If you aren't reading Batman (and even with the sales figures, there must be at least a few of you), this is the perfect place to hop on board. And you should, if only to understand why your friends have started to look like they're not sleeping very well.

Snyder and Capullo promised big things in Death of the Family — the return and reinvention of Batman's most beloved adversary, a story that would encompass the entire Bat family, and a hero, already pushed to the edge by the Court of Owls, driven to the discovery that he has even more desperate depths to plumb. I have a feeling that they're going to pull it off.

Walk through the door (and while you're there, frame Capullo's haunting, magnificent opening page). I promise that nothing will be the same when you come out the other side.

And Batman #16 is scary because the good man, the man of skill and cunning has fundamentally misapprehended what is going on. Bruce insists to himself that he's shown up early, finally one step ahead, and that the Joker himself is within his grasp. He cannot see that he has become a dark knight errant, descending into hell in a quest to save what has already been lost.

And then go buy another. To ask for it back would simply be cruel.

It's almost unbearable. As it should be.

I'm pleased to say that I don't have any idea where Code Monkey Save World is going. But let me grab a blaster, brush up on my HTML, and throw on some Jonathan Coulton songs for clues, and I'm right there for the ride.

Fantastic Four has always been a comic about a very unusual, very real family exploring and surviving the unimaginable. FF is that tradition at its best. Its very, very best.

My only real concern is that with the Star Wars license shifting to Marvel comics in the foreseeable future, this might end up being a title cut off before its time. But really, that's all the more reason to catch this series while you can. It'll be worth every page and every penny.

Simone's Batgirl is kicking ass (in her nightshirt no less). I'd almost worry for the Joker.

But in a year of almost non-stop “holy crap” moments, there isn't really one in Batman #0. And I'm expecting (perhaps erroneously) that Batman #13 isn't going to pick up right where Batman #0 left off, meaning that it's going to be a while before I find out exactly whether and how the Red Hood delivers on the threat which ends the issue. It's going to be great, and I'm going to be there when it is. But I'm just a little surprised to say that Batman #0 doesn't quite get there on its own.

Every night for Batman is the very first night, and Batman #21 is something special in that it gives us a glimpse of what happens before the first first night, and a Bruce Wayne who not only isn't Batman yet, he isn't even quite Bruce Wayne. Yet.

Batman's world is a strange place. Let's keep it that way.

But I'm already willing to say that after Pak and Lee finish with Batman/Superman, I want an Earth 2 Catwoman series from them. It's okay. I'll wait.

It's entirely possible that Damian is a continuity bomb, a virus Grant Morrison slipped into the DC universe. He rebuilds the world around himself, and probably will never quite fit. If we're lucky, we'll get to watch the whole thing.

In the middle of upheaval, with more promised to be on the way, it's nice to be able to see everyone get to smile just once. Those of us who read Batman aren't exactly expecting the light to win, but even darkness needs contrast.

Grant Morrison's grand Batman tale may seem to be coming to a conclusion, but it's building up steam as it gets there. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next.

History, impact, a few extra pages, and most important of all, outstanding content. Yes, it seems that DC really can learn, and deliver a celebration worthy of the event.

I won't spoil the turn the story takes on the final two pages, even if it's probably not that much of a surprise. After all, if you're paying attention, you know that you've read this story before, but it's still a pleasure to watch a pair of masters tell it again with every bit of their skill.

For this reviewer at least, an end was welcome. I'm happy to say it was worth it.

In either case, it's a welcome sign that the somewhat minimalist “just the basics” approach to the Dark Knight might finally be falling out of fashion. (After all, running around in a cape isn't really the approach of a minimalist personality.) Batman has always lived in a larger than life world, and what makes Snyder's writing so extraordinary is the way that his Bruce Wayne is still so much himself in the middle of it all.

If you're the sort of person affected by acts of great sacrifice in the face of impossible odds, you'll find it moving. If you're the sort of person bothered by the depiction of acts of violence visited on a ten-year-old boy, you'll find it rather disturbing.

So don't buy Li'l Gotham because you want to prove Dan Didio wrong. Buy it because DC should be encouraged to publish Dustin Nguyen's watercolors wherever and whenever they can. Because Batman should have a lighter side. And because, in the end, it's okay to have a little fun. As a good example for Damian.

And I haven't even gotten to The Mad Hatter. Is there a touch of Christopher Walken in his face and demeanor? Yes, but I think it's the platform shoes that make the package for me. I would not, however, recommend telling the man that to his face. It might not end well.

I imagine that one day Diana will get the opportunity fight for her sisters the way she tried to fight for their brothers in Hephaestus's forge. I look forward to reading that story.

And I'll be the first to say that as a reader, the Worlds' Finest/Earth 2 take on superheroes is totally refreshing. It's a reminder that grittiness has as much to do with resolve, determination, and hand-to-hand heroism as it does with living in a world of corruption and compromise.

Batman and Red Robin #19 is a busy comic. There are no fewer than three guest stars, two of whom are called out on the cover, but there's still apparently room for a couple of welcome surprises

If you're a Grant Morrison fan, which I think I've made clear I am, you owe it to yourself to be reading this title. (Although chances are that you already are.) If you're not a Morrison fan, then let me invite you to just dip your toe. Come in for the art — Damien's scowl, Bruce's powder-blue eyes, the way that Batman's silhouette dances across Matches Mallone's shades. The patterns are everywhere, but don't be afraid if you don't see them just yet. Stay just a bit longer. Turn the page. The answers are there, just out of reach.

Grant Morrison has been writing his Batman story for nearly seven years now, and taken by itself, Batman Incorporated #13 can almost seem an anticlimax. Everything happens so quickly, and it's all narrated after the fact, as Commisioner Gordon interrogates Bruce Wayne alone.

It may not have the explosive audacity of Snyder and Capullo's Batman (Fabok's art in particular is solid and skillful rather than inspiring), but Detective Comics is delivering classic Batman in tone, character, and story. It's a welcome return to form for one of DC's flagship titles.

Earth 2 covers a lot of ground, but it steadfastly refuses to be rushed. This is a virtue. Don't worry too much if you don't catch all the references to previous characters and continuities.3 The mythology Robinson and Scott are building is rich enough on its own to provide ample rewards to readers patient enough to let things unfold.

All of which is a long way of saying that Earth 2 Annual #1 is an excellent jumping-on point for a well-told story in a rich, unique, and yet insistently familiar world. Just as long as you're not expecting more Batman than is actually there.

But, ultimately, somehow, Dick Grayson still works. It all feels right. To everyone except Dick, apparently, who from the start says that “Robin would be anything but permanent.” Which is no surprise, really. He's outgrown the cape by the time he gets to put it on.

Is the comic quite as magical as the cartoon? No. Well, not yet anyway. But its good to have Jack back again, in whatever form we can get him.

But this is a first issue! There's still plenty of time to smooth out the edges and fill in the details. For now, pick up Talon #1 for the action, but stay for the conspiracy theories. If Tynion keeps up the mix, we're in for a good time.

I'm not entirely sure yet whether Season 10 of the X-Files will be as good, and as rewarding to longtime fans as, say, the extended comic seasons of Buffy the the Vampire Slayer. I can tell you that Mulder's deadpan still works, Scully is still the earnest, straightforward center of the goings-on, and it's still good to see Skinner's particular embodiment of a cross between Charlie Brown and a bulldog. Everyone (except the creators) is clearly in over their heads.

With Darkseid's son and Ares' greatest pupil on hand, that's a situation that can't last. And that's without even mentioning Diana's apparently oldest half-sibling, who spent the last 7,000 years tunneling his way out from the center of the Earth and is currently chilling in the Antarctic. Azzarello clearly has the long game in mind, and some big pieces on the board. It looks like they're just about ready to come into play. I'm (still) looking forward to it.

It would have been a bold move for a title less than a year old to put its main character's child into the lead role, but Lemire's built a supporting cast that could have handled it. It would have played hell with the larger DC continuity, but with Abby Arcane in a similar lead role in Swamp Thing it could have made for absolutely necessary reading in what were (and are) already two of the boldest, most gloriously weird titles in the New 52. And that sense of urgency and necessity are exactly what seem to be missing right now.

Fortunately, then, I'm the sort of person who has a weakness for young men with tall hair and skinny ties who act more grizzled than they have any right to be. With titles like Manhattan Projects, Prophet, and even Invincible, Image Comics is quietly carving out a claim to be the home of the best science fiction comics being produced today. If Brisson and Walsh continue to build on a promising start, Comeback will be a worthy part of that conversation.

Maybe it's not that John's less dark, maybe it's that we all look at the world through Constantine-colored glasses.

With Jason Todd finally making sense as a hero shaped by crime and violence beyond anyone else in the Bat-family, and DC's Zero Month quickly becoming the month of the Robins3, it's a bit surprising that the one place that Red Hood #0 falls flat is when Jason actually becomes Robin.

But, happily, it's not an either/or world. With the sort of support DC is giving Batwing, as well as the newest Green Lantern, Simon Baz, maybe the return of a character like Nightrunner isn't too much to hope for. He'd be a great supporting character in a revamped Batwing series with an increased international focus. Something like the title that starts in earnest next month.

But Dial H kinda did it. The highs were better than the lows. And while I can't recommend picking up #15 on its own, I can send you to the trade, and those first glorious issues. For many readers, that'll be enough, but a few of you will keep going. Let me know if you do, because chances are that you're my kind of people.

This is a unique opportunity to add a Doctor or two to your list of favorites. Bow ties are cool, but so are scarves, and umbrellas, and celery.

In fact — and this may sound like unusual praise, but in all honesty I wasn't expecting to be giving it — one of the best things I have to say about the book is that it doesn't really matter whether you have all the background or understand everything that's going on. The world of Prophet is far less interested in explaining itself than in going about the business of doing what it's doing. For a story of a broken universe, and a few people trying to put what they can back together, this is exactly as it should be.

And out of all this, the celebrity angle might be much less objectionable than the decision to re-stage a version of real events stripped of all their context. After all, G.I. Joe was always a celebrity fantasy, even when its operations were “covert,” but even here, G.I. Joe #1 still feels like ground that Youngblood tread, without many rewards, twenty years ago.

What's really frustrating is that all of this could work if it weren't for the way being a member of the Teen Titans forces DC to try to hold onto the last bits of the old Tim — likable, plays well with others, still doesn't seem to quite know what to do with girls. A totally independent, wildly brilliant, tech savvy, sociopathic Tim Drake could be fascinating. He probably wouldn't be a team player, but he wouldn't be dull, either.

For example, Agatha Christie readers will remember that her novel isn't exactly about a death trap, at least not in the mechanical, Rube Goldbergian, Silver Age comic book sense. In Christie, there's a murderer among the ten. I'm pretty sure the same is true in The Red Ten, and that the first issue has sent some pretty clear signals about who it is. I'd be more excited about the series as a whole if I were more sure that those signals were intentional.

At the end, we're left with Black Canary, Starling, and Katana standing over a grievously wounded Poison Ivy, trying to figure out what to do next. In another title, that moment might be a breaking point, a sign that the end has finally come, but in Birds of Prey, maybe, just maybe, it means that the team (and the title) has finally hit rock bottom, and that better things are on the way.