New Comics! (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Detective Comics #4:  I know I sound like a broken record, but, as usual, I end a Tony Daniel story more confused than I was when I started, and not in a good way.  First, I don't really see why Daniel started this issue with the scene of Batman interrogating an informant 72 minutes before the main events of the issue.  Given that I couldn't even remember where we left matters last issue, trying to place this scene within the story's continuum resulted in me starting off this issue confused and frustrated.  (What happened 75 minutes ago?  20 minutes ago?  5 minutes ago?)  The "main event," as the title says, is OK:  Dollmaker has Batman "perform" for buyers interested in buying his body to prove that it's really him.  But, I was pretty sure that Dollmaker was originally just trying to get revenge on Commissioner Gordon for killing his father.  So, why did he change his focus to  Batman?  I think we're supposed to believe Gordon was just the bait, but last issue made it pretty clear that Dollmaker wanted revenge on Gordon.  But, as they're escaping the hospital, Dollmaker orders his crew just to kill Gordon.  Isn't that kind of odd?  I mean, his motivation in theory was to get revenge on him, but he just orders a hasty murder that he himself doesn't "get" to commit?  It implies the motivation was selling Batman in the first place, but Daniel doesn't say that.  Are we supposed to assume that he kidnapped Gordon because Batman would be led to believe that he did so just for revenge and thus fall into the trap?  But, that assumes that Dollmaker knew Batman would ascertain his identity, which brings me to my main complaint from last issue, which is that Batman did so with no explanation of how.  As you can see, to my mind, it all just winds up muddled.  Moreover, Daniel also doesn't wrap up other dangling plot points.  We never really discover who Olivia is or how she got involved with Dollmarker in the first place and we end the issue with the Joker's "mask" still hanging in police HQ with no info whatsoever on what he's doing.  After feeling the same way about pretty much every one of Daniel's arcs on "Batman," I've come to conclusion that I need to cut my losses and cancel this title. Six Bat-family books should be enough to keep me entertained. 

Dungeons & Dragons #13:  This issue is, without a doubt, the most fun I've ever had reading a comic book.  I started trying to keep note of the witty banter, to prove just how funny it is.  But, part of what makes Rogers so brilliant is that the banter isn't just funny in and of itself, but it's hilarious if you've been reading this series for a while and understand the relationships between the characters.  Rogers also seems to be tightening up his storytelling.  In previous arcs, I was occasionally confused by some of the smaller points of the plot.  But, this arc has been remarkably tight, with every scene flowing from the previous one.  Along with "X-Factor" and possibly "Batman," this series is the best written comic I read every month, and you should be reading it.  (I'm now going to go read it again.)

X-Factor #228:  Peter David is just so freaking good.  This issue was amazing.  For the first time, it dawned on me that Madrox may actually wind up dead -- or something approaching dead that would keep him from being in the title for a few years so that Alex can conveniently return from space in time to take over the agency.  The revelation to the rest of the team that Layla resurrected Guido was just so well done.  I feel like David really excels at the pacing of these stories.  Some authors (or editors) would've turned this secret into the "Clone Saga" and we would've spent the next two years screaming to the book in our hands, "OMG, he doesn't have a soul!  Are you people stupid?"  Instead, David has built the tension over the last several issues, only to have it explode here as Layla considers resurrecting Jamie.  I like that David provided a specific reason for why the rest of the team had to learn the secret.  But, we can't exactly count out Jamie yet, since we end this issue again with the scene of him (or some version of him) staring at the dead bodies of some version of himself and Layla.  It's pretty clear David has something up his sleeve.  Moreover, as if all these twists and turns weren't enough, David allowed Hangman to have his moment, to be the hero, inspired to be so by his son.  I have absolutely no idea how David writes a cast this big and gives everyone his or her moment, given that so many authors with huge rosters (I'm not even going to pretend I'm not looking at you, Bendis) wind up ignoring half the team.  Instead, even the secondary villain gets a moment.  Awesome.  I even got past my annoyance over how chatty and hip Bloodbath was, because I eventually realized it's part of the way he tortures his victims.  All in all, this whole Hollywood arc has been awesome and I can't wait for its conclusion.