PROS:

-The characters of Harper and Cullen Row are a nice addition to the Bat family. Hopefully Snyder and/or Tynion using them more in the coming issues because they have a chemistry you rarely see in comics these days. (FF would be the only brother/sister combo that is executed just as good.) While I could call this a ‘filler’ issue, Snyder and Tynion writes a pretty good introduction to these guys. Harper is a unique character that isn’t annoying or used just as a plot device. She’s got brains and for once, someone figuring out Batman’s M.O. isn’t groan worth. Cullen also doesn’t fit the mold of usual, stereotypical homosexual characters. Nice to see these guys didn’t go for the obvious with Cullen (unlike some other DC/Marvel writers recently).

-Becky Cloonan was a perfect fit for this issue! As much as I love Greg Capullo it is obvious that his style would not fit with this story. Her design of Harper, even though she was co-created by Capullo, fits naturally with her style. When you get into some action, it’s good that Andy Clarke comes in because I don’t know if Cloonan’s style would work with the boat chase at the end. (But I’d love to see her draw a tiger!) Just a nice balance of artists in this issue for a seemingly ‘normal’ issue when it comes to Batman. I’m sorry if I am being a bit vague on my love for both artists, but you don’t see them often on Batman so it’s hard to say why they were great in their respected roles. Trust me though, the art in here was gorgeous.

CONS:

-I don’t want to dismiss James Tynion because his work, so far, have been great. When we get to his sequence with Clarke he does a nice job keeping the tone and writing style of the previous pages into the ending. But it begs the question: Why did he have to do any of this considering this takes place literally seconds after the previous page? It’s not like this is a separate story involving Harper. It’s the same setting in the same situation. Again I’m not judging Tynion’s writing because it’s great ending for a great issue. But why the need for a split in writers is puzzling me.

CONCLUSION:

-While you can say this is a filler issue (and it is) it is pretty damn enjoyable to really care about it. This is a story you normally don’t see out of Snyder. Cause it’s actually emotional and doesn’t have a disturbing angle to it! (I kid Scott…) Seriously though, this was a touching issue and a nice origin story for these new characters. Add in some gorgeous art by Cloonan and Clarke and you got yet another great issue of Batman.