Batman #20

Hey comic fans, JT first review of the week, none other than the flagship series of the Dark Knight, Batman. After Bruce Wayne's likeness was stolen by Clayface in the last issue, let's see how he deals with taking his name and image back!

 Batman #20

Summary: I have no idea why that cover is red... mine is not but that's the one DC had listed. This issue starts with Clayface revealing his plan to kidnap Bruce, pose as him wearing Batman's gear since Bruce is his benefactor, then the real Batman will show up to stop him and he'll touch Batman then he can post as Batman and get Batman arrested and thrown in Arkham. He throws Bruce into a room with Lucius Fox after supposedly suffocating him for seven minutes, but Bruce is still alive because apparently he can hold his breath for that long. Bruce and Lucius are in a compactor and about to be smashed when they stumble onto a prototype that Lucius had gotten rid of because it wouldn't be cost effective for twenty years. We then see Bruce and Lucius freed as Bruce dons the Batman Beyond suit for the first time ever. From there, Bruce says he's going to inform Batman and leaves Lucius to go get checked out. Clayface, still masquerading as Bruce, is eventually caught by Batman, but Clayface can't be stopped in the usual ways. Batman makes a cell to hold Clayface once he steps into it that will only open for Basil Karlo, and since Clayface no longer has his own DNA, he's trapped. Batman says now that he's stopped Clayface, he'll get Mr. Wayne to the hospital, but Clayface has some words about Wayne. He said Wayne cares about no one, not even his own son, stating when he touched Wayne to get his DNA a few weeks back, his son was with him, but while his son talked, Wayne looked distant and uninterested. Batman yells at Clayface as he turns into Damian Wayne, until Commissioner Gordon stops Batman as Clayface smirks on as Damian Wayne. The issue comes to a close with Bruce telling Alfred he doesn't want to shut down the way he did when Jason died, as he and Alfred watch the Cowl patrol footage of Batman and Robin, together.

Thoughts: Hm... this issue seemed kinda average for me. I get that Snyder is doing shorter arcs now before the big Zero Year, but this seemed kind of unnecessary. I like that Clayface was evolved further but he was already made a threat in Detective Comics (or one of those other twenty Batman Books) not too long ago. I did like the little nod to the Batman Beyond suit, as well as using Clayface to show us Bruce being taunted by Damian, which was an awesome moment. I really believe that Damian was gonna die in Death of the Family, and Grant decided to use his death instead in Batman Inc. and this kinda confirmed that for me. Anyway, this wasn't a memorable issue but it wasn't bad either.

Score: 6/10

Batman #19

Hey comic readers and true believers, JT here with my first review of the week, and it's Scott Snyder's Batman! The last issue dealt with the recent death of Damian Wayne and Bruce getting a pep talk from Harper Row, now let's see how Batman is reeling now.

Batman #19

Summary: In this issue, we start things off with a bank robbery stand off with the police and none other than Bruce Wayne. Bruce has a hostage with explosives and uses her to make his way out of the building while Commissioner Gordon tries to talk him down. When he asks by a billionaire is robbing a bank (excellent question...) Bruce throws the money and smoke comes out of it. He then climbs on his motorcycle, shoots Gordon in the chest with a shotgun, then rides over him while driving away, all the while managing to not somehow get shot in the head by a bunch of officers, since no one shoots him in the head. For the record, I would've shot him in the head. Anyway, we jump back to six days ago and see Batman watching footage of Damian on his cowl visor that he recorded from when they'd go on patrol. He's interrupted by Alfred, and Alfred tries to talk to him about it but Bruce doesn't want to hear it. When Alfred mentions one of Bruce's friend's has committed suicide, Bruce finds it strange and looks into it. While looking at the dead man's house, Batman finds a very alive version of him and manages to get a bit of blood to sample before he can escape. While sampling the blood, Batman discovers it's Clayface (duh) and that his DNA has started to mutate, so he's no longer Basil Karlo, instead of being an actor and trying to mimic people, he can now fully become them from their DNA. While in his office discussing a new suit Batman needs (Batman Inc. is in continuity now, remember) with Lucius Fox, Lucius attacks Bruce, revealing that he's actually Clayface. The issue ends with Clayface saying he doesn't want Bruce's money, he wants to use him to end Batman, once and for all.

Thoughts: First things first, I'll say I enjoyed Alfred trying to talk to Bruce about Damian's death and mentioning Jason's death. I also really liked that Bruce was watching videos with Damian from hos Cowl, that's definitely something I can see Batman doing. Now that I've said what I liked, let's get to the stuff I didn't enjoy. Okay, well I saw the Clayface thing coming a mile away. It was either that or Ivy was controlling Bruce. I hated that no one felt the need to gun down Bruce, rich guy or not, when he not only shot the Commissioner with a freaking shotgun, but then rode over him as well with a motorcycle. Also, he was wearing Batman gear under his shirt. So is that on purpose? Clayface clearly doesn't know Bruce is Batman, so is he trying to say he is? Then the entire thing of doing a bank robbery, when he could easily just go on TV, say he's disbanding Batman INC. and that Batman is a criminal that shouldn't be trusted that threatened his life, and boom, Batman is vilified at Wayne's hands. Robbing a Bank then realizing, "Oh yeah, I don't need this money. My Bad!" just seemed unnecessary. Yeah, this issue just didn't do it for me, which is a rare miss for Snyder.

Score: 5/10

Bruce Wayne: Yeah, well, sometimes being a hero gets old.

Batman #18

Hey X-Maniacs, JT here with my first review of the week. With Damian Wayne now laid to rest, let's see how Batman handles not having a Robin for the first time since the death of Jason Todd.

Batman #18

Summary: This issue gets underway with Harper Row and her brother Cullen going to see their dad in Blackgate Penitentiary. Not surprisingly, their dad is an asshole and refers to Harper's gay brother, Cullen, as his other daughter, which hurts Cullen and causes him to leave the room quickly. Harper lashes out at her dad verbally and he implies that he knows she sent her friend after him to get him locked up, but Harper doesn't know what he's talking about. From there we see Harper has been going on patrol for months, with a make-shift grappling hook going around the city and tracking Batman, as Bats has been relentless in taking down villains, so much so he's getting sloppy because he hasn't taken a break. Bats eventually bites off more than he can chew when taking on a muscle-head that does dogfights with dogs he injects with venom. The dogs attack Bats and since their bigger and stronger than most dogs, and Bats is tired, things look to end badly until Harper shows up with a device that makes a high-pitched sound that drives the dogs away, allowing Bats to knock out the meathead. Harper tries to get some praise from Bats but instead gets socked in the face. Bats tells her that this isn't a game, and people who have trained longer and harder than her have died doing what she's trying to do, and to go home. Harper stands her ground and says she isn't expecting Bats to take her in and show her the ways, she doesn't wanna know who he is because people let her down, and he's an idea, not a person as far as she's concerned. Batman doesn't want to hear it and tells her to go home, before taking off. Broken nose and all, Harper isn't giving up, so the next morning she heads to meet Bruce Wayne, and catches him since Bruce was roped into being in the office after falling asleep there on a break from being Batman. She tells Bruce she wants to get a message out for Batman because if he continues on like he is, he'll kill himself, and she figured he could help since he finances Batman. Bruce agrees to help and we later see Harper on a rooftop met by Batman, as she tells him what she did and that the message is something her mom would always tell her before she was murdered. She leaves Batman on the roof and says she hopes the message means something, and he whispers to himself that it does, as letters light up on Wayne Enterprises that says "Resolve", leaving Batman standing on the roof across from it as the issue comes to a close.

Thoughts: I've suspected Damian would die since about November or so, and I mentioned that to X and we came to the realization that if he did die, Harper would inevitably be the next Robin. Now I'm not 100% sure she'll take that mantle, she may take another name, but all in all, I was against it, because it doesn't make sense for Bruce to take in another kid, especially after losing his son. That aside, if she's going to do it anyway, he's going to take her in if only because he knows she's less likely to get hurt with his training than she is with none. But that aside, this issue, Harper won me over. I didn't care for her prior to this, but in this issue I felt like she encompassed the determination of Cassandra Cain, the brains of Babs Gordon, and the humor as well as the ability to stand up to Bruce that Stephanie had. All in all, she seems kind of like an amalgam of the three Batgirls, with a bit of a twist. So I like the character and the conversations with both Bruce and Batman were great to read, they really gave you a sense of where Bruce was mentally, hurt but not outwardly mourning, so content with punching things and fighting crime until he exhausts himself, which is classic Bruce.So all in all this issue gave me some great conversations, so great characterization for Harper Row, and Cullen Row, as well as introducing their sleazebag of a father, who will undoubtedly be back in the future.

Score: 9/10

Batman: This isn't a game, Harper, If you pursue this, you will die, do you understand ME?!

Batman #17

One review on tap for tonight, and it's a big one.  Batman #17, the finale to Scott Snyder's Joker storyline.  Last issue Joker electrocuted Batman, all while collecting the various members of the Bat-family.  Now, we discover what Joker's been up to, and more importantly, what the hell is on those silver platters?!?

Batman #17:

Summary: This issue kicks off with Batman waking up tied to a chair and seeing his four Robins and Batgirl tied up around a massive dinner table, in what looks to be a part of the Batcave.  Each of Batman's allies have a silver platter in front of them, and are wearing hoods...  Hmm...  Next, Joker calls Alfred into the room and we see that Alfred had been subjected to some Joker toxin and had been Joker-ized.  Bats is relieved to see that Alfred is alive, regardless of his current complexion.  Alfred removes the hoods of the various Bat-family members and we see that their faces are adorned with bloody bandages.  Finally, Joker lifts the platters and under the platters are the faces of the various Bat-family members(!!).  It should go without saying that Batman is a bit pissed off about that.  Joker tells Bats that he could stand at anytime, but doing so with set the various members of the Bat-family ablaze, since Joker had doused the room with gasoline and Batman's chair was sitting on flints.  From there, Joker rambles on and on about how Bats wants the Bat-family out of the way, and hopes that deep down Joker would be the man to eliminate them.  Joker then produces a little book that he claims was a hit list that he took from the Batcave, a hit list that told him how to go after each member of the Bat-family.  Having had enough, Bats breaks free of his chair, setting all of the Bat-family members on fire, much to Joker's delight.  Unfortunately for Mistah J, Batman reveals that there was a large body of water above the caves, and blows the roof up, letting the water pour in and put out the fire.  Joker makes a run for it and Batman rushes over to Damian, taking the bandages off to reveal... nothing...  Damian, and all of the other members of the Bat-family, still have their faces, the whole face removing claims were nothing more than a joke.  Nightwing tells Bats to go after Joker, so Bats leaves his allies behind...  At which time they are enveloped in a mess of Joker toxin and begin to brawl with each other.  As for Bats, he manages to catch up to Joker and puts a bit of a beating on the crazed clown.  Joker tells Batman that he had better get back to the Bat-family, since he had poisoned them with Joker toxin and they were probably tearing each other apart.  Batman disregards that, telling Joker he trusts that they can take care of themselves(which they actually do by breaking free of the drug's influence).  Joker makes a break for it and almost runs off a watery cliff, but Batman pulls him back, since he wasn't through with Joker just yet...  It's then that Batman reveals that he knew that Joker NEVER knew the secret identities of the Bat-family members, because Joker never wanted to know.  He simply enjoyed playing dress-up and facing off against Batman, not Bruce Wayne, or Dick Grayson, or any of the rest.  It was always Batman vs Joker.  Batman goes on to tell Joker that he was finished playing Joker's games and spent the year Joker was away digging into Joker's part, his REAL past, and had discovered Joker's real name.  Before Batman can destroy Joker's fantasy world once and for all by saying Joker's real name, Joker shocks Batman with his joy-buzzer and throws himself off the cliff into the waters below, leaving nothing but the little book that he claimed had all of Batman's secrets.  Bats picks up the book and opens it to find...  Yep, nothing but blank pages.  And that's that.  The next day Alfred wakes up in Wayne Manor and Bruce tells him that he knew Joker would never broach the subject of Bruce Wayne.  How does he know that?  Because Bats once visited Joker in Arkham, AS Bruce, and Joker acted oblivious to him, pretending that he wasn't even there.  Bruce also tells Alfred that he had invited the other members of the Bat-family over to discuss what had gone down.  However, everybody ends up texting Bruce to tell him they couldn't make it, apparently miffed at Bats for something Joker told them before Bats regained consciousness...  With that, Bruce returns to the Cave(where we discover he never knew Joker's identity after all) alone.

Thoughts: This was a VERY interesting comic book...  I mean, the writing?  Fantastic.  The dialogue was great, and I DID enjoy the story.  The art?  Wonderful.  Everybody looked and "sounded" right.  But after putting this comic down I couldn't shake the feeling that SOMETHING was missing...  This was a very good little Joker tale(the parts in JUST Batman at least).  But it wasn't REALLY a big event.  It ended with Joker falling to his death(again) and the Bat-family being a bit mad at Bats(again).  Nothing event-worthy really went down.  There was no huge revelation.  There was no shocking death(which is fine by me, actually. I hate senseless deaths).  In the end, Joker didn't know who Batman really was(or better, he didn't care), while Batman didn't know Joker's real name.  The only mystery here is what Joker said to the Bat-family members while Bats was out cold, since it seemed to piss them all off so badly.  Which kind of bugs me, because why in the world would they let Joker get under their skin after all these years!?  Speaking of things that kind of bug me, there's the issue of the secret identities and Joker's knowledge of them...  I've always been in the camp that said that Joker HAD to know Batman's secret identity, but didn't care, since he didn't care about Bruce Wayne, only Batman.  Snyder KIND of agrees with that train of thought, but with a caveat...  He states definitively that Joker DOESN'T care about the man under the mask, only about the mask itself.  Batman is his beloved enemy, NOT Bruce Wayne.  But Snyder takes it a step further and seems to be stating that Joker doesn't know that Batman and Bruce are one and the same...  After this storyline, I don't see how that can be...  Hell, Scott Lobdell basically said that Joker definitely knew Jason Todd was Robin(in Red Hood and the Outlaws #0), and that he made sure Jason was taken in by Bruce Wayne!  Throw in Joker's attack on Haly's Circus, which HAD to be aimed at Dick Grayson, not Nightwing, and it seems that Joker has to know...  I mean, how can he not!?  On top of all that was the whole face-cutting thing...  Why did Joker pretend to cut off the faces of the Bat-family members?  What purpose did that serve?  I mean, why didn't Joker REALLY cut their faces off?  He had the time and opportunity, so there really doesn't seem to be a reason for him to not have sliced off their faces.  Yeah, I know it COULDN'T happen, but really, it probably should have happened, especially since Joker had planned on them all dying anyway!  So yeah, there were a few things here that definitely did bug me.  But then, on the other hand, this comic was a blast to read.  The pacing was great.  Batman's plan of turning the tables on Joker at the end was inspired.  There WAS a lot of good here.  But still, there was just something missing...

Score: 8 1/2 out of 10.

Bon appetit!

Batman #16

Hey Todd Squad, JT here with my first review of the week, and it's the penultimate issue of Batman's Death of the Family arc. Bats has finally returned "home" to Arkham Asylum to see what The Joker has planned for him. 

Batman #16

Summary: Batman finally arrives at Arkham Asylum and we see The Joker's master plan unfold, although he isn't exactly done putting it together. It starts with having a bunch of guards dressed as him and Batman, dancing in puddles water, for days on end or The Joker will electrocute them to death. Bats manages to save them with relative ease, then is led into a trap that has him fight at least a hundred goons, armed with riot gear and flaming weapons. Batman disposes of them, although he has a bit of trouble, and is greeted by The Joker's present for him, courtesy of the Dollmaker, he'd sewn a bunch of people together, while still alive, and made them into a tapestry with some of Bats and Jokers greatest moments, including the Joker Fish and the Death of Jason Todd. A very annoyed and pissed off Batman continues his trek through the asylum where he makes short work of Mr. Freeze, Clayface, and Scarecrow before arriving at The Joker's last room, a.k.a. Batman's Throne Room. Batman charges in and is shocked to be greeted by his Court Jester, The Joker, as well as his Man of the Cloth, The Penguin, his Strategist, The Riddler, and his Judge, Two-Face. Joker tells Batman they could have served anyone, gesturing to some civilians he has dressed as Superman, Aquaman and Wonder Woman. Joker has them play "Excalibur" with a chainsaw, which leads to "Superman" getting electrocuted to death. Batman gets past Joker's last line of defense, or so he thinks, when Joker drops a cage, separating Bats and Joker's crew. The Joker, with flies starting to circle his rotting, decaying face, stops Bats in his tracks by showing him video Nightwing, Red Hood, Red Robin, Batgirl and Robin all having fell to The Joker, as Joker says that Bats can be as good as he wants, he'll never be able to win as long as they're around. Batman asks what he's done with them, but Joker tells him he'll find out if he sits down, but if he doesn't, he'll never find a trace of them unless he sits down in his throne. Batman, defeated, walks up to his throne, which is actually an electric chair, and sits down, pulls down the head strap and is shocked so badly his mouth foams and blood gushes out of his nose as the issue ends.

In the back-up, Two-Face, Riddler and Penguin want to shoot Bats to make sure he's dead but Joker stops them, saying there's more to his plan. The three villains want to join him, but this is just Joker, Bats and family, so he drops a cage on them. They turn to Riddler to free them but he passes out, due to some tiny tranquilizers Joker put in the suit he gave Riddler. Two-Face wants to shoot Joker, but Joker throws out a ton of variables, including the fact he gave Harvey that gun, so it may backfire and shoot Harvey, or it could shock him to death, or it may be a perfectly fine gun, but Harvey, given too many choices, can't depend on his coin so he just silently gives up as The Joker laughs. Lastly, Penguin offers Joker money, but he doesn't want or need it, but he does offer to show them a bit of what comes next. Joker gets a platter and removes the lid, showing only Penguin and Two-Face, who are in awe of what they see. The issue ends as Joker gets ready for his final act, the family dinner, with him and the Bat-Family.

Thoughts: I have mixed feelings on this issue, and I'll tell you guys why. First things first, I enjoyed the end result, with Joker yelling at Bats to sit on his throne, the back-up where Joker systematically picked apart Two-Face and made a lot of excellent points, the way Batman finally had to admit that his kids are his weakness, because if they weren't in danger, he'd clearly have won by this point. The things I didn't necessarily enjoy was the way Batman just ran through the asylum disposing of everyone with ease. Don't get me wrong, I played Arkham Asylum, I beat up a shit load of goons to get to the end, so I'm not shocked that Bats could take out all those goons and punch a horse in the head. I also get that he was supposed to be motivated and tired of Joker's crap, so that's why he didn't spend much time beating them, but seeing the way he easily disposed of Freeze, Clayface and Scarecrow kinda annoyed me, because over the last year, those three characters were built up as threats, hell Freeze especially by none other than Snyder himself. Just seeing each of those guys taken out in a page each kinda annoyed me. Other than that, I enjoyed this issue, and I am curious about what's under the platter. Obvious money says it's Alfred's head, face, something, but I doubt that because it's too obvious. At the same time, it has to be something that's easily recognizable to Two-Face and Penguin... and the platter shows up at the end of Batman and Robin, as well as Batgirl. So I literally have no idea what it could be, but I AM interested in what you guys think it is, so let me know in the comments.
 
Score: 7.5/10

Joker: You'll grow old wondering what happened to them. What i did to each one... NOW SIT YOUR #%^ DOWN!

Batman #15

Hey comic readers, JT here with my first review of the week, continuing "Death of the Family", starting with Batman #15. Tomorrow, I'll have a review up for Batman and Robin #15, which is also apart of the "Death of the Family" banner, but first things first, let's see how Batman deals with the news that Joker lays on him, that he "knows who he is".

Batman #15

Summary: We pick up where we left off with Batman and Joker on the bridge, when Bullock and the GCPD show up. Bats tells them to fall back, but of course they don't listen, which leads to Joker's men, who were hiding in trees, to fire upon the GCPD with rocket launchers, and we can actually see through the masks their wearing that his men don't look too happy about it, which was great foreshadowing. Batman breaks free and runs through an explosion, which burns away some of his armor, and takes Joker down with a huge punch, before asking him where Wayne's butler is. Turns out when Bats punched Joker with his glove-less fist, Joker got some toxin onto his skin, which causes Bats to get weakened, and Joker kicks him off the bridge. Bruce awakes later, surrounded by the four Robins and Babs, as they tell him the rescued Alfred and caught Joker while Bruce was out, as Joker walks in, wearing Alfred's face and swinging an axe when Bruce wakes up for real. surrounded by Nightwing, Red Hood, Red Robin, Batgirl and Robin. The gang tell Bruce they need to talk, whereas Jason demands answers. Babs asks if its true that Joker knows who they are, but Bruce says it isn't true. Tim asks about him taking Alfred, but Bruce gives the same explanation that he just took Wayne's butler, he doesn't know. Nightwing explains that he freed Raya, an enemy of Grayson, not Nightwing, and Babs says he came after her mother. Tim asks what's the secret Joker says Batman is keeping from them, and Batman basically says one night after stopping Joker, before he'd taken on any Robins, after fighting The Joker and knocking him into the Gotham Bay, he never found him. After driving back to the cave in the Batboat, the next morning he found a Joker playing card in the cave next to the boat. Batman believes it must have been stuck to the boat or something, as he never found any traces to show that Joker had been in the cave, The former sidekicks think this means Joker has known Bruce is Batman for a while, and could easily figure out who they are over association, but Bruce is adamant he doesn't know, he just wants to cause dissension in the ranks, but Nightwing says Bruce is doing his job for him and that he should've told them about the card. Bruce tells them not to get involved, and to leave Joker to him. From there, Batman uses his resources to see who bought the pre-paid phone Joker used to call his men for the bridge attack, and discovers ir was a man named Dylan McDyre, who works at Arkham Asylum. Batman crashes into his window during family dinner and demands answers, and finds out that Joker had been watching the Arkham Guards for a week, threatening to kill their families if they talked. Turns out Joker has somehow taken Arkham Asylum hostage, and made the guards go home and pretend nothing happened, then come abck to work each day or he'd kill their families, he made them prepare the Asylum for something, calling it Batman's castle. The issue comes to a close as Batman arrives at Arkham Asylum and steps inside.

For the back-up, we see The Riddler in his cell, basically quizzing his guard when a few other guards come by, carrying a horse. They slip and fall with the horse, and it lands on one of the man's legs. Joker walks up, saying they need to be more careful and go get another horse because this one is ruined, and shoots it in the head, he then says that Guard is ruined too, and shoots him in the head as well. Joker then turns his attention towards The Riddler, saying how Riddler is one of Batman's greatest foes because he's always sharpening his greatest weapon, his mind, and if Riddler didn't leave Bats clues he would never catch him. He wants Riddler to join his "party" but makes him work for it, putting some Joker toxin in Riddler's cell, making Riddler free himself to prove he still has "it". Riddler frees himself and Joker welcomes him  to the festivities, and even offers to show Riddler his plans to see if he can guess what Joker has planned. Surprisingly, Riddler is stumped, but Joker says it's only for him and Batman to understand, as the back up story ends.
 
Thoughts: This was a great issue. I mean, to say Scott Snyder has been crushing it is an understatement. I loved the scene on the bridge, the foreshadowing of Joker's guards, which I didn't catch until my re-read for this review, and the awesome scene with Joker wearing Alfred's face, which was just great. I always love seeing the whole group together, and this was the first time we had all four Robins and Batgirl all in once place if I'm not mistaken, it may have happened during Court of Owls. And anytime Jason is written by someone not Scott Lobdell, I consider that a huge plus. If I had any problems here, it would be the way Babs seemed to be so calm, I mean one second she's asking Bruce if it's true.. then she says he came after her mother. Anyone that read those Batgirl issues knows he knows that's her mom... so why even ask if he knows the truth? That bothered me a bit, but the seeds were planted for Riddler to take the villain role in the next arc, and I'm still curious about what Joker has in the little book he flashed in issue 14, all in all this was a great story that continues to keep me on the edge of my seat.

Score: 9.5/10 

Damian: What would you have us do, stay here in the cave?
Jason: Pfft. Like it's secure
Bruce: It's secure.
Jason: Tell that to Alfred.

Batman #14

Hey guys and gals, after the first issue with the Joker's return and the shocking ending we saw, let's not waste anymore time in seeing how Batman and the rest of his allies deal with the return of The Joker.

Batman #14

Summary: This issue starts off with Batman locked in a vat of liquid, the same liquid that turned Joker into the deranged man he is. Harley leaves as Batman yells for her to help, before eventually finding his own way out. He mentions while escaping that he's studied the liquid over and over on nights where he couldn't sleep, looking for signs of what made Joker him, but the only thing that liquid should've done is kill, adding even more mystery to how Joker survived. Batman arrives back at the cave and looks for Alfred, he goes upstairs and finds a purple package with green ribbon, and opens it to find a tape. He plays the cassette and hears that Joker has "Bruce Wayne's butler" Alfred, and has apparently burned his eyes with ammonia, to the point that Alfred thought he was blindfolded. Joker "does it again for fun" while Batman has to listen to the man that raised him scream out in pain. From there, Batman visits Commissioner Gordon, telling him he's taking him to a bunker to protect him against Joker, but Gordon is opposed to the idea, saying he needs to face him, even if it means opening up bad wounds. As Gordon says that he touches pictures of Joker being arrested and Gordon standing over Babs' hospital bed after she was shot by The Joker, when Gordon gets a paper cut and suddenly starts to bleed profusely. He's quickly taken to the hospital, as Batman and Nightwing talk on the roof, with Batman telling Nightwing that Gordon was poisoned with Blood thinners by The Joker. Batman then tells Nightwing that The Joker has Alfred, which makes Nightwing wonder if Joker knows Batman's identity. Batman says he doesn't think so, he thinks he just took Alfred because Joker said he's "planning a party" and would want Alfred, who is the best in his field. Nightwing starts to freak out but Batman makes him calm down, telling him he's not telling anyone else Alfred is missing, because they'd get angry and let their anger distract them which will only work in Joker's favor. Batman says Joker is re-creating his first crimes in new ways, and he needs to head down to the reservoir because he thinks Joker is going to poison the reservoir, and he needs Nightwing at the pipeline. Batman heads to the reservoir and finds The Joker waiting for him, as Joker tells him he's happy he and Batman can talk. He tells Batman he knew Bats would show up and try to stop him so he's already killed the people who would've drank the poisoned water and thrown them in the reservoir, and he also blows up the Pipeline, as Nightwing is blasted off his feet from the explosion. Batman charges Joker but he's restrained by a bunch of chattering teeth ropes, and Joker tells Batman he's the court Jester and he's telling Batman what no one else will, his family has made him lazy, made him lose his edge, and now he can't even deal with Owls without their help. So he's going to give Batman some bad news to help him, and he says it clear enough so Batman's allies can hear over their comm links, He knows who they are... every secret identity and address, and even what soap they use, and now he knows why Nightwing smells so good. He says their all fakers and phonies, but Joker says he knows one more secret, one Batman has kept from everyone except The Joker, who learned it from a book he found in the Batcave. Batman says he's lying, but Joker says we'll see, but in seventy-two hours, each Bat and Bird will be dead, and Batman will be the one who kills them, as the issue comes to a close.
 
Thoughts: Say what you want about Scott Snyder, but that guy knows how to write a story. I was extremely into this comic, especially at the big showdown at the end between Batman and Joker. The stuff with Alfred being tortured and Bruce listened on was done great, the way Gordon was taken out due to the insane plan by Joker, and everything about the way he apparently plans to "Tower of Babel" the Batman allies with Batman's plans. In the second feature we saw a bunch of crime bosses killed by Umbrellas by the Joker, to incriminate Penguin. Joker then tells Penguin that he'll lick the blood off of each umbrella and leave his DNA at the scene so people know it was him, if Penguin agrees to come to this party he has planned, to which Penguin begrudgingly agrees. I enjoyed that as well, as I'm curious to see what Joker has planned for this big party that has him hunting out Batman and his rogues.

Score: 9/10 

The Joker: All of you, beneath your little maskssss! That's right. I know your little secrets identities!

Batman #13

Hey everyone, JT here with the return of the freaking Joker. So screw all this intro crap, Joker's been gone for a year, he's back, let's get to it!

 Batman #13

Summary: We pick things up in Gotham with Commissioner Jim Gordon and Detective Harvey Bullock discussing the weird things that have been happening in Gotham, like three days straight of rain, and a lion cub being born with two heads at the Gotham Zoo. He says they're omens and when something happens people are gonna say they should've expected it from the omens. As they talk, we see a "Forget Me Not" catering van arriving in Gotham and right outside of the GCPD. Inside the building, Gordon is talking to his officers when the power goes out. The generator's kick in as Gordan see's The Joker in the doorway. The lights go out again as Joker taunts Gordon with jokes while murdering officers one by one, snapping their necks in the darkness. Joker eventually says that Gordon is looking well, as is Barbara. Gordon yells at him not to say her name, but Joker says Gordon is always hiding things, like the pack of smokes he hides under his mattress, and Joker says he's seen it, since he sometimes lies under Gordon's bed at night, and sometimes he wants to reach up and... Joker laughs as a startled Gordon shoots. The lights come back on and Batman is standing next to Jim, who is literally circled with the corpses of dead Police Officers. Batman asks Gordon what Joker did, and he says Joker told a joke, as he checks the evidence room and see's that Joker has stolen his face back. Next we see Bruce in the bat cave, studying The Joker, looking for clues about where he may be. While Bruce and Alfred discuss Joker, Damian basically calls Joker a pushover, to which Bruce tells him that couldn't be farther from the truth, and not to underestimate the Clown Prince of Crime. Eventually Nightwing, Red Robin and Batgirl all contact Bruce to confirm that The Joker is back when a news-feed seemingly shows The Joker making an announcement live on television. He says that he's been away but now he's back, but you can see the Joker is actually behind a man whose face is painted like The Joker's. He makes the statement that Mayor Hady will die at midnight, and after using his body double to make this announcement, Joker shoots him point blank in the head. Turns out Joker's body double was the son of the first man he killed in Gotham (to Batman's knowledge) and Joker killed his dad the same way Joker said he'd kill the Mayor, as Joker seems to be repeating his first kill for some reason. The original first kill was poisoned with Joker Toxin, so Batman and Gordon run numerous blood tests while protecting him with other officers as Batman works in the shadows. Eventually, Batman realized Joker wasn't going to kill Mayor Hady, he'd actually poisoned all of the police officers with Joker Toxin, causing them to die, but instead of having the trademark smiles, they had frowns. Batman takes a sample of the Toxin and sends it to Alfred, who notes it's the same except now Joker's added Asprin, Chlorine and Ethanol, which Batman puts together as A.C.E., the ACE Chemical plant where Joker and Batman first started their historic rivalry. Joker is waiting for Bats when he shows up, wearing his Red Hood attire and telling Bats that this is why he left, because he needed the Real Batman. Bats says that this Red Hood isn't Joker, and asks where he is. Batman runs at the Red Hood and is suddenly hit by a huge mallet which knocks him into an empty chemical vat. The doors seal on the vat and it starts to fill up with the chemicals that Joker fell into. The Red Hood removes their helmet to reveal that it's actually Harley Quinn! Joker's voice was coming from a recording in the helmet, and Batman yells that he knows Harley is up there. Harley says Joker's not the same, he's no longer her Mr. J and his plan is too much, even for him. Batman yells at her to tell him where Joker is, as we cut over to Wayne Manor to see Alfred opening the door. As Alfred opens the door, he see's the two-headed lion cub and Joker is suddenly behind Alfred, raising a hammer and saying "Now, Mr. Pennyworth, stop me if you've heard this one!" and maniacally laughing as this issue ends.


Thoughts: Holy...shit. Okay... I doubted Snyder a bit after the Court of Owls ending. I doubted his Harper row issue. But this... this was amazing. His Joker was fantastically written, he was close enough to Joker that he seemed like the same character but so sadistic that he seemed new and even more ruthless. The stuff about being under Gordon's bed, and knowing something only Gordon would know about what's under his bed was creepy as shit because that means it HAD to be true. While Gordon slept... The Joker sat under his bed with a creepy smile on his face, and that's got to be scary as hell. This is a Joker who knows who Batman is, and instead of just going after Bats and leaving Bruce be as he always does, he's going after everyone, including ALFRED. This storyline had a ton of potential and if Snyder can keep this up, this is definitely going to be an arc we all talk about for many year, much like Year One, Hush, Knightfall and etc. There's also a creepy back-up story where we see Joker returning to Harley, threatening to remove her face and describing it in gruesome detail, as well and how he got her on board for his plan that was great too. It looks like we're in for a treat with The Joker's return, and I'm not sure if anyone is really safe...

Score: 10/10 

The Joker: But just because he's the Mayor, don't think he may-or-may-not die. He's dead as a baby bird smashed with a crowbar! (This was an excellent hint at what would happen in hindsight...)

JT's Take: Batman #11

Hey guys and gals, JT here with the finale of the year long story chronicling Batman's war with the Court of Owls. Let's see how things play out, as we see Batman take on Owlman!

Batman #11

Summary: Things pick up where they left off in the previous issue, with Batman and Owlman taking it to one another. Owlman gets the upper hand and hooks Batman with a line, then flies him around the city, explaining how he's always lived in Bruce's shadows, watching Batman and Bruce from afar. He'd planned to attack sooner but the Court of Owls had him bide his time. He explains that after getting rid of Bruce for good, Gotham will be his, as he flies near a plane and tries to drop Batman into the engine. Bats hangs on and manages to escape after detonating a small explosive he'd placed on Owlman earlier. Bruce falls towards Gotham from miles in the air, but manages to save himself by swinging into an abandoned building. He's met by Owlman, who tells him he plans to bury them both under the debris of the building, but he'll survive due to the serum in his blood that keeps him from dying. Batman decides to play dirty and jams his thumbs into Owlman's eyes, before diving out of the building just as it explodes. Later reports discover that no bodies were found in the debris, meaning Owlman got away as well. We also see Bruce talking to Dick later, Bruce saying how the Court of Owls was still out there, how Thomas isn't his brother, since a John Doe baby was brought into the hospital a week after Thomas supposedly died, so the Court could use that information to confuse the child into thinking he was Thomas. He then states, he won't know for sure until he can get a DNA sample though. The issue comes to a close with Bruce saying when the Court of Owls does return, he'll be ready for them.


Thoughts: Okay, some of you may disagree but this issue seemed really lackluster to me. The ending was kind of lame in my opinion, and we knew they wouldn't give us a definitive answer on Thomas, which they couldn't, due to wanting to make us wonder. But the fight between the two, the stuff with Dick and Bruce, all just seemed slow and kind of boring to me, not the payoff I expected after a year of building, but like I said, that's my opinion. It wasn't a bad comic, I just expected a lot more.

Score:  6.5/10

Dick: Dammit, Bruce. Now I can't hit you


Well that's it for me, Let me know what you guys think and if you enjoyed this issue more than I did, until next time, this is JT, signing off.

JT's Take: Batman #10

Hey guys, gals and gallivanting miscreants, it's your temporary head honcho, a Vice-President if you will with a brand new review that you guys suggested. See, we even have a democracy going on! Since they were suggested by you guys, you can expect a few reviews over the next few days, including Spider-Men #1, but that's then, for now let's see what's going on with The Dark Knight himself in this issue of Batman. Warning: This will include spoilers, so if you haven't read Batman #10 yet, I would skip this review.

Batman #10

Summary: Things started off with Batman finally tracking down the Court of Owls after the Bat-Family has finally dealt with the Talons. Batman heads to the Harbor house, the place he went looking for clues as a child and almost died, as he finds the entire Court of Owls dead, poisoned by their drinks, Jim Jones style. Defeated, Bruce heads back home until he lays eyes upon a picture of his Parents and heads to the morgue looking for a body, instead finding a note. Bats follows the directions of the note to the remains of an old mental hospital for children and is met by none-other than the no longer deceased Lincoln March. Batman reveals that he knows Lincoln used the Talon serum before dying, and he betrayed the Court of Owls and poisoned them. Batman then says that Lincoln was an inmate at the Children's Hospital, which March confirms, and Bruce says the thing that tipped him off was a story March told him about a pin his Mother wore when she was in the car crash that killed her. Turns out she didn't die in a car crash, but the pin he described was a pin owned by Martha Wayne, a pin that was only given to mothers who had a child in the mental hospital, as Lincoln march reveals he is Bruce's brother, Thomas Wayne Jr.!!! Bruce denies having a brother but Thomas says deep down he knows it to be true, Martha was pregnant when in a car accident and Thomas was born early, so the Waynes sent him to the Willowwood Children's Hospital, as it used to be a premier hospital, before the funding dried up when Thomas and Martha Wayne were killed in Crime Alley. The issue comes to a close as March announces this as a fight for Gotham, Brother vs. Brother, Bat vs. Owl. In the back-up story we see Alfred's Father, Jervis Pennyworth in a story that pretty much backs up Lincoln's claim that he may be Bruce's brother, since Martha was indeed pregnant and was in a car accident that was caused by a Talon.


Thoughts: Well man, what a twist!!! I really enjoyed this issue, Scott Snyder has been on a roll and he planted hints well throughout the last year, which we all overlooked but in hindsight they really do make sense. I think we all figured Lincoln March was behind the Court of Owls but no one saw this coming. If done right, we can have a great new villain for Batman, and imagine how interesting Snyder will be able to do a story with Damian and his uncle Thomas. But I'm getting ahead of myself, I was kinda bummed at how soon we got rid of the Court, and there's always more but that seemed kinda rushed. The twist definitely made up for that though, and I'm very excited to see what Scott Snyder has up his sleeve next.

Score:  9/10

Lincoln March: So if I'm not Lincoln March, then who am I?

A Quick Look at... May 30th's new releases. Take 2!

Hey all, Vampire X here with the second part of my laziest idea ever, A Quick Look At...! I should be able to get a few real reviews done Sunday night or so, which means I can post some reviews Monday... Probably. But until then, it's lazy Vampire X to the rescue! I have to say, it's a REAL good thing JT is doing posts here, because if it was just up to me, this blog would be a sad place... Or a sadder place. I think that's more appropriate. Anyway, here's the rest of the books I picked up on Wednesday, in two sentences... Or less!!!

America's Got Powers #2: This was another good, strong issue of this series. The characters are interesting, the story is engaging, and with Bryan Hitch doing the art, it goes without saying that the art is great.
Score: 8 out of 10.

Batman Annual #1: JT pretty much said everything I'd have said about this comic, but better! This was a fantastic one and done issue that puts a whole new spin on the Mr. Freeze character.
Score: 10 out of 10.

Astonishing X-Men #50: This issue actually made me remember how much I enjoyed reading Marjorie Liu's work... I'm not a huge fan of any of the characters here, but Liu tells a story that's good enough to have me interested in the next issue.
Score: 7 1/2 out of 10.

Ravagers #1: This comic was good! I'd have liked it better without Beast Boy, and I'm not sure if I'll snag issue #2, but I'm at least pondering picking up the second issue, which is more than I expected.
Score: 7 out of 10.

And that'll do it for me. After a quick bite to eat(heh heh...) it's back to the casket until tonight. Until later, Vampire X out!

JT's Take: Batman Annual #1

Hey X-Maniacs, it's I, your friendly neighborhood Blogger-Man, the guy here that's not a Vampire, and your favorite bench rider, JT! Since our buddy Vampire X is feeling a bit burned out I'm gonna pick up the slack here. Of course, the week he wants me to pick up the slack is the week only I bought three books, but we'll make it work! I had a joke about Vampire X not sucking blood, but just sucking, but I figure why not just get to the review? So let's get started!

Batman Annual #1

Summary:  So in this issue we kick off with Mr. Freeze in Arkham Asylum, recounting the story of his mother falling through Ice during Winter about thirty years ago, she was frozen which kept her alive until help arrived.When he's stalled long enough, Freeze kills the psychiatrist and uses the man's crayon (something Freeze couldn't use as a weapon) and uses the crayon to jam the electric currents that keeps Freeze's room hot. Once the room becomes cold, Freeze uses it to his advantage pretty damn awesomely to break out. I say this a lot but words can;t do it justice, Snyder really writes Freeze like a bad ass in this scene. Freeze then meets with Penguin and is looking for guns, as he's ready to retrieve his wife, Nora Fries, and leave Gotham once and for all, due to his recent Bat and Owl problems. We then see a flashback to six years ago, as Bruce Wayne and Victor Fries meet for the first time, via Lucius Fox. Basically, the project Fries was in charge of, Bruce didn't feel comfortable doing and decided to end it, this didn't go over well with Fries though since he thought the project could save Nora.

Freeze finally returns in the present day with a serum he believes will cure Nora, as it's the serum the Court of Owls used to awaken the Talons, but he finds his wife is no longer there, and he's also met by Robin and Nightwing. Freeze eventually gets the upper-hand on the former Dynamic Duo and is about to freeze and shatter Damian's arms until Bruce Wayne interrupts over an intercom and tells Freeze he's in the penthouse and to come up. As Freeze goes to meet Bruce we see another flashback where Bruce finds out about Fries' experiment with Nora and tells him he's shut the program down and called the authorities because he can't allow Fries to play mad scientist. An irate Freeze hurls a chair which blows up a cryo-container that explodes over Fries. He wakes up in an emergency room hearing Doctor's talk about how his body temperature is 27 degrees Fahrenheit and he shouldn't be alive, and his blood cells are capturing the cold air. Upset at Wayne and clearly his current condition, Freeze kills the doctors and yells that he's coming for Wayne. Back in the present Freeze arrives upstairs looking for Wayne but finds Nora's cryogenic pod, as well as Batman busting through the skylight and beating the hell out of Freeze for his actions tonight. Freeze subdues Batman long enough to get to Nora, but Batman says he's not letting him leave with her because they both know she's not his wife!!!! Bats drops the bomb that Nora Fields (?!) was born in 1943 and frozen when she had an incurable heart condition. Fries wrote his doctoral thesis on her over a decade ago but never knew her and she's old enough to be his grandmother. Bats eventually uses the cure Freeze planned on using on Nora on Freeze, which causes him to overheat and become unable to move, so Batman calls Nightwing to return Freeze to Arkham. As the issue closes we see a young Victor Fries taking his confused, forgetful mother back to the ice she once fell in, and pushing her in as a sympathetic yet insane, peaceful ending to her life.


Thoughts: I really enjoyed the bit of Freeze's past we saw, and it explains a lot about who he is and why. I also liked how well Snyder portrayed him here, he had that same swagger as Freeze pre-reboot but seemed so much more dangerous without his suit and gun, which is a vibe Freeze never really gave off before this issue. What else? I HAVE to give a full point to any book I can see someone kick Damian SQUARE in the face... man that was priceless. Oh, the explanation for how Fries became Mr. Freeze was excellent, as well as why he has to wear the goggles. Before the reveal this comic was a damn good comic, after the reveal it became an EXCELLENT comic book. This is probably one of, if not THE best single issue I've read all year.

Score:  Perfect Score, 10/10!

Batman: You love the cold, Victor. Even if you did bring her back, you'd end up destroying her. Because you love an idea, Victor. An Obsession. And that I do understand.

Man, that review was much longer than I expected, but damn that was a great comic. Anyway, as always, thoughts and comments are welcome, I look forward to seeing what you all thought of this issue, I'll be back tomorrow with a review for the Amazing Spider-Man Annual, until then, this is Jason Todd, signing off.

Batman #9

Time to go to the DCU, starting with Batman.

Batman #9:

Story Points:
-Batman and the Talons battle in the Batcave, while Bats waits for the temperature to drop low enough to put the Talons into hibernation.
-That gamble works, but nearly gets Bats killed by the plethora of Talons.
-Bats heads out to the nearest living person the Talons had targeted, Lincoln March.
-Bats is too late, and March is dying, but lives long enough to give a dramatic last speech, basically telling Bats to tell Bruce Wayne to continue trying to drag Gotham upward to the future.
-March also tells Bats that he had narrowed down the leader of the Court of Owls(see, I told you his death scene was long!) and gives Bats three names.
-This one ends with Bats declaring he'd take the battle to the Court's home now.

Thoughts: Not bad. I still don't see why this story is encompassing more than just Batman, but DC needs a x-over to compete with AvX, I guess. This issue was, as usual, good. It wasn't great, and I haven't the slightest how March was able to track the Court down to three names when Bats couldn't(unless March IS a member of the Owls and is trying to get rid of his fellow bird-brains by faking his death), but it was a better than average comic book.

Score: 8 out of 10.

Batman #8

Last review of the night is the latest issue of Batman, which is priced at $4 for some bizarre reason... I guess this issue is double sized or something, because, as far as I know, this isn't normally one of DC's $4 books.

Batman #8:

Summary: This issue gets started in earnest with several Talons from the Court of Owls breaking into Wayne Manor in order to kill Bruce Wayne. Bruce manages to fight his way through a few of them, while Alfred heads to the Batcave to try to tell Bruce where the Talons are coming from. The answer? Everywhere. Bruce has to retreat to the Cave, and is soon followed by several Talons. Alfred manages to pin one beneath that giant penny in the Cave, which allows Bruce to snatch a piece of tech from the Talon's arm bracer. Bruce and Alfred manage to get into the heavily reinforced armory in the Cave, and Bruce tells Alfred to drop the temperature in the Cave(since that would short out the Talons' healing factors), as well as to figure out what info was on that tech. As for Bruce, he puts on his... well, his Hulkbusting Batman armor(that's what it looked like!) and heads out of the armory to buy Alfred some time. Alfred manages to crack the tech and learns that the Court was targeting every major mover and shaker in Gotham that evening. Upon learning that, Batman tells Alfred to put a call out to all of the members of the Bat-family, asking them to try to help as many of the targeted figures as they could before it was too late.

Thoughts: This was a very strong comic. Sure, the Hulkbuster armor was a bit much(when did Bruce Wayne become Tony Stark?!), and I have no clue why Damian wasn't in the Manor but was in Gotham, alone, in his Robin attire... Besides those two very minor points though? No complaints here. Oh, and this comic had 30 pages, so it DID have a few more than usual, thus explaining the cover price, so kudos to DC for giving us some extra bang for our extra buck... Unlike a certain OTHER comic book company...

Score: 8 out of 10.

See! Hulkbusting armor!!

New Comic Day! March 28th edition

Hey all, it's Wednesday, which means two things lately... The first is that I'm currently at work... The second, and WAAAAY more important thing? It's New Comic Day! Huzzah!! So yeah, as I just said, I'm actually slaving away at work at the moment, and haven't actually gone to the comic shop yet. But I will, and when I do, here are the books I'm expecting to pick up... American Vampire #25, I, Vampire #7, Justice League Dark #7, Teen Titans #7, Voodoo #7, Morning Glories #17, Avengers #24.1, Avengers vs X-Men #0, Captain America and Bucky #628, Daken: Dark Wolverine #23, Daredevil #10, Mighty Thor #12, Secret Avengers #24, Uncanny X-Force #23, X-Men Legacy #264. Huh, so that's a total of 15 books... That's not a terrible number, although I have a feeling that number is going to increase since there are some other comics I'm interested in getting that aren't on my pull list(namely Superman #7)... Anyway, this week's Pick of the Litter shouldn't come as a great shock, it has to be Avengers vs X-Men #0... It's the start of the yearly Marvel MEGA-EVENT!!! and all, so this issue should give us some idea of what to expect in the upcoming months. This week's Runt of the Litter? Um... Let's go with Captain America and Bucky #628... I just haven't been able to get into the storyline in this series, which is the only reason this comic is the Runt. Honestly, there's not one comic out of this bunch that I'm openly dreading... Sure, an issue of Avengers drops this week, but I'm hopeful that Bendis will give us a decent story now that the Norman Osborn Saga has finally come to an end. And that'll do it. Later on tonight(probably much later) I'll have reviews for Avengers vs X-Men #0 and probably Daken up. Until then, X out.

The (not so) Random Scan of the Week!

Hmm, this all seems so very familiar...

Batman #7

First DC book I'll be reading this week(and the final review for the night)? Batman. This has definitely been one of the better books coming out of DC since the reboot, but I wasn't a huge fan of the last issue... Let's see what we've got here.

Batman #7:

Summary: Some random girl(am I supposed to know her?) saves Batman after fishing him out of the water, at which time he storms back to the Batcave, where he discovers that Alfred had managed to get a hold of Talon's corpse(which was also dumped in the drink last issue). Bats decides to forgo resting and examines Talon, finding a tooth in Talon's mouth that granted him a healing factor, some level of immortality and apparently no real mind. Nightwing comes to the Cave to check on Bats, and Bats reveals the Talon was Nightwing's great-grandfather(!). Nightwing is obviously surprised by this fact, and lashes out at Bats for keeping secrets from all of the people closest to him. After listening to Dick rant for a bit, Bats smashes Dick in the face, knocking a tooth out. Bats then picks up the tooth and reveals that it was just like the one in Talon's head(...), and that when Dick died, the Court of Owls intended on bring Dick back to life as their murderous minion, much like they had Dick's great grandfather. After that, everything is good between Bats and Dick again(or at least as good as things get between those two...) and this issue ends with the Court sending an army of Talons out to take Gotham City over.

Thoughts: See, now this was a comic with a fantastic cliffhanger. The ending here saved this one for me, as most of this comic was Bats explaining to Dick(or more accurately, the readers) the events of the past few issues, dating all the way back to Dick being insinuated in that murder in the first issue(Grayson DNA was present due to Talon being his great grandfather). Basically, Batman told us how everything we've seen these past few issues happened. If that was all we would have gotten here, I'd have been mildly annoyed. As it is though, we got a great ending, which apparently heralds the start of the Night of the Owls storyline. So yeah, ending good, beginning not so good.

Score: 7 out of 10.

Dick.

Batman #6

The final review for tonight? Hows about the comic that was ALMOST my Pick of the Litter this week, Scott Snyder's Batman. After the last issue, I'm extremely intrigued to see what Snyder has up his sleeve for this issue...

Batman #6:

Summary: Having stabbed Batman last issue, Talon asks the Court of Owls what should be done with Bats, and the Court declares that Bats should be beaten some more. With that, Talon beats the ever-loving hell out of Bats, at which time the Court members come over to the fallen Batman to... um, take his bones? Bats says hell no to that noise and attacks Talon, pummeling him and leaving him beaten and broken. With that taken care of, Bats warns the Owls that they were now on his radar before blowing a hole in the ground and falling into the river below. The Court of Owls arrive at the site of Batman's escape and decide to dispose of Talon since he had failed them so spectacularly. They also decide to activate the other Talons, as we learn that they had a small army of Talons. As for Batman, he's too weak to get out of the river, and presumably drowns.

Thoughts: Um, what the hell just happened here? Seriously, I wasn't sure what was real and what wasn't in this issue... The first Court of Owls had to be fake since they, you know, literally looked like owls. I have no idea why Batman suddenly looked like a demon, especially since it was Batman who had been drugged... I guess he saw himself as a giant demonic bat? For some reason? I don't know... For as much as I liked the originality of the last issue, I disliked the insanity of this one.

Score: 6 out of 10.

So Batman is some kind of demonic animal now? Huh.

A Quick Look At... Batman #5

Next up, probably the gem of the DC reboot for me, Scott Snyder's Batman.

Batman #5:

What Happened: Basically this issue deals with Batman slowly going insane due to being trapped in the Owl's maze. Plus his water supply is probably being drugged, thus adding ti Batman's ever-growing madness... But yeah, this entire issue deals with Bats simply wandering around the maze, trying to avoid the light and winding up back where he started... Repeatedly!

Thoughts: Yes, I know that wasn't much of a review(thus why it's a “Quick Look At...” review!), but seriously, that's the entirety of this issue! Bats haplessly roaming around that maze and slowly going crazy. Scott Snyder actually added a nice little touch to show us just how crazy Bats was going by having the comic pages go sideways and upside-down at certain points in the story(which led to a very confused me turning the pages the wrong way every now and then...). Greg Capullo's art and Snyder's story REALLY hammered home how disorienting the Owl maze was, and made this an interesting, and quite good read.

Score: 8 out of 10.

Don't you just HATE it when that happens?!

Batman #4

Closing out this Friday night? The Batman! I always got a kick out of people calling him “The” Batman... That be like “The” Spider-Man! Or “The” Superman! Strangely enough, Bats is just egomaniacal enough to make “The” Batman work... Well, how's that for an odd introduction!?

Batman #4:

What Happened: The Batman manages to escape from the trap sprung by the Court of Owls last issue and heads back to the Batcave to lick his wounds and play with the skeletal remains of his dead great, great-grandfather. Alan Wayne(that would be the previously mentioned great, great-grandpappy) seemed to believe there was a Court of Owls running around Gotham, and after analyzing Alan's bones, Bats realizes that Alan had been tortured prior to his death, something that nobody picked up on back in the day. Nightwing stops by to see how Bats is doing, and Bats tells him a story about how as a child Bats looked into the Court of Owls, since baby Bats thought the Court had a hand in the deaths of his parents. After a long search that saw baby Bats get locked in an abandoned building for a week, baby Bats concluded there was no Court of Owls. Nightwing tells Bats that maybe he missed something as a kid, but Bats responds by stating that he had looked in on the Court of Owls rumors occasionally and never found any evidence. After finishing up his examination of Alan's bones, Bats heads to the sewers, which was where Alan's corpse was found and begins to look around. Unfortunately for Bats, that creepy owl guy(Talon I guess?) sneak attacks him and knocks him out cold. This issue ends with Bats waking up in a massive maze with a bunch of weirdos in owl masks watching him from a screen... Holy deathtrap, Batman!!

The Good: I still like the idea of a secret Court of Owls running around Gotham. The owls and Talon have really good villainous looks to them. The cliffhanger was interesting, as Bats finally comes face-to-face, in a manner of speaking, with the Court. I like Dick operating out of Gotham again since it gives him a reason to pop up in this series from time to time.

The Bad: I hate to say it, but this comic was pretty boring to me... The LONG story about baby Bats just didn't do it for me. And since that story made up a majority of this issue, that was bad news for me!

The Verdict: If you took out the middle 8-10 pages of this comic, it wasn't that bad. But I just never got into Bruce's flashback tale. I'm sure a lot of people enjoyed it, but for me it was just kind of time-wasting... But your opinion of this issue will definitely be decided on that flashback, so for me, this issue was a letdown.

Score: 5 1/2 out of 10.Look out, there's an owl behind you!!!

Batman #3

There once was a time when I'd buy every single Batman titled book DC was peddling. Now I only buy two. The moral of the story? Um... I don't know that there is a moral... Let's just get to the review.

Batman #3:

What Happened: Still dubious that there was a Court of Owls secretly operating out of Gotham for the last century or so, Batman(or Bruce Wayne) talks to a few people who begin to make him think that maybe he was wrong to dismiss the possibility outright. Talking to Lincoln March makes Bruce think back to his great grandfather, who everybody thought was crazy due to an insane fear of owls nesting in his buildings... Bruce heads to Wayne Tower and looks in the secret 13th floor, and sure enough, discovers an owl base. Realizing his great grandfather was onto something, Bats contacts Alfred and tells him to open his great grandfather's crypt, but before Bats can get to the crypt, Bats trips a trap and Wayne Tower blows up while one of the Owls watched.

The Good: The story here was very well put together. The cliffhanger was pretty good(even though we all know Bats didn't get blown up). The owl-cave was cool, especially the creepy owl pictures on the walls. Alan Wayne's ramblings actually leading to something was good to see. There was a good balance of set-up and actual occurrences going on here. It wasn't JUST action or JUST set-up.

The Bad: Alan Wayne not actually being crazy was a bit annoying... Bats beating that Ukrainian gang by sticking them to a train via magnets seemed really dangerous... I'm getting tired of that stupid Owl rhyme. Should Bats really have been openly communicating with Alfred in the owl-cave? I mean what if they had some sort of recording devices? No wonder everybody knows the identities of the Bat family members...

The Verdict: I enjoyed this issue a lot. This comic was definitely my favorite DC book from the week as Scott Snyder is doing a really good job setting up this Court of Owls as a major threat. And I honestly wouldn't mind if the Court DID become a major, reoccurring Batman threat. So far they've been really well put together, it's an original idea and I like the design of the Owls. All in all, good stuff here.

Score: 9 out of 10.Those owl masks are AWESOME!