In one swift stroke, Marvel has concluded some of the most impressive superhero runs of the last decade. Ed Brubaker's 8-year stint on Captain America, Matt Fraction and Salvador Larroca's 4-year run on The Invincible Iron Man, Jonathan Hickman's mind-expanding work on Fantastic Four/FF, and Kieron Gillen's charming but all-too-brief turn on Journey Into Mystery. Luckily, most of these endings deliver in spades.
At DC, things get crazier in Batman Incorporated, I, Vampire continues to blow our minds, and Superman gets a status quo change by up and quitting the Daily Planet.
DC COMICS
All-Star Western #13
Written by Justin Gray & Jimmy Palmiotti | Art by Moritat
"All-Star Western is one of the standouts of the New 52 and deservedly so. It marries interesting dynamics between unique characters with exciting investigational storylines and potent visual storytelling. Or at least that’s what it usually does. Issue #13 focuses on a new threat emerging from Haly’s Circus, but it’s hard to feel excited when everything feels so familiar." -Poet
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Final Score:
6.1
Batman: The Dark Knight #13
Written by Gregg Hurwitz | Art by David Finch
"Gregg Hurwitz and David Finch return to their horror driven Scarecrow story and the results are pretty good. Batman: The Dark Knight #13 is an interesting read. It's not spectacular, but it's a dark book filled with some frightening images. Sure, this is the same ol' song and dance when it comes to Scarecrow, but it's done well. It's probably safe to say that Batman: The Dark Knight has finally become a Batman book worth reading. That, in itself, is a feat worth praising." -Ben
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Final Score:
7.5
Batman Incorporated #4
Written by Grant Morrison | Art by Chris Burnham
"If there is one thing that can be said about Grant Morrison's Batman, it is that it's like no other Batman book on the stands. Batman Inc. #4 is crazy, cartoony fun, mixed with just the right amount of drama and heft. This issue is heavy on the action and it's a seriously good time. Every other page, somebody is getting shot with an arrow (everyone is armed with a bow for some reason). All this and the ending still has a 'no freaking way' moment that'll have you flipping back through Morrison's run trying to connect the dots." -Ben
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Final Score:
8.8
The Flash #13
Written by Francis Manapul & Brian Buccellato | Art by Francis Manapul
"The thing that really snared me about this series when it started was the frenetic presentation. Reading it was like Wile E. Coyote trying to stay in control of a pair of rocket skates. Sadly, the introductions of King Grodd and the rest of Flash’s rogues’ gallery have bogged down this title substantially. In issue #13, this problem only worsens. Rather than drilling through one villain at a time, the reader’s attention is been diluted between the lot of them, leaving the book’s main character little more than a passenger along for the ride." -Poet
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Final Score:
6.2
I, Vampire #13
Written by Joshua Hale Fialkov | Art by Andrea Sorrentino
"This is how you change directions in a comic book, guys and ladies. After the nutty developments of issue #12, the story needed an excellent pivot to continue its spellbinding narrative. Happily, Joshua Hale Fialkov delivers an excellent story from the perspective of the newly directionless Mary Seward." -Poet
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Final Score:
9.4
Justice League Dark #13
Written by Jeff Lemire | Art by Mikel Janin & Victor Drujiniu
"Hang on to your dog Toto because by the end of Justice League Dark #13 you will most definitely not be in Kansas anymore. Meaning, rising star Jeff Lemire tosses expectations to the tornado wind and delivers a hard-hitting, house-smashing ride into the freaky magic part of the DC Universe. With the Books of Magic on the line, Lemire ups the stakes while smothering his story in enough crazy magic to make the Wicked Witch of the West jealous." -Joshua
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Final Score:
9.1
National Comics: Madame X #1
Written by Rob Williams | Art by Trevor Hairsine
"I honestly had no idea who Madame X was before cracking open this book, nor did I care. All I knew is that Cla$$war collaborators Rob Williams and Trevor Hairsine were the creative team on board and that was enough (if you’ve never read Clas$$war, seriously, peep it). Happily, I came away from this issue of National Comics with an excitement about this character and a familiar disappointment from the fact that I’m unsure of when, if ever, I’ll get to see her again." -Joey
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Final Score:
8.5
Red Lanterns #13
Written by Peter Milligan | Art by Miguel Sepulveda
"Red Lanterns hurts to read. Atrocitus proclaims his actions as he performs them and leaves little to be inferred or wondered about. The ultra-violence reaches an all-time high, making some of the pages hard to get through. For example, Atrocitus uses a dead body as a melee weapon. Why use that instead of, you know, his power ring? Don’t get me started. If one saving grace can be found, it lies in Miguel Sepulveda’s gorgeous artwork; I only wish his talents were being put to better use." -Joshua
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Final Score:
4.7
Superman #13
Written by Scott Lobdell | Art by Kenneth Rocafort
"The best thing I can say about Superman #13 is that new writer Scott Lobdell brings an undeniable new sense of light-heartedness to this issue, using fun captions to establish his settings and even giving Jimmy Olsen a fleeting moment in the sun of being a ladies man. Unfortunately, the title character feels all but absent from his own book, as we’re left with a Clark Kent that is hardly Clark Kent at all; more like Peter Parker jumping ship to DC and trying his hardest to fill Superman’s cape." -Joey
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Final Score:
5.0
Talon #1
Written by James Tynion IV & Scott Snyder | Art by Guillem March
"Court of the Owls was one of the best things to come out of the first year of DC’s New 52, so it only makes sense for this Talon spin-off series to become a reality. The story follows Calvin Rose, an ex-Talon who returns to Gotham after hearing how the Court was seemingly taken down by Batman. Written by Scott Snyder James Tynion IV, the series gets off to a good start, but only that." -Joshua
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Final Score:
7.1
Teen Titans #13
Written by Fabian Nicieza & Scott Lobdell | Art by Ale Garza
"To say I have had strong opinions about this new Teen Titans series is putting it lightly. Since the first issue, Teen Titans has been pretty awful. Sad, but true. So, imagine my surprise when I read Teen Titans #13 and thought that it was not half bad. In fact, it was mostly good. A good issue of Teen Titans! Crazier things have happened, I suppose, but at the moment I am having a hard time thinking of any." -Ben
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Final Score:
8.0
Source : ign[dot]com
