Summary: A serial killer is on the loose, and while the murder victims seem random the clues draw Batman to linking them to...Bruce Wayne!?
Plot: I've been a big fan of Granpa's rough, sketchy art in the past so I was really excited to get my hands on this when it was announced...but now that it's finally here I have pretty mixed feeling. While I did love the overall noir mood and the actual detective work we saw Batman do on the page here there were far more elements that I really detested as well. For one I've never had a fondness for the plot idea that Batman needs to get rid of his public Bruce Wayne "persona" in order to be a better hero, Batman and Bruce Wayne are one and the same and both sides are important pieces of the story so it just shows a drastic misunderstanding on the writer's part if he thinks one is more important than the other. And even if the plot develops in a way to show us that Bruce growing as a person and seeing that trying to stop being Bruce Wayne is a bad decision it doesn't help much as we've seen that story before and there isn't a lot of room to do to much different with that. On top of that Batman interior dialog is pretty unhinged at times, I honestly thought we were getting the villain's view on things at the opening of the book but nope it was Batman's which just felt so out of character. There were some other bright moments, I really liked the characterization of Alfred and how he's trying to convince Bruce not to loose his public identity, the interactions with Gordon were fun and the new villain Crytoon not only had a cool visual look but his style being to mimic a deranged cartoon character was entertaining. So all in all while definitely not my favorite take on Batman there's enough (just barely) to make me want to keep reading.
Art: To start with I'll say this: Rafael Grampa's style is definitely an acquired taste and your enjoyment of this book is largely going to be swayed by how much you enjoy(or don't) his unique visual style. He has a rough, sketchy style that is at times reminiscent of Paul Pope and his figures have a doughy look to them that feels inspired by Frank Quietly but he's like both of them set to Eleven. It's darker and grittier than Pope or Quietly ever were and there's a level of graphic violence that makes even me kind of squeamish at times...but for me I still love it. There's a fun energy to the action that is fun to see and the emotions on the characters faces are easy to read. So even though I have misgivings about the story the art kind of makes up for it.

Grade:7/10 

Summary: Batman aides Superman in his battle against Jax-ur from deep inside the Phantom Zone but there is more than meets the eye.
Plot: This re-imagining of the first meeting of the Worlds Finest wraps up in this issue as we learn that Jax-Ur was behind the mysterious disappearances that brought Superman and Batman together. And while the quick pacing and conclusion of the story definitely gave it a fun silver age team up feel but I was slightly disappointed that it in the end the story felt more concerned with setting up a future villain for a story in a book yet to even come out yet. And while I definitely like that we're seeing a fun and under utilized bronze age villain return, it just felt like it took too much of the spotlight away from Batman and Superman's first meeting. I know, I said last time that I didn't think we needed yet another retelling of their first meeting but if you're going to do it I want it to feel suitably special and this just didn't.  
Art: Moore certainly is Dan Mora but he has a suitably cartoony look that made the action feel like a fun Saturday morning cartoon which is really what this book is all about.
Grade:7.5/10

Summary: The origin of how Groot became Grootfall is finally revealed and the Guardians of the Galaxy...die!?
Plot: After the serious highpoint that was the last issue there was bound to be a fall...and this was it. This wasn't a bad issue, it finally gave us the story of how Groot became the planet eating Grootfall and it was believable: Groot's whole world was turned into a cinder by forces unknown and with her dying breath Granopy the all mother of Planet X gave Groot her godlike powers and coupled with his grief he apparently went mad. However, as it was told in a non-linear series of detached flash backs from each of the Guardians it lacked a real sense of punch that it would have had if it was just given to us straight. That said, a lot of how I'll actually feel about this issue will depend on how things move forward; it could be an appropriately calm moment between big events or it could read as pointless filler, it all depends on what happens now that the Guardians are apparently dead and Grootfall has eaten the whole star system and possibly merged with the memories of his friends? Kelly and Lanzing have done it before so they definitely have me hoping they can stick the landing.
Art: Further giving this issue a detached feeling is the fact that it has a fill in art team. They're not bad but the style is definitely very noticeably different which makes you feel almost like it's a different title rather than a continuation from the previous issue. All and all it's a weird chapter and I hope it improves again.
Grade:7/10