The tendency with any Batman-related crossover these days is for one writer to tell the actual story and all the other writers to be saddled with pointless, superfluous tie-ins. Death of the Family is proving to be no exception so far. Suicide Squad #14 has more direct connection to the event than the first issues of Batgirl or Catwoman did, but it still does a poor job of either adding something meaningful to Death of the Family or furthering its own plot threads.

This issue is bookended with Harley Quinn-centric scenes as Adam Glass explains what happened to her immediately before and after her appearance in Batman #13. If that information sounds inconsequential, that's because it is. Glass doesn't add anything new to the Joker/Harley relationship during their interaction besides re-establishing Mister J as very much the abusive husband. In between these scenes, the script visits each surviving member of the Squad in turn, providing a brief status quo update following their recent battle with Regulus.

With the issue neither adding much toe the Death of the Family equation nor doing anything at all to further the books other plot threads, the series is stuck merely spinning its wheels. Glass has to almost bend over backwards to justify why Waller wouldn't retaliate against Joker for his attack early in the issue. For all these reasons, a more fleshed out standalone issue focused squarely on Harley might have been the better option.

Fernando Dagnino's art is generally solid, with plenty of moody, shadowy visuals that fit the somber tone of this post-battle installment. The one element that stands out is Harley's choice of funeral attire. It seems she now dresses like a Suicide Girl no matter the occasion, and her revealing dress manages to rob the funeral of whatever emotional weight it might have had.

Jesse is a writer for various IGN channels. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter, or Kicksplode on MyIGN.

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Detective Comics fills a niche right now as a Batman book that allows itself to be more free and more fun than the others. The tone of the series under new writer John Layman is not unlike Batman: The Animated Series, with its copious assortment of iconic Bat villains and a tone that isn't too dark or too comedic. It isn't ambitious or ground-breaking, but it achieves what it sets out to accomplish.

Though Penguin's quest for legitimacy is still the overarching focus of Layman' first arc, Poison Ivy hogs more of the spotlight. Layman attempts to fit his issue into the confines of the other at books, referencing both Scott Snyder's Death of the Family material and Ivy's recent defection from the Birds of Prey. Unsurprisingly, this continuity wrangling does nothing to actually serve the story, and I wish Layman could maintain a more continuity-light and editorial caption-free approach. The interaction between Bruce and Damian also seems odd and unnatural, partly because of the pointless references to other books, but also just because of the odd tenor of Damian's dialogue. But eventually the script shakes free of these shackles and focuses on the conflict at hand. Layman adds further spice to history with a surprise revelation at the end, one that is effectively fleshed out immediately after in the backup feature.

Both Jason Fabok and Andy Clarke provide attractive visuals to round out the solid script. Fabok's art play like a looser but still impressively detailed version of David Finch's style. Clarke's intricate line-work and moody panels stand out equally well. My only complaint is that Fabok's depiction of Poison Ivy's already underwhelming new costume is a bit weak compared to Clarke's.

I won't say that if you only read one Bat-book, to make it Detective Comics. It isn't the strongest of that pack by any stretch. But it still has its definite strengths, and when it isn't forced to reference pointless bits of continuity, it succeeds at offering a nice standalone adventure with plenty of familiar faces.

Jesse is a writer for various IGN channels. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter, or Kicksplode on MyIGN.

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Batman and Spider-Man are all well and good, but a superhero is only as strong as their villains. Fortunately for these two, Kotobukiya is prepping a pair of villainous statues that should complement recent Batman and Spider-Man releases very nicely.

This week, Koto released official images of their new Venom Fine Art statue, which had been seen in prototype form at SDCC this past summer. The statue has since received a new head sculpt and a new title - Venom Unbound.

Like all Fine Art statues, Venom Unbound is made of polystone and is designed at 1:6 scale. The statue measures about 10-inches tall and is designed to complement the recently released Spider-Man Unleashed statue. Both pieces were sculpted by Erick Sosa.

Venom Unbound is scheduled for release in June 2013. No price has been revealed yet, though we expect a price tag similar to Spider-Man's $209.99 MSRP.

Not to be outdone, Joker is returning to the Koto fold for his third statue following the original Jim Lee-inspired ArtFX statue and the recent Dark Knight Returns: Batman vs. Joker ArtFX statue. The new piece will again be in the ArtFX format and again be based on the work of a popular Batman artist - in this case Brian Bolland.

The new statue is pulled directly from the cover of the graphic novel Batman: The Killing Joke. Like the Iron Man Mark VII statue from earlier this summer, the statue also features a motion-sensing light-up function. When activated, the statue will play a camera shutter sound and turn on the spotlight.

Joker too is designed at 1:6 scale and measures about 11-inches tall. Unlike Venom Unbound, this piece is constructed of vinyl material. The piece was sculpted by Junnosuke Abe.

The Killing Joke: The Joker ArtFX Statue is scheduled for release in May 2013 and is priced at $129.99.

Jesse is a writer for various IGN channels. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter, or Kicksplode on MyIGN.

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Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has set a release date for Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Part 2.

Batman-on-Film reports that the finale will hit Blu-ray, DVD and digital download on January 29, 2013.

Gotham Knights Online has also posted the box art for the release:

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Director Christopher Nolan has long cited the classic James Bond films as an influence on his Batman trilogy, and now it appears Nolan's Batman has influenced James Bond.

In an interview with The Playlist, Skyfall director Sam Mendes said he was "directly inspired" by Nolan's work on The Dark Knight. "In terms of what [Nolan] achieved, specifically The Dark Knight, the second movie, what it achieved, which is something exceptional. It was a game changer for everybody," said Mendes.

The filmmaker added "it would be a tragedy if all the serious movies were very small and all the popcorn movies were very big and have nothing to say. And what Nolan proved was that you can make a huge movie that is thrilling and entertaining and has a lot to say about the world we live in, even if, in the case with The Dark Knight, it’s not even set in our world."

"It felt like a movie that was about our world post-9/11 and played on our fears and discussed our fears and why they existed and I thought that was incredibly brave and interesting. That did help give me the confidence to take this movie in directions that, without The Dark Knight, might not have been possible," said Mendes. "Because also, people go, ‘Wow, that’s pretty dark,’ but then you can point to Dark Knight and go ‘Look at that – that’s a darker movie, and it took in a gazillion dollars!’ That’s very helpful. There’s also that thing – it’s clearly possible to make a dark movie that people want to see."

Thanks to MI6 for the heads-up!

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