I have to give this issue a 5/5 for sheer excellence. The way that the writer and artists work together on this book is rarely seen in such quality. I doubt there's anything they could have done differently that would have made it better. If you're a fan of batman or any of the Batman Family, this arc is one that you really shouldn't miss. Read Full Review

The backup story, dealing with a meeting between The Penguin and The Joker, isn't as satisfying as last issue's backup story, but Jock's artwork elevates it to a better level than it should be. As a whole, this issue is the best of the run yet, with the Snyder/Capullo team outdoing themselves, yet again. Read Full Review

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. Read Full Review

Sorry, I did it again. I'm trying to say that this story is awesome. I loved Snyder's Court of the Owls and this Joker story is even better. There is real menace and evil coming off these pages, with Batman at the end of his rope. There is real, meaningful emotion felt between Batman and the Commissioner or Batman and Nightwing, not to mention Batman and the Joker. Seriously, this is some of the best Batman has ever been in comics. If you love Batman, you should be reading Scott Snyder. Read Full Review

Seriously??? Nothing Batman #14 is flawless and it is books like this that makes me go out every Wednesday to Midtown Comics! Read Full Review

Scott Snyder, in my opinion, is having a perfect winning streak with Batman. Tony Daniel did a great job, but Snyder knows Batman like no one else. Snyder might just create a legacy for himself equal to that of Geoff Johns. Read Full Review

Snyder and Capullo pull together a tremendous book. Ive said this pretty much every month, and Ill say it again:Batmanis easily the number-one series DC has been publishing all year. Get it now! Read Full Review

Batman is the best book DC has going and it's not even close. If you only pick up one super hero book this should be it. If you only pick up one DC book then this should be it. If you only pick one book, period, this should be it. I can't wait to see where this all going. Read Full Review

The story is great, but it is in a sense another well-crafted part of a larger story. The true strength of this issue is the last six pages. The backup feature was a nice addition yet again. Month after month, James Tynion IV is proving that he has what it takes to bring the Bat-family and rogues gallery to life. And that Jock artwork is just the right amount of chaotic action mixed with the shadows and creepy imagery that make this story seem not only terrifying, but also personal and realistic. Capullos Joker is cool, but Jocks is downright scary. I almost forgot I was reading a comic book when I get to the backup story. And I believe that is the highest form of compliment for an artist. Read Full Review

The re-launch of "Batman" has been strong since day one, but "Death of the Family" is rapidly shaping up to be an extremely memorable story. If Snyder and Capullo can keep this up, we're in for a great ride ahead of us. This is the sort of story that the Joker should be saved for. Read Full Review

We're only two issues in and I know that this story will go down in history as one of the greatest Joker stories ever told. I can't wait for the next issue of 'Batman' to hit shelves. Read Full Review

Make sure you're in a happy place when you read this issue. We've seen many incarnations of the Joker over the years. We've seen many battles between Batman and Joker. None of that can prepare you for what Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo deliver in this issue. Joker is a beast as his plans against Batman unfold. This is a cold and calculating Joker that wants one thing, to rid Batman of all his excess baggage. He wants Batman all to himself. With that notion stuck in his head, he has targeted pretty much everyone around Batman. Throw in the question of whether or not he knows Batman's secret, it's a deadly game on any levels. I don't know how Synder and Capullo (and Glapion and Plascencia) do it month after month. I don't need to know how. Just as long as it keeps happening, I'll be happy. The Joker is a vicious bastard and you'll love every minute of it. Read Full Review

The Despite my large "The Bad" section, that was more or less me just getting something off my chest, not really anything at fault with the issue. But in all honesty, what is there left to say? I mean, just two issues in and it's hard to verbalize just how much I'm enjoying this story, already. Thinking about this issue, the one phrase I keep coming back to is "MAN, that's fucked!" because it totally is! All hands are on deck, and team Batman has gone absolutely off the rails, and it's fantastic. Read Full Review

This issue is just incredible, simply put. I re-read it 3 times and will probably skim through it a few more. The writing is very slick and the banter between Joker and Batman is witty and unnerving at the same time. This is by far the most insane Joker we've seen in a long time. When you couple that slick writing with beautiful visuals, you get a home-run. The Joker looks as sadistic as he sounds. If you remember back to issue 13 he stole his face back that had been cut off before his disappearance. Well, he's got the face back on his body, but it doesn't fit just right..making for some creepy visuals. I recommend going out and getting Batman 13 and 14 along with the rest of the issues pertaining to this storyline. It's only going to get better from here! Read Full Review

I'm sure everyone and their mother is reading Batman at the moment, but if you're not, now is the time to start. Scott Snyder is breathing new life into the Joker, and this series is going from strength to strength. With Snyder coupled with art gods like Greg Capullo and Jock, there's no reason that you shouldn't be reading this book right now. Read Full Review

This is grim stuff and not really suited for young readers (is anything DC publishes as a "new 52" book ok for kids?) - but mature readers will love it. Read Full Review

Batman continues to be extraordinary. This incarnation of the Joker is one of the best in years. Read Full Review

Batman #14's back-up isn't as strong as last month's, this time focusing on a meet-up between Joker and Penguin, but Jock's atmospheric art remains a high point of this issue in general. Read Full Review

It's a cliffhanger for sure because you don't know for sure if he is bluffing or just playing mind games with The Dark Knight. Read Full Review

Batman #14 is King Lear in a Bat cowl. Scott Snyder flips over another card in his Joker deck with this issue, but you can't help wondering what else he's got in his hand. Read Full Review

Batman #14 is a stellar issue from beginning to end. Never before has Bruce's 'extended family' been such a focal point of a Batman story to such a degree. Obviously, Alfred Pennyworth was taken from Wayne Manor at the end of Batman #13, and Jim Gordon gets hit his month with a blood-thinning poison. Even without the big reveal at the end, I would highly recommend this issue. The final pages, though, change everything for Batman and the Joker. Scott Snyder is leading the march on a new era for Batman and his allies, and it's going to be a frightening, sadistic, horrifying, absolutely entertaining road. Read Full Review

Snyder's writing with Capullo's art make for a winning series and this issue is another fantastic addition. They're not afraid to delve deep into the heart of Batman and Joker's relationship. Snyder breathes life into the Joker, making his dialogue come alive on the page. Though the new facelift Joker has is distracting, it's not enough to dock points from this book. Pick it up for the story and characterization, if for no other reason. Read Full Review

What a surprise! Another strong and disturbing issue of Batman! Read Full Review

Team Batman is setting up a DC event here and the first steps always hit the hardest. With Batman #14 there's a sure sign that what lies ahead might be Bruce's hardest and most dangerous fight since he donned the cowl. Joker has never been this complicated, and possibly psychotic. Snyder definitely has something to prove with handling the first Joker story of the new DCU, but if this is where things start, this'll join the ranks of some of the great Bat stories ever written. Read Full Review

Throughout the issue, we are left wonderingwhether Joker know Batman's alter ego. We get our answer at the very end of the issue.The only negative of the issue was the back up story. It was quite disappointing. It wasn't as good as in the last issue. This one deals with the Joker meeting Penguin. Read Full Review

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. Read Full Review

With Black Mirror and Court of Owls finished, and Death of the Family in full swing, Snyder is cementing his place on the list of the best Batman writers of all time. I have no doubt that when all is said and done, Death of the Family will easily stand up to, and maybe even surpass books like Killing Joke. Read Full Review

Scott Snyder has continuously delivered one excellent Batman comic after another and Batman #14 was no different. With the Joker going over the speed limit with his psychological attack on Batman this is a comic that can only be described as intense from beginning to end. Snyder did a great job showing off what makes the dynamic between Batman and Joker so special in terms of a battle between hero and villain. The additions of Batmans interaction with Commissioner Gordon and Nightwing only add more weight to everything going on in just one night. If you have not jumped on board with Snyders run do so immediately. Just begin with Batman #13 because this is one story arc that you do not want to miss out on. Read Full Review

While it's not quite up to the high level of the previous issue, Batman #14 is an excellent book and easily worth price of admission. Read Full Review

Despite my being underwhelmed this is still a decent issue, there are more than enough good character moments and the Joker's plan for Batman (and Snyder's plan for the Joker) is still exciting to read, but the strength of this issue seems to eventually rest on what's to follow. So we'll have to see. Read Full Review

In the "Good Ol' Days" before The New 52, the Joker would have made his scheme settle with a slow burn. These days however, he's cutting through the rubbish like a hyperactive zombie out of Dawn of the Dead. The most disturbing revelation of this issue is the fact the Joker apparently knows everything now; secret identities are a relic of the past. It's all the Family can do to simply react to his every move, let alone have enough time to plan ahead. One must wonder: who will live and who will die by the time this story concludes? Read Full Review

Batman #14 is a mixed bag of a half and half story, amazing arc, and another underwhelming backup.  Read Full Review

Like the Snyder Batman’s that came before, this is another solid installment and a nice escalation to the “DEATH OF THE FAMILY” story arc. I’m looking forward to some depraved Joker antics in the issues to come. Read Full Review

I have faith in Scott Snyders writing, so Im holding out hope that the entire story arc will come together more neatly. At least hes got Capullos consistently brilliant artwork to support the story no matter what. Death of the Family is still fairly new. Batgirl #14 is the only other full-issue crossover to have been released so far. We can only wait and see how the story is fully fleshed out. I had just hoped Batman #14 was as suspenseful and well-structured as its predecessor, and it fell a little short. Read Full Review

Sometimes you just have to move forward, and that is what Batman #14 does, but not in the way we would hope…or in the ways Snyder is capable of writing. The allure and mystique of the Joker can have that effect. Saving the Joker for after the New 52 reached its first birthday was a wise move. Probably could have waited even longer, but there are only so many memorable Batman stories to invert to create something new. Read Full Review

Snyder is careful by giving us an alternative explanation for the Joker's abduction of Alfred as well as the Joker never naming names when he “reveals” he knows Batman's secret identity. I'm hoping for a huge bait-and-switch. But seeing how the New 52 has given me very little of what I actually want, I'm not too hopeful. Hit-and-Miss. Read Full Review