Hearing that this book is going to change creative teams so soon really did depress me. I mean here we have yet another amazing issue by Peter Tomasi and Patrick Gleason and it’s only going to be around for one more issue. (For the time being anyways) Would it be bold to say that these two issues by Tomasi and Gleason are just as amazing as the first two issues by Morrison and Gleason? Yes….yes it would. But it would be correct.

Peter Tomasi just gets the dynamics of these two so perfectly. Their banter seems natural and it can be genuinely funny. I’ll even admit that there is a twitter joke in here I laugh at when, normally, I groan at the reference. Damian might not be exactly like how Grant Morrison depicted it, but to me this is how a kid should act like (even if he was raised by ninja’s). He’s still a brat, but he seems to be growing up like a normal kid would. What’s the harm in that depiction? Plus the ongoing threat of this White Knight character is really interesting for me. This guy is creepy as hell to look at (more on that in a sec) but his plot of killing all of Arkham inmates family members is a great idea I haven’t seen done before. Unlike Paul Cornell’s attempt at a new villain with The Absence, Tomasi hooks me in with the White Knight quite easily.

If Patrick Gleason doesn’t get an Eisner nod for this arc I will be angry (more so than usual). I cannot find a single thing wrong in each page or panel; it’s all breathtakingly gorgeous. It doesn’t matter if it is a big action sequence or Dick/Damian doing some detective work; it all looks amazing. You have the White Knight, who is literally just a coloring effect, but you get the sense of creepiness and disturbia just by looking at him. (I think it’s the eyes that Gleason draws for him) How characters react in certain situations are well done too. Damian getting bored about the pigeon history in Gotham made the joke work even more so. Also, little touches in the details like White Knight’s various wooden carvings, or the blood dripping on Gordon’s face really makes you appreciate the work here. Finally, props should go to Mick Gray and Alex Sinclair for inking and coloring this to make it stand out even more. Gleason’s pencils are gorgeous on it’s own; but their work really makes it stand out even more so.

Two issues straight I have made this new run on the series my Pick of the Week. Knowning that it’s all going to end for a while after next month makes it even more sad to think. Peter Tomasi and Patrick Gleason just ‘gets it’ or to keep it topical, they are ‘winning’ with this book. The story is engaging, the character interactions work incredibly well, and you got some amazing artwork in this. At the end of the day, Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely’s run still might be the best representation on this series to date. But you know what? Tomasi and Gleason run, so far, is a very close second…..I mean VERY close second.