Batman #38 [The New 52] - DC Comics

BATMAN No. 38, March 2015

Whilst there can be no doubt that Issue Thirty Eight of “Batman” starts out dynamically enough with its opening splash depicting the Dark Knight and Duke Thomas gliding past a frighteningly maniacal-looking mob of citizens who have congregated within “the centre of the oldest section of Gotham” City, Scott Snyder’s narrative for Part Four of “Endgame” disappointingly swiftly degenerates into an irrational mess within which a badly wounded Jim Gordon miraculously removes an axe transfixed in his sternum in order to chop up an unwary Caped Crusader, and Bruce Wayne’s alter-ego makes a mad dash through streets choked full of the Joker’s infected victims so as to endure a tediously nonsensical seven-page long confrontation with the utterly obscure Forties Jack Kirby villain, Crazy Quilt. As the book’s American author himself pens Paul Dekkar saying “Heh. Doesn’t feel like a Batman story anymore does it?”

This shambolic storytelling genuinely makes it hard to believe that the comic was “DC Comics” best-selling publication in January 2015 by over forty thousand copies. Although many of these 110,232 readers must have subsequently turned ashen with the realisation that they were witnessing the demise of “the World’s Greatest Detective” courtesy of a script which depicts “B-Man” aimlessly running through the collapsing remains of his burning metropolis without any plan because he doesn’t “know what to do.”

Sadly Snyder’s actual main plot premise is just as demoralizingly choppy as his anaemic portrayal of the titular character, and at times he genuinely appears to incorporate the most contrived of situations, such as the Dark Knight finding himself face-to-face with a heavily-armed tank complete with insane commander, simply to pad out the story a little bit more. Why else would the Goodreads Choice Awards-nominee require this book’s regular artist to draw a five-panel sequence inexplicably showing the Clown prince of Crime irrelevantly swimming underwater? Or later have Dekkar so gratingly 'wax lyrical' about his quest to identify “people who encountered the chemical [Dionesium] long ago and still walk among us”?

Perhaps entirely baffled and bewildered by such a seemingly random piece of wearisome writing, Greg Capullo’s pencilling is astonishingly poor in places considering the quality of the Schenectady-born illustrator’s previous strong work on the series. Albeit even his substandard renderings of homicidal Mohican-haired citizens and the half-naked Crazy Quilt aren’t anywhere near as unimpressive as Sam Kieth’s amateurish-looking sketching for this comic’s secondary feature “Heart”.

The "Flash 75th Anniversary" variant cover art of "BATMAN" No. 38 by Tony Daniel and Tomeu Morey

Batman #37 [The New 52] - DC Comics

BATMAN No. 37, February 2015

Despite having been described by “Comic Book Resources”, a “website dedicated to the coverage of comic book-related news and discussion”, as a magazine which “plays the game of blockbuster storytelling without fear”, the narrative to Issue Thirty Seven of “Batman” probably proved something of a confusing conundrum to its impressive 113,255 strong audience in December 2014. Certainly the “bestseller for DC Comics”, at least according to “Diamond Comic Distributors”, must have had the vast majority of its owners reaching for their copy of the previous “Endgame” instalment in order to determine whether they had inadvertently missed an edition somewhere.

For whilst Scott Snyder’s thirty-page thriller eventually returns to the tense, scarily sinister machinations of a hauntingly insane Clown Prince of Crime and his seemingly successful abduction of Commissioner Jim Gordon, the New Yorker’s storyline confusingly starts by depicting Bruce Wayne dramatically ‘waking’ in the Batcave having been dosed with “some kind of twilight anaesthetic” a considerable period after the story-arc’s previous publication ended on a nail-biting cliff-hanger. Such an incomprehensible ‘leap forward’ frustratingly fails to resolve just how the Dark Knight escaped his arch-nemesis' deadly firing piece and also annoyingly avoids the even more problematic predicament of the American author believably explaining the criminal psychopath’s apparent return from beyond the grave…

Admittedly the passage of time does allow the Eagle Award-winner to quickly place the Caped Crusader back in the thick of the action, as the vigilante attempts to brave the crazed lunatics crowding the corridors of Gotham Presbyterian hospital “to find the source of the [Joker's] infection”. But this predicament genuinely feels like a lazily contrived set of circumstances, designed to entertain rather than make any actual logical sense, and as a result proves something of a dissatisfying experience; especially when the Billionaire's alter-ego discovers a clearly manufactured theatrical death-trap within one of the wards.

An even worse reading experience however, is sadly this comic’s back-up feature “The First Laugh”, written by James Tynion IV and quite deplorably depicted by John McCrea. Focusing upon the “big ole goof” Morton, an escapee from Arkham Manor, this terrible tale tells of how the massive murderer started a killing spree in order to simply teach his fellow Gothamites that “laughing is like a disease” and portrays the Joker as some sort of malformed supernatural white-faced spectre who has supposedly survived being burnt “to ash all those years ago” rather than a mortal mastermind.

The variant cover art of "BATMAN" No. 37 by Andy Kubert and Brad Anderson

Batman #36 [The New 52] - DC Comics

BATMAN No. 36, January 2015

Initially dedicated to arguably “DC Comics” most requested confrontation before its narrative perceptibly darkens to depict the Caped Crusader at his deductive best, this second instalment of Scott Snyder’s “Endgame” genuinely seems to contain all the strengths of a “Batman” title and few of its weaknesses. For whilst it’s unclear just why a shockingly foul-mouthed Alfred is unwell and “not at full strength”, nor how Pennyworth happens to have come by an adolescent-looking daughter, this thirty-page periodical does contain the Dark Knight seriously smacking down Superman in a titanic tussle as well as the Joker at his most chillingly evil: “See Batssss, this time, no more games… No more jokes. I’m just here to close up shop!” In fact in many ways it is actually hard to understand just why so action-packed and sinisterly suspenseful a magazine didn’t manage to be the best-selling title of November 2014, at least according to “Diamond Comic Distributors”, and instead languished in third shifting 115,183 copies.

Admittedly few collectors could have anticipated the Goodreads Choice Award-nominee scripting such a scintillating scrap as the one Issue Thirty Six of “Batman” contains. The American author somehow manages to capture all the ingenuity and cunning of Bruce Wayne during his battle with Kal-El, as the Bat-Suit armoured vigilante repeatedly knocks his super-strong opponent to the ground courtesy of knuckles which contain “microscopic red suns”, counters the boy scout’s heat vision with “plasma shields” and finally overcomes Jerry Siegel’s co-creation due to “a butadiene-based synthetic rubber… laced with radioactive Kryptonian dust” which he simply spits in Superman’s eye.

Equally as enthralling however is the American author’s hauntingly claustrophobic portrayal of the titular character as he silently stalks Arkham Asylum “after the collapse” and discovers cell 0801 contains far more than fading memories, spider webs and entrapped flies. Indeed the New Yorker’s revelation that orderly “Mister Border” is actually the Clown Prince of Crime in disguise is extremely well-written and only spoilt by the fact that the Joker’s alter ego was already revealed in the “Arkham Manor” mini-series.

Disappointingly this comic’s secondary story “Saved” pales in comparison with such a cracking lead feature, especially as James Tynion IV and (legendary) artist Graham Nolan both fail to generate anything like the exhilaration of Snyder and Greg Capullo's masterpiece in the telling of their rather tired-looking eight-page tale. True, the Wisconsin-raised writer’s anecdote of a homicidal wife brutally murdering her family because she believed there was a chip “in their brains” is disconcertingly penned. But the artwork, whilst legible enough, simply doesn’t seem to suit so cheerlessly nefarious an adventure.

The variant cover art of "BATMAN" No. 36 by Andy Kubert

Batman #35 [The New 52] - DC Comics

BATMAN No. 35, December 2014

On the face of things it is not hard to see how Issue Thirty Five of “Batman” sold a staggering 118,860 copies in October 2014. Greg Capullo’s regular cover illustration alone promises that Scott Snyder’s interior “Endgame” narrative will involve the Dark Knight confronting perhaps his greatest and most exciting threat ever in the shape of the vigilante's fellow Justice League of America members… And any casual flick through the comic would certainly confirm such a mouth-watering slugfest actually takes place as Bruce Wayne “enact(s) plan ‘Fenrir’” and dons an incredibly impressive-looking armoured suit which has been specifically “designed for war. With the most powerful heroes on the planet.”

Indeed the opening half of this thirty-page periodical is dominated by the Caped Crusader outmanoeuvring Wonder Woman, the Flash and Aquaman by utilising a genuinely innovative array of devices such as powdered magnesium carbonate foam, frictionless coatings and the “bind of veils”; the latter being a relic “woven by Hephaestus in a moment of doubt” and “said to be made from wool from the sheep Odysseus’ men used to trick the Cyclops.” Unfortunately however the New Yorker’s storyline does come to something of an abrupt halt upon the arrival of Superman and the revelation that the Man of Steel, as well as the other Leaguers, are under the control of the Joker.

Admittedly Batman’s perilous predicament in the presence of a homicidal Big Blue is a fitting enough cliff-hanger for any comic book. But the American author’s tale ends so unexpectedly, and literally only midway through the magazine, as to arguably jar any reader immediately out of their reverie. Something which is made all the worse by the blatant difference in style (and to an extent quality) of the two vastly contrasting illustrators, with Capullo’s mesmerizingly detailed pencilling preceding the more cartoony, though equally as enjoyable, sketching of Kelley Jones in “The Pale Man”.

Quibbles as to the contents' layout aside, what is perhaps most perturbing about this magazine however, at least from Snyder’s perspective, has to be just how well written James Tynion IV’s script actually is. Based upon the premise of five escaped Arkham patients visiting one of their institution’s doctors at home in order to tell her a handful of fables about the Joker, the GLAAD Media Awards nominee’s story easily surpasses this title’s main story with its spine-tingling suspense and claustrophobic atmosphere.

The "Monsters Of The Month" variant cover art of "BATMAN" No. 35 by Brian Stelfreeze

Batman #34 [The New 52] - DC Comics

BATMAN No. 34, October 2014

Perhaps somewhat confusingly jumping “back to the future” with a narrative co-written by “Arkham Manor” author Gerry Duggan, Issue Thirty Four of “Batman” actually takes place after the conclusion of the “DC Comics” weekly series “Batman Eternal” and literally transport’s its 112,186 strong readership to the very “end of Eternal’s continuity” having spent the previous twelve months supposedly regaling them with Scott Snyder’s “yearlong storyline that delved into the Dark Knight’s early days in Gotham City…” As a result it isn’t until a good third of the way through this comic that its audience probably becomes satisfactorily orientated as to just where within the Caped Crusader’s convoluted continuity they are, and even then that is almost solely due to a double-splash of Bruce Wayne’s alter-ego patrolling the metropolis’ nightline within which the hero cogitates upon “the rank and file police” having “turned against” him and “Jim Gordon [being] sentenced to Blackgate for murder.”

Despite this initial, and somewhat lasting confusion however, there is a very good reason as to why this book was the best-selling title of August 2014. For “The Meek” happens to contain an enjoyably straightforward script which genuinely sees the cowled crimefighter make a welcome return to his "World’s Greatest Detective” roots whilst investigating a series of worryingly grisly murders. Indeed the similarities between the American author’s version of Batman with that of Arthur Conan Doyles’ Sherlock Holmes are very striking, and even go so far as having a determined Dark Knight deputising a dog when he believes the hound can assist him in tracking down his quarry’s scent through the grimy alleyways of Gotham’s seedier district.

Somewhat disappointingly though Duggan does rather jarringly remind his audience that this story is set in a technologically-advanced (future) world by having the Caped Crusader utilise a digital mask in order to fool the pathological killer into believing he is Doctor Thompkins. Admittedly the physician is a young under-sized female. But even so it would arguably been more fitting considering the realistic tone of the rest of the plot to have had the vigilante simply don one of his infamous theatrical disguises rather than perhaps lazily rely upon a holographic device.

The atmospherically sketchy, dirty-looking pencilling of ‘guest’ artist Matteo Scalera is also well worth taking note of, and really helps add a level of gritty practicality to the comic’s proceedings. In fact it’s a shame this adventure doesn’t go on for longer as the Parma-born illustrator’s grizzled, taut-jawed and simply caped Batman makes for a refreshing change from Greg Capullo’s more ‘state-of-the-art’ crime-fighter, and his panels are simply packed full of visual oddities such depicting the murderer garrotting one of his victims through a goldfish bowl with a dead cat in it.

The "Selfie" variant cover art of "BATMAN" No. 34 by Ryan Sook

Batman/Superman #1 [The New 52] - DC Comics

BATMAN/SUPERMAN No. 1, August 2013

Whilst admittedly bringing about the “return of a book featuring both [“DC Comics” biggest] characters is a no-brainer”, Issue One of “Batman/Superman” provides something of an interesting spin on events, by having Greg Pak’s narrative focus upon the pair’s “very first meeting and relationship” rather than simply a ‘run of the mill’ adventure which indolently relies upon “the star power” of the two superheroes. As a result, this twenty-five page periodical’s plot “takes place around the time” of Grant Morrison’s first edition of “The New 52” “Action Comics” and provides its 143,457 readers with both a “very young… cocky” Man of Steel who “sticks up for the underdog” and “a very early” Dark Knight who sees Clark Kent’s alter ego as “the most dangerous guy I’ve met in my life.”

Understandably such differing viewpoints almost immediately causes some ‘hostility’ between the two comic book legends, with an undercover Bruce in particular finding the meddlesome reporter’s “crusader” attitude one which will cause more harm than good; “Thanks to you, that bully’ll probably come back tomorrow and beat him up twice as hard.” However it isn’t until a possessed Catwoman appears in Metropolis, having apparently murdered three Wayne Enterprises employees that the Caped Crusader and Kal-El actually start to trade blows, and artist Jae Lee draws a genuinely exhilarating punch-up sequence between the ‘dynamic duo.’

Disappointingly though, this incredibly tense, highly stylised ‘fist-fight’ is brought to an all too abrupt end by the Dallas-born writer’s script suddenly having Superman mysteriously transported to Smallville in order to confront a ‘modern-day’ Batman who, quite understandably, knows Clark’s weakness and deploys a kryptonite “automatic defensive system” in order to ‘poison’ him. Such a sudden shift in plot is utterly mystifying, and made all the more jarring by Ben Oliver replacing Lee on pencils until the end of the comic.

Admittedly the former “Judge Dredd” artist still provides this book with plenty of competent panels. Indeed the British illustrator’s depiction of an enraged, albeit somewhat weakened, Big Blue Boy Scout brutally clobbering an off-guard Dark Knight is extremely well sketched. But Oliver’s style is so markedly different to that of Jae that all the wonderfully engaging, depressingly grim atmosphere created by this magazine’s opening eighteen pages is irrevocably undone by the simple turning of a page…

The regular cover art of "BATMAN/SUPERMAN" No. 1 by Jae Lee with June Chung

Batman #33 [The New 52] - DC Comics

BATMAN No. 33, September 2014

Whilst ending the creative team’s year-long retelling of “the origin of the caped crusader” just as the title’s publisher “meant to commemorate the character’s seventy-fifth anniversary” was undeniably “good timing” on the part of Scott Snyder and “DC Comics”, it is doubtful that all of this comic’s 117,996-strong readership either enjoyed or even understood its narrative. Indeed the American author’s finale, which not only supposedly “sets up who Batman is in the New 52 continuity” but also explains “the origin of the Batcave’s giant penny and the Batarang”, arguably contains some of the most outlandishly nonsensical writing since the Dark Knight donned a pair of inter-galactic boxing gloves and solved “The Mystery Of The Outer Space Olympics” in a 1958 issue of “Detective Comics”; “It is a pity you cannot remain, friends. For your prowess has convinced us all that you could win the Space Olympics!”

To begin with this final instalment of the “Savage City” story-arc’s plot is based upon the illogical premise that the Riddler, despite believing along with the rest of Gotham City that Batman is no more, has still gone to the extreme lengths of constructing a “war of the mind” laser-beam death-trap within his secret hideout which, if bested by his arch-nemesis in fourteen minutes, will undo all of the super-villain’s long-laid plans. The creation of such a device, and it’s reliance upon Nygma having to type in the answers when spoken, simply makes no sense whatsoever except to contrivingly provide this book’s titular character an opportunity to outwit Edward without “feats of physical ferocity,… gizmos or gadgets.”

Equally as preposterous is the domino-mask wearing criminal’s actual downfall, as the Riddler is ultimately defeated by Lucius Fox strapping a giant penny on top of a transit van in order to improvise a new “conductor to… [his] blocker”, rather than being outsmarted by Bruce Wayne’s alter-ego. In fact Snyder incredibly has an even more ludicrous and ignominious role for ‘his’ Batman to play, for in order to save Gotham City from going “true black” the cowled vigilante must place an enormous electrode over his heart and pass an almost certainly lethal thousand volt charge through his body to reboot it!?!

Ultimately this comic frustratingly depicts the New Yorker’s “version of Batman” and consolidates the writer’s “reimagining [of] his purpose… [and] his formative years.” “Love it or hate it” this “Zero Year” incarnation sadly seems a million miles away from the brave, steady and honourable cultural icon of Bob Kane and Bill Finger’s co-creation. Certainly their (original) Caped Crusader would never have been “seconds away” from undergoing electro-therapy in order “to be rebooted” and shocked “until I wasn’t myself anymore” simply because they were having “more than a hard time.”

The regular cover art of "BATMAN" No. 33 by Greg Capullo and Danny Miki

Batman #32 [The New 52] - DC Comics

BATMAN No. 32, August 2014

Described by its American author as an issue which “sets up the final confrontation between Batman and the Riddler”, this penultimate instalment of the year-long “Zero Year” story-arc makes little logical sense and actually manages to undermine the lucidity of the crossover event’s preceding narrative. For having spent the past few editions desperately trying to determine the secret hideout of Gotham City’s deadly dictator Edward Nygma, “The World’s Greatest Detective” discovers all Jim Gordon and Lucius Fox's secretive efforts have been for naught and that his far brainer opponent has consistently been outthinking him. Indeed by the end of “Ark”, when several military jet-planes intent on levelling the metropolis are just forty minutes away, it becomes evident that the young vigilante has no other choice but to accept he has once again “failed against the Riddler” and hastily speculate upon his adversary’s location; “One guess. We have time for one guess.”

To make matters worse, Scott Snyder even scripts a distinctly disagreeable soliloquy for the Dark Knight which effectively has Bruce Wayne accepting that he won’t ever beat the Riddler and despondently deciding that his alter-ego isn’t actually about “winning. But failing…” Little wonder the New Yorker laughingly calls this “the craziest Batman story I think I’ll ever write.”

Equally as perplexing though is the revelation that “the Riddler’s big game” entails the super-villain delivering a “rip code” which will “signal the jets at Fort Robbins to scramble” and “strike” out at Gotham City. These air-to-land missiles will then detonate a number of explosives positioned underground throughout the municipal and “sink the whole city.” Such a convoluted plan genuinely makes little sense, as it would surely be infinitely easier for Nygma to simply trigger his numerous bombs remotely? Why does he need to go to the truly extraordinary lengths of isolating the conurbation’s inhabitants for months on end with a fleet of toxic air balloons, and then trick the authorities into ‘setting off’ his explosives via “an airstrike?”

Appearing perhaps just as confused by the contrived plot as doubtless many of this comic’s 130,077 readers were, is penciller Greg Capullo, with the Schenectady-born artist’s illustrations for this book being competent, yet also disconcertingly ‘cutesy’ at the same time. Certainly the figure of Edward Nygma seems to especially suffer with an adolescent youthful look that greatly belies the criminal’s true age. Whilst the former “X-Force” sketcher’s design for the Riddler’s automaton guards appears to have been heavily borrowed from film director Jonathan Mostow’s vision of Skylab's automatons…

The "Bombshell" variant cover art of "BATMAN" No. 32

Batman #31 [The New 52] - DC Comics

BATMAN No. 31, July 2014

Incredibly the best-selling “DC Comics” publication of May 2014, it is hard to understand just how Issue Thirty One of “Batman” managed to peddle an incredible 107,499 copies when all both Scott Snyder and its titular character seem intent on doing throughout its narrative is simply ‘buy time’ until the comic’s next set-piece can be made ready. Indeed one could easily argue that any casual bibliophile could quite merrily skip the opening half of this twenty-two page periodical, and not only save themselves the tedium of negotiating panel after laborious panel of heavily-laden word balloons. But omit yet another head-scratchingly contrived set of circumstances which rather bizarrely result in the Dark Knight being trapped at the bottom of an underground car park surrounded by ravenous man-eating lions.

Fortunately however, once the New Yorker’s narrative does focus upon the masked vigilante’s battle with his carnivorous opponents, this comic actually transforms into a seriously tense and enthralling experience. For whilst the three-time Stan Lee Award-winner still insists on annoyingly slowing down the pace of his plot with plenty of infuriating flashbacks to when Bruce Wayne was at college studying. His depiction of the ‘present-day’ costumed crimefighter matching his wits and ingenuity against the savagery of two ferocious big cats proves both plausible and positively pulse-pounding. In fact the action is so good, as Batman drains a disused vehicle for its gasoline in order to create an impromptu flamethrower and then later batters a Panthera Leo with a self-made Bat-shield that one may even forgive penciller Greg Capullo for cramming the majority of these stunning sequences into just a handful of panels; “I’ve got one last question for you, Edward… Is that all you’ve got? Is it?!”

Disappointingly the former “Quasar” artist certainly seems to find plotting his colleague’s script somewhat difficult, especially at the book’s beginning, when a good deal of the story revolves around the Riddler once again challenging the city’s “Gothamites” to “save this place from its own encroaching entropic end” by besting him with an unsolvable conundrum. Presumably tired of drawing Edward Nygma’s never-changing sedentary face from a variety of different angles, the Schenectady-born illustrator even attempts to break up the monotony of his layouts by depicting the Dark Knight briefly popping into a local rundown warehouse store for a change of gloves.

The "BATMAN '66" variant cover art of "BATMAN" No. 31 by Mike & Laura Allred

Batman #30 [The New 52] - DC Comics

BATMAN No. 30, June 2014

Despite shifting an astonishing 108,998 copies in April 2014, and as a result being that month’s best-selling “DC Comics” title, this opening instalment of Scott Snyder’s “Savage City” story-arc arguably makes little sense whatsoever, and certainly depicts both an emerging Batman and fledgling Riddler in a rather disappointing manner. For whereas this series’ previous edition had the Caped Crusader desperately fighting Edward Nygma for control of Gotham City’s power grid, this issue leaps forward in time a good six months or so, and would have its readers believe that during this period Bruce Wayne has done little but lay unconscious on a mattress in a small boy’s bedroom. Whilst the criminal mastermind, now ruler of all he surveys, has somehow “created barriers to any entry” to the rapidly decaying metropolis, including a “barrage of weather balloons… filled with deadly chemicals” and kept its starving population trapped within the city limits by ‘flooding the tunnels.’

Such a rather implausible situation sadly makes this twenty-seven page long narrative feel more like an “Elseworlds” alternative universe comic book which has been based upon ‘A World Without Humans’ than the costumed crime-fighter’s usual deductive fare, and it is therefore hard to properly comprehend much of what takes place within the story. Indeed as the billionaire industrialist queries himself “How did he [Nygma] do all this?” and despite the fiend’s deterrents, why is the outside world allowing it to happen?

Admittedly there’s still plenty of action to be had within the walls of Snyder’s horribly contrived dilapidated settlement once the United States Naval Special Warfare Development Group’s “five men in space suits” parachute into Gotham and attempt to negotiate with the Riddler. The maniac’s game of dominoes with tower blocks is both dramatic and causes some genuine tension whilst it lasts. But even this scene seems rather false and artificial, and far larger in scale than anything Bill Finger’s co-creation would ordinarily be capable of doing with such wild abandonment.

Regular penciller Greg Capullo’s usually impressive artwork also appears rather off-key with Issue Thirty of “Batman”, as the New Yorker rather blatantly pads out sections of the plot with some rather poorly drawn single and double-splashes. In fact it isn’t until after the aforementioned DEVGRU “fifty million dollars” bargain attempt that the former “Spawn” artist finally appears to ‘get into his stride’ and produce some breathtakingly detailed panels of the Dark Knight as he thwarts Nygma’s plan to crush Jim Gordon beneath tonnes of falling masonry by bridging the gap between two high-rise buildings using a disused water tower.

The "MAD" variant cover art of "BATMAN" No. 30 by Bob Staake

Batman #29 [The New 52] - DC Comics

BATMAN No. 29, May 2014

Whilst there is absolutely no doubt that Scott Snyder has crammed every page of this “amazing, extra-sized issue” of “Batman” with as much action-packed adventure as the comic book could take. This conclusion to “the Dark City chapter of Zero Year” arguably rates as one of the New Yorker’s most illogical and unfollowable narratives ever and certainly must have made its 116,926 readers question “DC Comics” boast that the publisher had “saved the best for last!”

For whilst it fast becomes obvious that the Riddler, supposedly safe ensconced in the late Philip Kane’s high-rise office, is a very ‘clear and present danger’ to the well-being of Gotham City, and that the hideously deformed Doctor Death is essentially little more than a pawn in masked maniac’s diabolical game, it is truly hard to fathom out exactly what the madman’s heinous plan for the metropolis actually is?

Admittedly Batman does try and provide some clarification as to Edward Nygma’s intent for the benefit of both Jim Gordon and the magazine’s audience. But the Caped Crusader’s earnest explanation concerning a stolen “remote hacking hub” which can be used to “break into anything within a hundred feet of it”, coupled with the theft of a “hyper-repeater from Lucius” and “a weather balloon” soon becomes a confusing concoction of meaningless gobbledegook; “He gets the snake high enough, amplifies the bite… He can take control of the whole city.”

Fortunately for many, exactly why the Dark Knight needs to fly the “Bat Blimp” to the Riddler’s floating sky-platform and defeat its grotesque guardian, Karl Hellfern, during a horrendous electrical storm, is probably immaterial. For at the end of the day, all any bibliophile really need know about this comic’s storyline is that the crime-fighter has to place a jamming device upon the super-villain’s electronic gadgetry otherwise “thousands could die”, and he’s willing to break a lot of his immediate adversary’s formidably regenerative bones in order to do so.

Greg Capullo would also appear to have been in top form when pencilling this particular forty-page periodical, as the Schenectady-born artist’s illustrations are wonderfully dynamic; especially the panels depicting the young Batman’s fist-fight with the increasingly malformed Doctor Death. One can genuinely hear the deranged scientist’s bones snapping, and subsequently re-growing, during their lengthy conflict.

The "Robot Chicken" variant cover art of "BATMAN" No. 29

Batman #28 [The New 52] - DC Comics

BATMAN No. 28, April 2014

It’s arguably unlikely in February 2014 that many of this magazine’s 114,089 buyers were especially impressed with “Gotham Eternal”. For whilst it has long been a strategy of comic publishers to advertise upcoming titles within their products, either via a crossover-story or printing some sample sheets towards the back of a book, Issue Twenty Eight of “Batman” decidedly goes a step too far by dedicating its entirety to a tale which proves little more than a teaser for “DC Comics” “year-long weekly limited series” “Batman Eternal”.

Indeed this twenty-two page periodical’s narrative, which focus’ upon Bluebird’s infiltration of a nefarious secret society run by Selina Kyle, has absolutely nothing in common with that of its forerunner, apart from fact that the Dark Knight features in the somewhat substandard story. It doesn’t even contain the tiniest of references to the fact that the tale has jarringly interrupted Scott Snyder’s mega-event “Zero Year: Dark City” and the American author’s redefining of the Caped Crusader’s origin.  

As a result the reader is literally thrown into the New Yorker’s ‘teasing’ script completely blind and as such much of what then follows make little to no sense whatsoever. Especially as the near future plot is seemingly based upon numerous Gothamites apparently being “infected” with something which an imprisoned Stephanie Brown holds “the key” to stopping..?

Admittedly parts of the Eagle Award-winner’s collaboration with James Tynion IV are moderately entertaining. Harper Row’s appearance as a ‘fully-fledged’ “feisty” sidekick, complete with over-sized “bad-boy” shock rifle and blue Mohawk hairstyle, is an especially welcome new addition to the Batman Family, as is the pair’s reimagining of a sleek and sophisticated Catwoman. But not even an exciting firefight housed within a casino full of armed goons is enough to distract from the increasing number of questions this disjointed printed oddity raises up until it’s frustrating “the story begins in Batman Eternal #1 on sale this April!” final panel…

Perhaps even more unforgivable however, has to be this comic’s inferior illustrations by Dustin Nguyen. The Vietnamese penciller can clearly imbue his characters with a tremendous amount of energy and movement. Yet such dynamism is sadly ruined by the conceptual artist’s bizarrely misshapen heads, inconsistent physicalities and wooden-looking poses.

The variant cover art of "BATMAN" No. 28 by Howard Chaykin

Batman #27 [The New 52] - DC Comics

BATMAN No. 27, March 2014

Part of “Scott Snyder’s… eleven-part comics event exploring Bruce Wayne’s beginnings as the Caped Crusader”, this rather laborious “homage” to Frank Miller’s “Batman: Year One” still somehow manages to contain enough “elements from the Bat mythos and stories that we really love” to make it a fairly enjoyable read. Indeed with the comic’s nod to Jim Gordon being “practically blind” without his prescription glasses and re-imagining of Loeb’s “trigger happy SWAT team” dismally failing to ‘nail’ an outmanoeuvred vigilante, it’s easy to see why this particular instalment of “Zero Year: Dark City” sold 115,492 copies in January 2014.

Disappointingly however, despite all its pulse-pounding action the New Yorker’s script is still a far cry from the 1987 four-issue story-arc which its author seems so desperate to emulate, and sadly suggestions that the Goodreads Choice Awards-nominee’s narrative is rather overly “ambitious” as a result. For whereas his ‘muse’ tells a simple straight-forward tale of the crime-fighter getting trapped by the authorities within the basement of a demolished building, Snyder’s encircled Dark Knight instead gets shot in the head, has his Bat-boat blown up with a grenade, goes ‘deep sea-diving’ courtesy of an air tank, and then finally gets fished out of Gotham River by the future Commissioner; “It’s a mile from shore. They’ll find you before you make it a quarter of that distance… Your call.”

Sadly the American writer also provides a similarly convoluted backstory for Bill Finger’s detective, by spending an incredibly wordy five-pages explaining that Gordon wears his familiar trenchcoat in order to “prove a point” to his corrupt colleagues, after they forced him to participate in a dog-fight when he was a beat bobby. Such a dialogue-heavy drawn-out sequence really slows down any momentum Batman’s somewhat contrived flight from Loeb’s gunmen created. But also seems rather out of character for a Special Forces veteran who is both a disciplined “man of integrity” and not one to tolerate intimidation…      

Perhaps this comic’s biggest conundrum though is the fretful pacing of Greg Capullo’s usually stellar artwork, as each page appears to have been crammed with as many letterbox panels as the Schenectady-born penciller can manage. Such a drawing technique inevitably provides the storyline with some much-needed impetus. Yet coupled with FCO Plascencia’s ghastly green and purple hues, makes this book rather tiring on the eyes.

The "Scribblenauts" variant cover art of "BATMAN" No. 27 by John Katz

Batman #26 [The New 52] - DC Comics

BATMAN No. 26, February 2014

Supposedly “the best thing I’ve done on Batman”, Scott Snyder’s writing for “Zero Year: Dark City” arguably also demonstrates some of the worst aspects of the Harvey Award-winner’s work on this ongoing comic book series. For whilst the New Yorker’s frighteningly ghoulish confrontation between Bruce Wayne and the horrifically malformed Doctor Death proves an exhilarating, albeit short-lived, reading experience. The American author’s ‘different version’ of the young billionaire is not only as bitter and jaded as his close-cropped hairstyle is thuggishly brutal. But so shockingly out of character to anything which has been written before that he even goes so far as to assault Lieutenant Gordon, and point the policeman’s pistol straight at the future commissioner’s face… And this is despite the fact that Jim had just saved the ungrateful wretch from literally having his skull crushed in; “If you’ve been waiting around for a thank you, I’m afraid you’re going to be disappointed, Gordon.”

Indeed, it’s genuinely hard to imagine a more dislikeable or unpleasant interpretation of the Dark Knight’s daytime alter ego and certainly difficult to believe that many of this magazine’s 119,443 buyers actually found the surly, quarrelsome industrialist anything other than disagreeably repugnant; especially when he angrily snaps at Alfred Pennyworth to “now give me my damn formal wear” simply because the loyal butler is desperately worried about his obnoxious master’s “linear cranial fracture.”

Snyder’s interpretation of James Gordon is sadly just as disappointing with “the first Batman supporting character ever to be introduced” apparently being just as “crooked” as his men and a far cry from Bill Finger’s creation, who holds such a “deep commitment to ridding the city of crime.” In fact the Brown University graduate’s “personal take on” the rising detective doesn’t even suggest that “Gordon had served in the United States Marine Corps prior to becoming a police officer” as he is literally upended and disarmed by a hospitalised Wayne, without the detestable ruffian even pausing for breath.

Issue Twenty Six of “Batman” also arguably contains some of artist Greg Capullo’s finest but also most disenchanting pencilling, with the Schenectady-born illustrator’s fast-paced layouts depicting Bruce momentarily outwitting the mad scientist Karl Hellfern proving to be both wonderfully dynamic and pulse-poundingly frantic. Dishearteningly however his drawings of the psychotic-looking shaven-headed titular character are particularly displeasing to the eye and simply make the 'yobbish' ingrate even more detestable.

The variant cover art of "BATMAN" No. 26 by Dustin Nguyen

Batman #25 [The New 52] - DC Comics

BATMAN No. 25, January 2014

Whilst undoubtedly “reshaping the history of the Dark Knight, his allies, his enemies and his city”, Issue Twenty Five of “Batman” is arguably not as “astounding” a read as “DC Comics” advertised at its time of printing. Indeed, despite the overly expensive $4.99 priced book somehow being the best-selling title of November 2013, Scott Snyder’s narrative depicting a yobbish-looking Bruce Wayne doing little but talk to Alfred Pennyworth and later Jim Gordon, proves as enthralling an experience as the magazine’s dull all-black embossed cover…

Admittedly the creepy machinations of Doctor Death and his sinister “bone juice”, which causes “every bone in your body” to break and start “growing and twisting until you die”, is rather well-written, if not rather downright disturbing. But even this sinisterly unnerving storyline is then ruined by the New Yorker abruptly turning the character of Lucius Fox, the billionaire’s loyal business manager, into a psychotic servant of the mad scientist.

It’s also clear from “Zero Year: Dark City” that the American author is determined to depict a thoroughly hateful, and as a result disconcerting, relationship between the young industrialist and Jim Gordon. In fact Snyder actually has the thuggish close-cropped orphan cause the politely-spoken policeman to be facially injured by a flock of bats he manufactured to fly at the head of the curious detective; “You should get that looked at, Lieutenant Gordon… Now I’m sure you have better places to be. I know I do.”

Greg Capullo’s artwork is not an entirely agreeable facet to this particular twenty-four page publication either, with the Schenectady-born illustrator’s reimaging of the Batmobile into some horrific-looking “Hot Wheels” roadster, complete with golden radiator covers and gilded bat bonnet emblem, simply being one of the worst designed vehicles the Caped Crusader has ever had the misfortune to acquire. The fact the car can supposedly ‘transform’ itself in order to defy gravity and drive along ceilings makes the automobile appear even more ludicrous a contrivance and ruins an otherwise interesting stand-off between Gotham City’s finest and the masked vigilante.

Fortunately this comic does contain one saving grace courtesy of a short night-time tale concerning Cullen and Harper Row as two children terrified during a citywide black out. Co-written by James Tynion IV and immaculately drawn by Andy Clarke, this ‘minisode’ provides an early example of the siblings’ unhappy rapport with their father and Bluebird’s impressive understanding of electrics.

The variant cover art of "BATMAN" No. 25 by Alex Garner

Batman #24 [The New 52] - DC Comics

BATMAN No. 24, December 2013

Described by “DC Comics” as an “amazing, double-sized issue” that contains “a major surprise [which] will change the course of… Batman’s life”, this fifty-four page periodical must still have been something of a disappointment to many of its 124,652 buyers in October 2013 with its “punk rock” shaven-headed Bruce Wayne, reimagining of the Red Hood into Gotham City’s primary Crime Lord and inclusion of Edward Nygma as a major early foe of the Dark Knight. Indeed in his exertions to make this take on Frank Miller’s “Year One” “entirely different”, Scott Snyder has, in many ways, arguably made his narrative unrecognisable as the origin of the Caped Crusader; especially as it features a militaristic-looking thuggish billionaire, who survives his encounter with the mysterious terrorist more through luck than judgement and actually shoots Jim Gordon (with a bean gun) during the self-same confrontation.   

Admittedly there’s no doubting the New Yorker’s commitment to his frustrating storyline containing plenty of ‘Bat-tastic’ action. For once a scarred, yet still seemingly fresh-faced, twenty-five year-old Industrialist finishes some incredibly lengthy conversations and investigates Ace Chemicals, the pace of “Dark City” increases at an astonishing rate and has Batman battling not only an apparently endless army of Red Hood Gang members, but the Gotham City Police Department as well; “You will not leap, fly, or hang upside down. You will surrender quietly or I will shoot you. Do you understand?”

In fact despite this battle being unceremoniously interrupted by the sacrificial death of Wayne’s Uncle Philip (Kane), otherwise known as “Red Hood Three-Forty-Seven”, and the unexpected appearance of the Riddler towards the end of the comic, the cowled crime-fighter’s pulse-pounding punch-up with the multiple ruby-masked arms dealers is probably some of Snyder’s best work since “The New 52” title started publication. Certainly Batman’s clash with his dome-wearing arch-nemesis atop the burning chemical factory is potentially one of the best-scripted struggles yet printed between the two popular antagonists.    

Dishearteningly the quality of Greg Capullo’s artwork follows in a similar vein to that of the American author’s writing, in that for the first third of the magazine, the Schenectady-born penciller’s drawings, whilst more than competent, lack any sense of dynamism or life. Once Bruce dons his famous costume and tackles the Red Hood Gang however, then the self-taught illustrator’s panels almost leap off of the page with exhilarating vivacity. Sadly the same cannot be said for the dire (back) pages outlined by Rafael Albuquerque. The Brazilian comic book creator’s sketchy style horribly jars with the far more precise, animated pictures of Capullo, and as a result look all the more stiff and unappealing with his cardboard Bruce Wayne, occasionally portly-looking Pennyworth and abominable Riddler.

The variant cover art of "BATMAN" No. 24 by Guillem March

Batman #23.4 [The New 52] - DC Comics

BATMAN No. 23.4, November 2013

It is incredible to believe that in September 2013 this so-called “DC Comics” Villains Month one-shot was the eighth best-selling comic according to “Diamond Comic Distributors” and somehow managed to shift an astonishing 95,298 copies. For whilst this twenty-page periodical features the notable artwork of Bane’s co-creator Graham Nolan, Peter J. Tomasi's storyline for “Dark Destiny” is bitterly disappointing, with the ‘Man Who Broke the Bat’ appearing as a sadistic brutal thug who lacks any of the “exceptional intelligence” he was originally imbued with.

In fact the publisher’s Senior Editor appears to go to some quite extraordinary lengths to depict his incarnation of Bane as little more than a savage unthinking cold-blooded killer. Even having the heavily-muscled supervillain strike a young girl and threaten to kill her after he has horrifically snapped the spinal cord of her father right in front of the pony-tailed kid’s eyes.

Admittedly any long-term followers of “Batman” will be aware of just how vicious a character the “hero” of the Caribbean Republic of Santa Prisca can be. But having endured yet another recap of the former Pena Duro prisoner’s rise to power, and subsequent defeat at the hands of Gotham City’s “otherworldly demon”, it is arguably entirely unnecessary to then have to watch as King Snake’s Venom-enhanced son mercilessly beats a bound captive to death with his bare hands simply to demonstrate just how tough he is; “Get the next one ready.”

Even more disappointing however has to be Tomasi’s so-called ending for this single-issue story as it actually insufferably concludes just as Bane has dispatched one of his men to murder the Scarecrow and the ruthless masked maniac reaches Gotham Harbour on board a container ship packed full of armed militants and tanks. Indeed it is very clear why this comic was heavily criticised at the time for being nothing more than “an extended prologue” for the forthcoming turf war series “Forever Evil: Arkham War”, as it simply finishes with Bane optimistically declaring that “Gotham City is mine!”

Possibly equally as disenchanted with the “Brightest Day” co-writer’s script, Graham Nolan’s illustrations lack any consistency whenever the American penciller strays too far from drawing one of the Dark Knight’s most formidable foes, and even then many of the panels lack sufficient detail to be especially pleasing to the eye. Certainly the work of Chuck Dixon’s frequent collaborator pales when compared to the stunningly impressive 3D motion cover by Guillem March.

Writer: Peter J. Tomasi, Artist: Graham Nolan, and Colorist: John Kalisz

Batman #23.3 [The New 52] - DC Comics

BATMAN No. 23.3, November 2013

It’s arguable that the villainous character of Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot was forever changed following actor Danny DeVito’s portrayal of the deformed portly aristocrat in the 1992 “Warner Brothers” motion picture “Batman Returns”. For Bob Kane’s “gentleman of crime”, a simple eccentric-looking thief with a fondness for both fowl and “specialized high-tech umbrellas”, was irrevocably transformed into a sinisterly “dark, more grotesque” mobster who is every bit the sadistic cold-blooded killer as the Joker is… Only the “persistent nemesis for Batman and Robin throughout the Golden and Silver Ages” of Comics is possibly all the more scary as he’s still “perfectly sane.”

With the story “Bullies” Frank Tieri wonderfully taps into this more nefarious and vicious aspect to the Penguin, as the nightclub-owner not only personally dispatches three low-level card-sharks who were foolish enough to cheat within his licensed premises. But also, with a wicked grin upon his face, entraps an old college buddy by covertly injecting him with the “highly addictive super-steroid” Venom and then videos the man brutalising his secretary in a hotel room; “Yes, Miss Collins. What’s left of the lass, anyway. Although we can’t be one hundred percent certain as we can’t find her head. We suspect you might have eaten it.”

Such a horrific portrayal of ‘Image Games Network’s Fifty-First Comic Book Villain of All Time’ is made all the more grim and chilling by the fact that the monocle-wearing bird’s victim, Carter Winston, used to protect a beleaguered youthful Cobblepot whilst the two resided at the same boarding school. In fact before the Governor announces his plans to close down the Penguin’s beloved Iceberg Casino, the homicidal fiend actually speaks very endearingly of “my old friend” to his ‘lieutenant’ Lark.

Possibly just as unattractive as the Brooklyn-born writer’s interpretation of Oswald as a ruthless calculating murderer is artist Christian Duce’s portrayal of the tuxedo-adorned crime lord. The Uruguayan penciller is clearly a thoroughly competent illustrator and his panel-work depicting Governor Winston’s stomach-churning madness as the politician realises the sickening grisly truth behind what he’s done to Miss Collins is extremely well-paced. But the “Arkham Manor: Endgame” sketcher’s depiction of a podgy-faced, beak-nosed Penguin is as outstanding as it is monstrous, with the fiend’s heavily-lined eyes, bright with intelligent malice, proving to be particularly perturbing.

Writer: Frank Tieri, Artist: Christian Duce, and Colorist: Andrew Dalhouse