One Good Thing And One Bad Thing About Batman: The Widening Gyre #4

GOOD THING: Every scene of this book shows Smith's command of character and dialogue. It's hard to pick a favorite, but if pressed, I'd have to go with the flashback of Nightwing teaming up with Batman and The Outsiders... just to see Bruce being social with other heroes again.

BAD THING: Once you get past the brilliant dialogue and all the funny and sweet moments... there's really not a lot of plot here. Apart from one brief scene where Batman bonds with a new vigilante (who is more free with his secret identity than Bruce is comfortable with), a scene where Silver St. Cloud steals one of Bruce's private diaries and the sudden revelation that Selina has finally decided to push now that it has come to shove, regarding her feelings for Bruce.

The Final Verdict: There's really not much of a story here but you probably won't notice because the characters just come to life so well under Smith's pen. There's nothing connecting the various scenes and almost nothing save the relationships between the characters to tie things together based on what happened in the last issue. Still, if you're the sort of reader who loves the idea of Bruce Wayne being flirty or Nightwing checking up on his foster-father, you'll love this book.