This is it. The big one. I'm not sure if I can say more than what has already been said in online reviews, so I'll stick with my gut reaction. I loved every page. Snyder and Capullo have created a masterwork with this comic. The writing is haunting and unnerving, the panel compositions are hypnotic, and the image of an exhausted, frightened Batman struggling to come to grips with his surroundings was captivating. By the time the now infamous page-flip happened, I was completely drawn in to this world, and felt as disoriented as Batman. Suddenly, I was reading a comic upside down, as bewildered as Batman was. And, when the second big twist came at the end, it was a gut-punch. But the chaos here was so controlled - the panels presented to 
achieve certain effects and the sudden scene shifts as Batman hallucinates expertly presented for maximum effect. They ramp up when the book flips, mirroring Batman's state of mind as the reader struggles to keep up. There isn't so much a story here as a tale of Batman struggling to stay afloat through the maze of torments that the Court of Owls has put him through. There are two brief framing scenes, and the rest of the issue takes place in the maze. Those framing scenes don't take away from the rest of the issue at all. They add a layer of humanity to Batman's disappearance. Commissioner Gordon and Damian Wayne's insistence that the Bat Signal gives people hope is touching. Batman's journey through the maze is hard to comment on. It continues the story Snyder has been building. Whereas before, Bruce adamantly denied the existence of the Court, now, faced with their existence, he finds other things to deny, constructing his own explanations for the horrors they are showing him in order to stay somewhat in control of his situation. It's a harrowing portrait of the consummate hero, able to stand up to anything, worn down, physically, and mentally, to nothing. Batman's journey through the maze takes the hero through a number of disturbing rooms and visuals, and the narrative jumps suddenly, mirroring his mental state. It's fantastically well done. Capullo produces some stunning visuals. The barest hint of cartooniness to his style is the secret ingredient. It brings just the slightest exaggeration to his work, from Batman's impossibly large, bedraggled cape to the minor excesses in Batman's dwindling physical state and the vividness of the final attack. His unique style brings an edge to the visuals. That's to say nothing of the setting itself, bathed in haunting whites by FCO. The setting is less a maze and more a series of disturbing, impossibly large rooms, one after another, where even a series of framed pictures looks disturbing. The white really helps. Instead of bathing the issue in shadows, the setting are presented to us in stark whites, adding an unusual feeling of terror to the book. Even Batman's costume, wearing away after a week, is an odd white shade that is very effective. Altogether, an outstanding piece of work. This is a very special comic, but it's really just one shining piece in a run that has been uniformly excellent.
DC Universe Presents#5 – Paul Jenkins/Bernard Chang
Jenkins wraps up the five part Deadman story with an issue that unfortunately loses its sure hand at the end. The opening two-thirds of this issue continue the philosophical discussions at the story's core. But once Deadman resolves his dispute with Rama, Jenkins moves to wrap up the wounded veteran's story, and it doesn't quite come together. The Deadman story is thankfully up to the quality of earlier issues. Jenkins has lead Deadman down a path of self-discovery. He has grown in courage to be able to
even ask the questions about the purpose of his existence. Here, he confronts Rama about the journey she has set him on and how long it must continue. Their conversation builds on last issue's existential dialogues, leading Deadman to ask the important questions about his life. It's compelling stuff, bringing Deadman's character arc full circle in his quest for some measure of understanding and independence. I knew nothing about this character going in, and Jenkins has proven that beneath his power set lay the potential for interesting questions about the nature of his heroism and the impact he has on the lives of others, as well as the purpose of his own life. It's been an interesting story, and I'm glad to have read it. That said, the story then has Johnny, the wounded soldier Deadman is currently possessing, attack the arms dealers we barely met last issue to get his own closure. I get the ideas Jenkins is going for here, but this isn't the best way to get there. The arms dealers are a hastily introduced plot device and Johnny's heroic mission is out of step with this story's thoughtful tone. Jenkins is able to wrap it up with a nice monologue, but this resolution is still out of step with the rest of the five-part story. Chang's art is up to its usual standards of quality, bringing life and expression to mystical characters in his trademark blocky style. I just wish this story had stuck to its unusual, talky roots right up until the end. As it stands, the final scenes don't ruin the story, but they don't quite sync up with the type of story Jenkins had been telling.
Birds of Prey#5 – Duane Swierczynski/Jesus Saiz, Javier Pina
Swierczynki takes a bit of a break here, but in a good way. The frenetic action of the earlier issues is stripped back. The issue has the Birds recuperating in the wake of a fight where one member is missing, injuries have been healed, and no one can quite remember what has happened. This title definitely needed the space to breathe and get to know these characters better, 
but having it happen under this fog and haze of uncertainty lends and air of doom to the proceedings. Swierczynski is successful in creating this tone through the script, as each of the Birds struggles with how exactly they have awoken, in perfect condition, in the middle of a street after last issue's battle. The character building scenes that result are top notch stuff. Poison Ivy is embroiled in some nefarious scheme, possibly connected to her membership in the team, and its nicely set up. Black Canary and Katana get a scene that finally humanizes the latter, showing her reaching out for companionship with her teammates. The dialogue is fun, but also does a good job developing these characters. Battle-hardened and weary, Black Canary is showing cracks that reveal her true self. Batgirl is put to interesting use here. Obviously, she is the missing link who disappeared after last issue's battle. Yet, here, she remembers nothing. She's a good addition to the book, skeptical of the team and playfully sparring with Canary. Starling gets a lot of focus, with hints about her personal life and her thoughts on her role in the team. As the only new character in this book, she remains a vibrant and compelling one. The wider plot is still going on here, with a minor skirmish at the start and bigger revelations at the end, leading to a cliffhanger for Starling. As usual, the plot itself is good stuff, but is overshadowed by the pace, tone, and energy of the proceedings. Even in a breather issue, that remains true, and Swierczynski flips through the various characters' personal lives at a good clip, giving us enough to get drawn into their respective stories. Saiz provides layouts here, with Javier Pina finishing his pencils. Saiz' strong page designs and attractive figures shine through as usual, but I won't deny they lose a bit of their lush fullness under Pina's finishes. It's still a strong-looking comic, just not as polished as when Saiz provides full art. It's another strong issue for this title. Swierczynski changes up the focus and gets worthwhile material out of his cast members as a result. One last thing - can this please be the end of these awful David Finch covers?
Wonder Woman#5 – Brian Azzarello/Tony Akins
Brian Azzarello continues to redefine the world of Greek mythology Wonder Woman operates in, and this issue is his strongest statement on that yet, as the big story starts to reveal itself. Not only is Zeus Diana's father, but he has disappeared, and a fight for his kingdom is about to break out. This issue thrusts the action into this story with the same commanding confidence and strong voice Azzarello has brought to the book so far. Like much of his run, the concept is simple. But
Azzarello commits to playing it on a godly scale, with a variety of godlike beings weighing in on it and the stakes presented as Earth-shattering. It completely works in the tone Azzarello has developed for this book. There's sinister messengers, dire prophecies, and age old grudges at play here, and the proceedings feel suitably epic. At the centre of this is the trio of Diana, Hermes and Zola, struggling to accept their role in the conflict. Azzarello keeps their interaction playful, providing a nice counterpoint to the rest of the action. Zola and Diana, in particular, are developing a friendly banter and a caring relationship that really humanizes the latter character. I also like Diana's struggle to accept her new family. Through her words and hesitant actions, she is still coming to grips with not only the fact that Zeus is her father, but that she has such a perverse, evil family lineage because of that. The confrontation with Poseidon is a wonderful scene, where Diana must confront her new uncle about her father's disappearance. It comes to life thanks to Tony Akin's portrayal of Poseidon as a giant, lumbering sea creature. I was excited to have Akins on a guest penciller. I loved his work on Jack of Fables, and thought his playful qualities would work well on an aquatic issue like this. His design for Poseidon is sublime and he captures the other creatures equally well. His style is in keeping with the look Cliff Chiang has developed for the book, but with a bit more quirk to the facial expressions, which suits the fun and banter of some of the scenes here. Overall, it's another stellar issue of this title, which takes Azzarello's direction for the book into the next phase of the plot with its usual strengths in writing and art.
Uncanny X-Men#5 – Kieron Gillen/Greg Land
I'll give Gillen credit: This is one of the better issues since this book relaunched. Similar to last week's Wolverine and the X-Men, this one is seeped in events from Uncanny X-Force. The entire conflict spins out of it and much of the material surrounding Psylocke comes from her role in that title. I know the broad strokes of what has been going on in that book, so I could follow things pretty well, with the exception of a couple moments. In general, there's enough background 
given here that non-readers of that title should be fine getting through this. The Tabula Rasa conflict is a fine idea for a story. It is a bit disconnected from the X-Men (only because all of them except Magneto don't know X-Force exists, so this isn't a personal mission for them like it is for Psylocke), but it works as a good starting point. There's the potential for some great visuals in it. One page even has Colossus comment on how beautiful it is. Unfortunately, this is accompanied by some muddy tracing by Greg Land. Gillen seems to recognize that the bloated cast of this book have mostly been ciphers. So he has the team split up into pairs here for some potential characterization. He's partly successful in this. The Colossus/Illyana scene is great. Their relationship has been ignored since #1, and there is a lot to it in its current form, which Gillen nicely delves into. Psylocke and Magneto get a strong scene as well, discussing her complicity in creating Tabula Rasa. On the flip side, Namor and Hope get some forced banter and Storm makes things uncomfortable with Scott when she casually mentions the Beast's name. That scene had the subtlety of a sack of manure, and was a ham-fisted attempt to remind us of Schism. Thanks, but I'd rather forget about it. Still, Gillen is putting some effort into this cast, and I can appreciate that. Meanwhile, in more non-subtle territory, the build-up to Avengers vs. X-Men begins with a scene straight out of Matt Fraction's terrible Uncanny run. Captain America tells Cyclops that the press are trying to present the X-Men and the Avengers as at odds with each other. Um, since when? Is this going to be another forced, contrived conflict, like the aforementioned Schism? Who cares, I've already decided I'm not reading it. But that scene was painful. So it's a mixed bag. The book still feels impersonal and cold, and the inhuman Greg Land art doesn't help that. But there is a genuine effort made with some of the characters here and the story is just fine. Not completely successful, but certainly a better issue than most for this struggling title.
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