And they leave us with a question, is that man on a park bench really…? Read Full Review

The reports are true. We have a new Batman that operates in a completely different fashion. It's an exciting time as Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo are almost writing a brand new book with these changes. There are still some familiar elements and we all know this can't last forever. It's a risky move and I'm incredibly fascinated to see how this turns out. If you have faith in the creative team and love the idea of Batman being taken to a different level, you'll want to pick up this issue. It's BATMAN, but it's also something new for the series. I can't wait to see how this plays out. Read Full Review

With easter eggs spread throughout, tight action, and great detective work the only negative I can think of is how badly I want more of this now. Snyder and Capullo are easily the best creative team on The Batman since Loeb and Lee, and I believe they surpass that dynamic duo. This is the definitive Batman run for any fan and it just keeps getting better. I am excited to see where Gordon will take the Batsuit. Read Full Review

If for nothing else, pick up this issue for the color changing batsuit moment, but stick around for great first chapter in the long journey for Jim Gordon. Read Full Review

While $3.99 has become the defacto price point for most comics companies nowadays, youre definitely getting your moneys worth here. With two creators whove injected whats essentially a new #1 after their biggest story, youd be remiss to skip out on the debut of the new Batman, and the insanity that follows. Read Full Review

This issue was a hit. Readers should be excited rather than nervous for where this series goes. Its safe to say Scott, Greg, Danny and DC comics knew what they were up for and really nailed it. With the next issue coming out in July, it just cannot get here fast enough. We need more Batman! Read Full Review

I salute you, Team Batman. Robo-Bat Bunny is freakin' awesome. Read Full Review

This comic had so many geek out moments for me it's hard to choose. From the rooftop conversation with his partner Harvey Bullock (we found out Jim is only 46) To seeing Alfred's daughter Julia on Jim's tactical team, to the Bat Hellicarrier and the writers addressing all our ridiculous concerns. Also the new Bat-suit when he steps out of the armor, my god the Bat-suit! it was just utter fanboy delight. I went from thinkinghow are we going to have a Batman without Bruce Wayne, to I hope they don't bring him back. Too many moments here to mention for me. I don't want to spoil them all but there is something for every bat-fan in it. Read Full Review

Batman #41 is a fantastic start for this new direction in the franchise. It establishes everything from the new status quo to the differences between Jim and Bruce as Batman. The writing is very good, the creative team is self-aware enough to understand what a lot of people were probably thinking about the book, and the artwork looks amazing as always. You can probably figure this direction won't last forever and I agree that it probably won't either, but there's no way you should miss out on this fun while it lasts. Read Full Review

Batman #41 was so much better than I hoped it would be. Though the notion of a new Batman is still taking some adjusting, the plot and narrative that Scott Snyder has delivered here is pure suspense. Joined with marvelous visuals from Greg Capullo, it does a fantastic job of showing us how Commissioner Gordon became Batman, and how he'll be different than the one before him. Read Full Review

With Batman #41 being the beginning of the changing of the guard, it's a testament of Batman's legacy not only as a character, but a symbol for criminals to live in fear of. It is comics after all, and nobody really stays dead, so this could be a phase, or this could be something long-term. In the end though, this is something different and strange, and something I'm ready to embrace. Read Full Review

This is a story about symbols. It is a story about duty. It is a story about hope. It is a story about redemption even when we don't need to be redeemed. It is a story about law. It is a story about justice. It is a story about the need for order and systems, and the need to work within the system to build faith in it. This is a story about youth. This is a story about age. This is a story about sickness. This is a story about health. This is a story about love. Read Full Review

Snyder and Capullo have done it again with Batman #41. What have they done again? Taken Batman to a new place without diminishing the quality of the book at all, and crafting an engaging, entertaining story. Anyone contemplating jumping ship with this issue is losing out, as they've already got me hooked with this story. This is a great read and I have a feeling there are more great comics coming in this arc of Batman. Read Full Review

Capullos beautiful art also makes this issue a must-own for the true artist fanboys. The man always had the ability to make action scenes flow like effortless dance choreography, but never has there been more proof than somehow making a bat-bunny work in action. Cap brings the bat out of the shadows and into the light with a more colorful palette. Thanks to FCO Plascencias (Invincible) colors, this first issue finds Bat fighting a skittles vibrant energy monster that leaped off page like a neon light in Time Square. Point blank: This first issue in a new chapter is an excellent jumping-on point for new readers or old. Mastery of the previous issues may help, but not dampen the fun of the Dark Knight Jim Gordon. Read Full Review

Author Andrew Steinbeiser @ComicBookdotcom Read Full Review

There's clearly a lot more story to come, but Snyder and Capullo deliver a perfect one-and-done introduction to the new Batman. Consider me completely on board. Read Full Review

Batman #41 is a great start in this new direction. This issue is fantastic. The beautiful minds of Scott Snyder andGreg Capullo have done it again. It is as if Scott Snyder listened to the readers concerns, then in this issue turned around and said, “Don't worry guys, we got this.” Read Full Review

When this new story was announced there was a certain amount of things that were expected to happen. Batman #41 mixes in some of those things with a good amount of stuff that maybe we did not expect. The effect is a well-balanced opening issue that reads as something new that never treads too heavily on new ground to the point where it sinks or risks losing more traditional fans.There's only one Batman but that doesn't mean we can't all be Batman. That's the message I left Batman #41 feeling. As Jim starts his journey, I look forward to taking it with him. Read Full Review

Batman #41 is a strong book. It introduces new concept that's welcomed, and it opens up many intriguing questions. Jim Gordon shows strong potential as Batman, but what's going to happen next is everyone's guess. Read Full Review

Batman #41 is different in look and feel, a character driven opening that features just the right amount of action and heart. Snyder and Capullo both acknowledge and embrace the challenges their new direction presents, allowing for a Batman tale that feels decidedly fresh and unique. Though the issue does little in telling us where the arc is set to go, Jim Gordon's time at the helm looks to be a fun one to follow. Read Full Review

Fret not, Bat-fans, this isn't some sort of experiment or sleight of hand. This is another chapter that has the potential to be groundbreaking. I know some fans don't like change, but if you've been a fan of the Batman title since Snyder, Capullo, Miki, and Plascencia took over with the New52, you would do yourself a huge favor by sticking with it on another leg of their journey.Christopher Nolan played with the idea of anyone becoming Batman — the idea was that the cape and cowl were a symbol to inspire people to take responsibility for their neighborhoods and cities. In this new story arc, we see one of our favorite characters finally get his chance, and I can't wait to read more. Read Full Review

Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo are on a creative roll. This is a creative team who have knocked it out of the park for 40 issues, and they continue to do so with this issue. Snyder balances a flashback story with a modern action scene with great characters and dialogue. He's not afraid to let his characters speak, and show their concerns and make mistakes. Read Full Review

Overall, Batman #41 is a bold new start for what promises to be an exciting and mythos shattering story direction. Read Full Review

I was far happier with the outcome of this issue than I thought I was going to be going into it. While I may not have been a fan of the idea of the Robobat-bunny suit, the story presented is still highly entertaining and gives one a lot to think about. The strongest element to the story is the internal conflict that our main protagonist is dealing with. It really provides an excellent source of relatability for us as readers to latch onto going into this new arc. If you were on the fence about this new direction, perhaps you should reconsider and give it a look-see before you completely abandon it. There is definitely some worthwhile material here to be had. Read Full Review

It's always a risky thing when you change a formula that's been in place for eight decades, and Batman has seen this kind of change before. It's not the first "death" of Bruce Wayne, and it certainly won't be the last. Yet somehow Snyder, Capullo and the team have found a balance between radical change for change's sake and experimenting with something new, leaving the escape hatch open for what we can assume will be a return to something more familiar in the future. Read Full Review

Even Batman purists have to get off their high horses to check out this new Batman because the idea alone is enough to get people wondering and talking about how this is going to play out.  I had a great time reading this issue and while you might not get a refined Batman approach to justice here, you do get one hell of a backstory about why Jim would consider this new undertaking.  I'm fully on board with anything that Snyder throws our way after reading this. Read Full Review

The story by Scott Snyder is solid and imaginative (if a bit difficult to swallow), and the art by Greg Capullo is terrific as always. Read Full Review

This was a decent comic book story. But I want a Batman story with my Batman. I know that sounds like I'm being close-minded, but it's the truth. This team is unstoppable and can do no wrong. If you're looking for a good story that's different than anything we've seen before, stay tuned because this is right up your alley. I just don't know if it's a journey I want to take. Read Full Review

Batman#41 is the first Batman story I've read since Morrison left the comic that felt free from the mounting array of tired clichs and excessively gritty storytelling that's become endemic to the character's mythos. I especially like that in their efforts to redefine Batman while maintaining a sense of continuity with the character's previous definition they've refocused his mission in a great way. What made Batman so insufferable these last four years or so is that he's been defined solely as a character who exists to punish the wicked. This new Batman fights to protect the innocent. That's a bold new direction for the character and an engaging and well-written one at that. Recommended. Read Full Review

Batman #41 started of the era of Jim Gordon as Gotham City's newest Dark Knight on the right note. Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo crafted this issue in a way that made it feel like we were reading a story on a new Gotham City. From how they evolved Jim into the role of Gotham's new Batman to the development of the supporting cast everything worked together to make it easy to accept what was going on. The only thing that hurt this issue was Bruce Wayne's role in the story. As long as Snyder and Capullo keep the spotlight on Jim Gordon and his version of Batman than this could be a great way to build on the legend of DC Comics most iconic character. Read Full Review

"Batman" #41 is a good start to this new storyline, although it's worth noting that -- in many ways -- things are just getting going. There are still a lot of questions to be answered -- the fate of Bruce Wayne, the force behind this issue's attacker, the attempted balance between vigilante and law enforcement -- and we're only one chapter into the story. It's a great first step, though, the sort of story where each new piece has the opportunity to build on what we've seen so far. While there's no doubt that Bruce Wayne will eventually reclaim his cowl (as he always does), this is a great opportunity and it feels like Snyder, Capullo and Miki are taking full advantage of it. "Batman" is definitely on the right track, and it's as strong as ever in a post-"Convergence" lineup. Read Full Review

NEGATIVES And that's what brings me to the true "negative" is that Snyder's work, while fun and often of a reasonably tempered tone, often feels like a rehash of arcs and things that just happened not that long ago in comics. His Owls arc,The Death of A Family,it all felt derivative if not a rehash and retooling of much of Morrison's work. And I am not a particular Morrison defender but it's what I notice. Ms. Powers training cops to be Batman? Feels like a rehash of the experiment that created the "evil" Batmans that lead up to RIP and what is finished in Damian's 666 future. Bruce "dying" and someone taking over? See the above. Bruce walking around with probably amnesia like a bum? Also see above. Hey even the Batman of Zur-En-Arrh colors are shown as an option for the bat-mech, which was actually a great and funny nod to the story. But what does this offer other than making Jim Gordon even more bad-ass? A voice in my head says that's enough in its Read Full Review

That's why I think despite all my misgivings, based on this issue, Scott Snyder may just get the reason that Batman is known as the "Dark Knight DETECTIVE." Read Full Review

Are you mad thatthey changed Batman? Suck it up, loser. This is Snyder and Capullo and this comic is just as great as the rest. You wont regret it. Read Full Review

I went into this issue with no expectations. I also didn't know what to expect. As I kept reading through the comic, I felt assured that this story and new era of Batman will be a fun one. I really enjoyed seeing this new Batman's operations. I also really liked seeing new villains in the mix. The art continues to be outstanding and I for one am completely on board with this new era and cannot wait to see what will happen. Read Full Review

This book really surprised me. It balanced the action, and plot thread throughout very well, and with the exception of mistaking Maggie Sawyer for a scrawny man, Capullo's art was amazing, as usual. I'm also very happy that Snyder didn't drag out the ‘Bruce is dead' story. He teases us with that from the opening page. Snyder's possibly last ten issues are going to be a lot of fun. Read Full Review

So Jim Gordon is the new Batman. He's cut back on his cigarettes (“Batman can't smoke,” according to Harvey Bullock, of all people), he's whipped himself back into shape, and he's even shaved off his signature mustache. (Cowls don't obscure mustaches.) It's a bold new direction navigated boldly.Because of their dauntless storytelling chutzpah, Snyder and Capullonot only knocked out a stellar debut, they made one thing abundantly clear in doing so: That whenGothamneeds saving, when everything is going to hell, Jim Gordon is really the only man for the job. Read Full Review

Those criticisms aside, this is still a strong issue and a strong premiere of an all new Batman. If you we're worried about the way the suit works and functions, don't be. If you were worried about the man under the suit, don't be. If after reading this you still have worries, it will be just how different the two Batmans are from one another. Love him or hate him, Azrael as Batman was much different than Bruce Wayne. So far, Jim Gordon in the suit is too similar to Bruce Wayne in the suit. He's almost too good. Hopefully with new challenges and new villains like the one revealed at the end of this issue, we'll see a more human and more different Batman. Read Full Review

It is sometimes said of Batman that the man makes the suit, but here it is reversed as the suit makes the man. While this is a potentially interesting direction to take for this title, it is also kind of confusing. Part of the appeal of Batman is that he can accomplish wonders that even superpowered people cannot, and he does it with his willpower and his wits. With the replacement of Bruce Wayne in the role with this Iron Man/Batman hybrid, it doesn't have the same feel as what makes the character so approachable to so many. The infallible character is now one that takes necessary technological shortcuts, and this issue kind of comes off having the same overall effect. It is ok, but not memorable, and seems like it will be another passing fad to file away under the file of “Other People that Have Been Batman for a Few Issues.” Read Full Review

With a strong The Dark Knight Returns atmosphere, it'll be interesting to see how long a run Gordon is given as the Batman before the inevitable happens. Speaking of which, the end of #41 was rather surprising. Not because it was entirely unexpected, but one would think it would make sense to happen a few more issues down the line. Could it be that Snyder is swerving us? I guess we'll find out soon enough. Read Full Review

If Snyder deals with these questions, then maybe we'll have something great. But if he doesn't, then we'll have your standard story that everybody (except Grant Morrison) has done whenever Bruce gives up the mantle. And I'm not sure I'll buy Gordon, the archetypal working stiff cop in comics, as the new Dark Knight. Read Full Review

Batman is still a man in suit, but now a man in a suit inside a huge robot. This comic book explores the origins of finding the right man for that role. While the argument for picking the man is extremely weak, the book looks great and the idea has potential. Hopefully Snyder will explore the reasons behind getting this individual in the suit, instead of it seeming like someone said, "hey, let's do a story where character XYZ is Batman" but never really thinking through why that character would do it and under what circumstances would that be the right fit. This is an average comic book as things start out for the new direction for Batman. Read Full Review

Sorry, Batman. It's been fun. I've been getting this book since the reboot. But this is where I get off. Read Full Review

Great way of telling of telling us why Gordon isnt the best, but definitely is the perfect choice to be the new Batman

This is looking good, I hope it continues strong.

This is how you start a new direction. You have a great set up story, I am very interested in Geri Powers motives as she could me related to the powers family in the Court of Owls story line. Jim Gordon as batman is a excellent choice and this issue confirms this. I can’t wait to see this direction each month.

The ending had me like "whaaaaa"

Hype is real love this take on bats. We will see how this goes .....Bruce Wayne ?

Pulling off a new take on Batman is no easy feat. There have been many attempts over the course of Batman's 75 year history but very few that stand out as true achievements.

DC's decision to have the new armoured Batman was a stroke of pure genius. But the real props for this accomplishment have to go the creative team of Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo, who have such a fantastic grasp of Jim Gordon and know the exact path that they want to take him on.

They use Jim Gordon's doubt of the new Batman status quo as a voice for the readers who may have doubted this new set-up and as Jim is eased into his new role as Gotham's protector, the reader begins to believe that this could actually work!

By the end of the issue I was sold that THIS is the new Batman, whether Bruce Wayne returns or not. I cannot wait to see what Bat-Gordon gets up to next! more

Very nice start for the new Batman in Gotham City. I didn't think that Snyder would choose such path for the continuing of his run, but I guess it was a decision for the best. Gordon is surprisingly good at what he does now, and even more incredibly it didn't feel forced. Gotta know what's next for Bruce though.

Very strong start. I was nervous about it but I am feeling a lot better after this issue.

I wanna see Bruce Wayne not some wannabe !!!!

Wasn't sure how this would play out but it's been started well and looks to have some very interesting directions it can go. Well done and worth a long look.

The ending was a kicker but I thought it was too soon. I mean let's face it, deep down we all knew Bruce was out there somewhere but to pull a stunt that so quick kinda detracts from this new direction that DC is going. What next? Mr. Bloom is really the Joker with amnesia? It's a decent debut but I'm not convinced it'll be a home run. I've enjoyed the main story arcs since Snyder and Capullo took over with the New 52 including Zero Year which some people gripe about but with such a radical change, I'm not sure if this will sink or swim.

I'd lost interest n Scott Snydet's (IMO) Batman but this refreshed my interest for sure. Jim as Batman is pretty great and I'll stick around for as long as it intrigues me.

Good to see Julia, not sure if I bought Gordon's physical transformation, but with his uncertainty it doesn't always feel like Jim Gordon. In the field he's still obviously a cop, and the creators did a good job showing why he was the only pick to go into the suit. The self-referential humour was appreciated too.

A done-in-one story to introduce the new Batman works well even if the bad-guy's plan is somewhat looney and more akin to something from Spider-Man. The character is a good choice and will give some room for experimentation but I didn't find I like this story as much as any of the previous issues in Snyder/Capullo's epic run on Batman.

I'm sure this is a good comic, but why would I care about Gordon being Batman? At least with Grayson it made sense.