Batman #23 review

Now this is all kinds of interesting … We’re still in Zero Year, when Gotham’s streets are enveloped by chaos and Bruce Wayne isn’t yet Batman. He is trying to be a hero, but in the early part of this issue he’s at the mercy of the Red Hood Gang. Its members bludgeon him, their […]

Batman #21: Zero Year review

One of the biggest problems with DC’s New 52 revamp is the insistence that pretty much all our heroes’ exploits fit into a five-year period. When it’s a character whose story has basically begun again, such as Wonder Woman or the Flash, there’s no problem – stuff happened, but we have little idea what said […]

Batman #16 review

The Death of the Family crossover continues, with Batman wandering the corridors of Arkham Asylum, transformed into a twisted Bat-Castle in tribute to the Caped Crusader. A dance of death with guards and prisoners dressed as twirling Jokers and Batmen; blazing knights and nightmarish steeds; a tapestry of Batman’s adventures made of mutilated men. It’s […]

Batman #13 review

He’s been gone from Gotham for a year, but the Joker is back and Batman’s on the back foot. The knave rampages through GCPD headquarters killing cops. He reenacts the murder that first got Batman’s attention, years before. And he tweaks another of his greatest hits, stymieing the Gotham Guardian’s attempts to outthink him. Finally, […]

Batgirl #13 review

The gimmick cover promises that this is a Death of the Family Prologue. And if one page counts as prologue, that it is. For the rest, though, this is the continuation of Batgirl’s battle with Knightfall, and that’s fine by me – we’re in the middle of a gripping storyline and I don’t want it […]

Batman #12 review

Emancipated siblings Harper and Cullen Row don’t have it easy. Scrimping to get by in Gotham’s Narrows district, electrical engineer Harper worries about her brother, the victim of regular gay-bashings. One day Harper stands up to the bully boys, and gets some unexpected aid – from Batman. She decides she’s going to help him back. […]

Batman #11 review

It’s Batman vs Owlman in the finale to the Court of Owls storyline. Lincoln March, now claiming to be Thomas Wayne Jr, snares Batman and drags him into the sky to show off his version of Gotham – a twisted reflection of the one Bruce Wayne knows. Batman takes a fair few knocks, but finally […]

Batman #10 review

Batman confronts the Court of Owls, but its members have confronted their own mortality – rather than face the judgment of Batman, they’ve taken their own lives. With a big dollop of ‘apparently’. Batman follows the clues, and his gut instincts, to Willowwood, an old Gotham hospital for kids with mental problems, where he finds […]

Batman #9 review

Back in the Silver Age, Batman had a suit for every occasion: undersea action, jungle japes, cold capers … he had it covered. And there’s a callback to the old days here, as Batman turns to his 21st-century ‘war suit’ to fight off the Court of Owls’ army of Talons as they invade his cave. […]