Scott Snyder: writer
Greg Capullo: penciller
Danny Miki: inker
James Tynion IV: writer - backup
Alex Maleev: artist - backup
Solicitation and Preview
Review
Well, this is awkward. The backup was a more interesting read than the main story.
Let's face it, once Clayface is introduced in a story where you have an introduction with Bruce Wayne robbing a bank, I think we know where this story is headed.
The only aspect part of the first part of the issue was the meeting of Reaper. Reaper seems like a throwback to a 90s style of villain with the giant scythes attached to his forearms and the armoured chest plating. It isn't necessarily a bad look, but usually characters with this specific type of look usually only look good under the original artist's work. Under anyone else and it begins to look...troublesome.
I find it odd that Clayface is a shape shifter who generally stays in his muddy form rather than constantly being someone else. What is up with that?
I do have a small gripe with wanting to put a timeline to the Bat-books. The flashback to Damian being around six days prior to this story really feels too soon considering that we don't know the punishment that Bruce took or what happened towards the end of Batman Incorporated. I find it surprising that even in death, Damian eschews the Bat-timeline just as he did when he was ten and walking around in a five year old DC universe.
Now the second story has me very much more intrigued than the first. This is a meeting of Superman and Batman post Damian's death. This is the first time I think that Superman has appeared in the pages of a Bat-book post New 52, and it is interesting to see.
My first impression is that this doesn't feel like an over bearing, all seeing Superman from the previous DC universe. points for that. The second is that magic and the supernatural seem to be more of a weakness than kryptonite, which is another interesting aspect seen here. I don't know how explored this concept has been done in the Superman books, but I like it here. This story is set up perfectly to find something mystical that challenges both Batman and Superman and puts them both in a vulnerable spot.
I'm actually surprised. Most of the stuff Tynion has wrote in these backups in previous issues never really seemed to thrill me much when he wrote it alone. This is actually something I'm looking forward to reading more so than the main story. That is a job well done.
Grades
Words: 7/10 - a good split between the 6 of the first part and more of an 8 for the second part.
Pictures: 9/10 - I love both of Capullo's work and Maleev's use of light. Well done by both artists.
General Feeling After Reading: Intrigued, but not until the very end.
Buy Next Issue: I'm down.
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