Detective Comics #14 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

At first, the fight with Poison Ivy in this issue seems like a distraction, given that we ended this issue (and started this one) focused on Penguin's decision to wage war on Bruce Wayne (all in the name of charity, of course).  But, Layman actually pulls off the switch well, leaving you with a sense that you're actually witnessing the way that Batman would fight criminals in "real life," given that it's unlikely that all his enemies would present themselves sequentially in convenient five-issue arcs.  Bruce cautions Damian that Penguin is too clever to be attacked without planning and decides to focus his attention on the more immediate threat of Poison Ivy, who's ramped up her eco-terrorism in the wake of her departure from the Birds of Prey.  But, Layman doesn't totally ditch the Penguin sup-plot, given that the targets of Ivy's attacks are all polluting companies owned by none other than Oswald Cobblepot.  Although last issue was somewhat uneven, with Cobblepot's odd decision to upstage himself by assassinating Bruce Wayne at his moment of triumph over him, Layman seems to have a better lay of the land here.  His effort to inject a little humor into the series is also welcome.  After years of Tony Daniel, I have to be honest that it was just somewhat of a relief to encounter a villain with a plan that made sense and fit with her back story.  Onwards and upwards, hopefully.