a new spin isn't inherently interesting, like the Duke Thomas thing. Alfred's death was not effective because it was rushed and the audience wasn't given many details either about his ailment or his role in this elseworlds universe.

This is why most artists shouldn't write their own books. The plot is almost nonsense and has mostly been treading water for three issues.

The only thing redeeming this comic is the art, and that's just barely.

I like the concept, decent execution so far. The art's stylish, by the dude who drew 'Powers'. This issue was mostly introduction to the eye, the death of the wife, and the enigmatic company Cave works for. The back-ups are gorgeous, and knock the issue up a notch.

I don't know why I force myself to read this! The back-up is okay!

Still feels like this book is exploiting the success of Watchmen. The homages aren't very subtle either with the movie inside of a comic thing. The revival of The comedian seems purposeless so far, and I don't think they'll be coming up with a good reason.

The characters are lifeless. The story is not well-defined, but not in a Grant Morrison 'just-think-about-it', almost avant-garde way, but in a poor writing way. Millar obviously didn't flesh out his universe before he began to write, and is just figuring it all out now.

The plot is tenuous and bland, and seems to have a delusion of grandeur. JRJR's is above-average, the lips are weird and flat, but a few panels were candy. I don't know why I should care about this, and villains are tossed about like Snyder's a little boy, and he can't decide which action figure to play with. Copperhead and Cheshire appear for no reason. The dialogue was generally lame. I can't think of many positives story-wise. The coloring's very nice and a few of the nature shots are pretty.

Holy cow, I was expecting sub-par at best after that earlier drivel, but this is actually a chilly, atmospheric read. Snyder writes Mr. Freeze very well from what I've seen, and it seems like this could pan out to be one of Freeze's best stories, of the few there are.

I'm so glad I didn't quit this book after that first act. Wowie Zowie, tremendous art all around. Fantastic back-up too, that has been making me actually care about Duke for the first time.

The concept only makes sense, in the most violent city in the U.S., the retaliation of the good people may become just as aggressive. That's the gray of Gotham. It's a good crime-noir/superhero book, and it's heading in the right direction so far. I loved Batwoman's cursory noticing of Mother Panic in the sky, it grounded it in the universe and established that other Gotham characters could be making appearances in a darker book that's not afraid to take chances to tell a more present and affecting story.

Holy shit, Violet Paige is such a bad ass with an overwhelmingly original mouth! She breaks glass in her hands, and it doesn't hurt because she's totally bad ass. She says offbeat, fiery things about Batman... ON TELEVISION. Gather House was just introduced this issue, and apparently it already mattered so much to the readership, that in a climactic finish, this boarding school that we know little to nothing about is blown apart and she fights some dude who umm! S.o. b.a.d.a.s.s.

Safe art. Bland story. All tell, no show. Then there's the poor editing with Kroog's gender and some basic grammar issues.

I can see why people are having problems with the art. It's inconsistent, and characters don't seem to hold the same face from one panel to the next. I do like Pham's layouts, and the shapes of the faces are appealing. The characters were all unique, and didn't fall into May Sue-dom, which isn't easy to do with superheroes. Though, I guess that might be easier in a team book, because the differences and chemistry and heat between characters is key. The poetry reference is great and develops that inner battle of good and evil in Damian, y'know, the thing that makes him one of the best Batman-related characters.

Awkward pacing on this one. I liked the mirror thing a little. I wish Damian would've seen himself as his own Batman and not just a clone of his father, and I wish Ras' vision of Damian would've been more personalized too, and not just a clone of Ras. Some poor dialogue. Maybe I don't enjoy Pham's art as much as I'd thought. It's not very thoughtful, doesn't push the book any further than the expectation.

Why is this run so slow? Please, less action. Maybe it's what I should've expected from a Black Widow comic. I loved W and S's Daredevil, but I can't seem to get into this.

2 D-cumpresd 4 me. T o o D e c o m p r e s s e d f o r m e .

(Spoilers) I don't want Professor Pyg to just be like any other villain, which is the way it seemed at the end of the issue with his little cliffhanger. I wish writers would stop with the "villain mission statement" thing because it puts them into a box for at least the rest of the arc if not the next few years of stories. Pyg was vibrant, unique, and actually frightening when he first appeared. Then the callbacks to Nightwing history are pretty cool, and a lot of the DC comics seem to be doing that lately, like in Batman 15(?) when Catwoman and Batman have a minor dispute over the way they first met. I really hope these kind of things lead up to something, a major statement and doesn't fizzle out.

Why should the audience care about Shawn Tsang? She's been in one arc before this, and we were given a single issue synopsis of their entire relationship. Nightwing couldn't have possibly held up that falling statue from that angle.

A solid issue. I hope the first artist draws Detective more often.

Ooh, Batman's giving off a gummy grimace on the cover. Should be a good one. And it was good... compared to the last issue.

This would be a better issue if it had been drawn the whole way through by Maleev because Kubert feels far too cartoon-y for the issue's mournful tone. Also, Harper Row is a near useless character, and the only successful part of this issue's engagement with her was when she accidentally comforted Batman more than she could know with the word beginning with 'R' at the end of the issue.

The 'Ghost Light' portion is better than the Clayface portion by a lot.

Hit it and Quit It!

Very tightly executed. Great building of the father-daughter relationship. Deathstroke examines Batman, and the reader can see very well why each are such formidable foes in this universe. Meticulous writing.

Crazy brutal ending, which really solidified a chancing on the second issue for me. So many great questions about humanity already posed. Is our vanity worth the trouble that comes with it? Is it moral to evolve ourselves inorganically? A strong debut.

It was an interesting choice to jump ahead 200 years in the future. I can understand the reasoning though, the last issue was more of a preface, and here's where the story really lives. It's funny, the ubermensch people call themselves 'Numans', evoking the thought of Gary Numan in me, the emotionally removed electronic artist. A fitting connection.

Super funny stuff going on here. The great balance of action and world-building has me excited to read more.

The panel-to-panel storytelling fluidity isn't there, too many panels that seem detached from the panel before's action. Every character is the same; they're all quippy bastards. Some of those quips are funny and the art's alright, that's what the comic has going for it.

Meticulous world-building. I'm not sure why they chose that font. Maybe to humanize and ground these future people. Maybe not. It works for me.

Didn't expect that to be so cute and kind of hilarious.

FUN! I didn't mind the messiness of some of the drawings even, because it seems intentional, like it's admitting that it's a comic book.

It's all getting same-y. Nothing is happening really, and it's all sludged up pacing.

An incredible premiere. A diverse, well-fleshed out world already after 22 pages or so. Love the idea too, and it's all so clear and coherent and still impressively unique, unlike a lot of comics I've read lately.

A quality issue pointing toward good things. Some awkward pacing, like when the bot is awakened. Some clean art. I recognized most of the beats, and I hope the book goes forward with more surprise.

I expected not to like it based on my sneak-peeking, but it's some light-hearted, lo-fi, funny fun. The messy art is pretty great too, and I'm already warming up to it.

Gloomy, visceral art and storytelling. A quick read that I wish had a bit more meat to it, and not just the shredded in an aircraft motor kind of meat.

Somehow, Lemire has outdone himself with this issue. The art is excellent, moody, and entirely fitting all the time. The story is a super fresh take on superhero comics by actually focusing and fully integrating the character into the book, instead of slapping an ill-fitting, cookie-cutter story into the life of the character.

I go into most new series not expecting much, but this one has floored and genuinely shocked me so far. I love the complex weaving social issues, questioning race and faith. Nothing is black and white. Excellent art too with hard, matter-of-fact lines (really reminds me of Maleev and Lark on Daredevil) and then the demon-things drawn surrealistically like they're really breaking in to this established world. This is an incredible social horror book, and I'm impatiently awaiting the next issue, which somehow is the next-to-last book already(oh no!).

Ooh, spooky. I hope the Slippermen are a Genesis reference.

Fast-paced and shocking, like all good punk. But also tightly constructed and coherent, like post-punk.

This issue sparkles with godly energy. I love the clean, expressive art. Surprisingly great, and now I need to read the rest.