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 #15 review

Stop me if you’ve heard this one … The Joker can do anything he likes in Gotham City. He can stand in front of a bunch of Gotham cops after massacring their brothers, and not be shot on sight. He can have his men ambush said cops with explosives. He can waltz into Arkham Asylum […]

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, […]

Animal Man #13 review & Swamp Thing #13 review

Buddy Baker returns from his trip into The Rot with Swamp Thing to find that a year has passed on Earth. The Rot played a trick on the heroes, distracting their biggest opponents in their realm for what seemed like hours while they attacked an unprepared world. And now most people are rotting, warped slaves […]

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. […]

Batman #7 review

The Court of Owls story goes on. And on, and on, spreading its wings through the entire Batman Family of titles. And Jonah Hex. And likely Tiny Titans, if it weren’t being cancelled – well, there is a Talon in there! The Talon in here’s an entirely different guy, though, and Batman discovers just who […]

Swamp Thing #7 review

At last. After half a year’s worth of Swamp Thing without Swamp Thing, the star of the show steps into the spotlight. It’s not a matter of Alec Holland embracing his destiny, so much as making his own future. Here’s Alec in a choose-your-own-adventure, with stunning board game layouts from artist Yanick Paquette. The trippy […]