You don't want to miss this issue. Everything is on point, from script to art, and it's apparent that Scott Snyder has a very big story to tell. Read Full Review

This issue had a fantastic balance of story, horror, suspense and good ol' fashioned Batman ass kicking. Scott Snyder's story continues to be strong. We are given more information regarding Bruce Wayne's fate and am really excited to see where they go with it. Read Full Review

The geek deep inside me cannot give this book enough praise. It hits every note that a long Batman fan wants, with still not robbing us of Batman. This story feels like we have reached the midway point. If that's true, the ride is going to be wild. Read Full Review

It's another Batman homerun for Snyder and Capullo. One mystery has been solved, but more have opened. What does Mr. Bloom have planned? Will Gordon be able to stop him? And will something happen to Bruce to bring him back to the cowl? Read Full Review

Batman #43 is a damn fine comic. The saga of Jim Gordon has me hooked and this villain is as dark as we've seen in Batman yet. Bruce Wayne has changed, but Gotham has not and I can't wait to see what is in store for Jim and his team in issue #44. Read Full Review

If you've been wondering what's been going on with Bruce Wayne since Endgame, well this is the Batman issue that you've been waiting for.  If that wasn't enough to get you interested, it's also told with some of the most heart warming dialog that I've seen from this title in awhile and I just found the whole experience beautiful.  Go get some Batman and get the answers you've been dying to find out since March. Read Full Review

This issue in many ways feels like a real passing of the torch to Jim Gordon as Batman and in the closing scenes of the book when he was in action for the first time it really feels like he is Batman, not just someone holding down the post for a few issues. Read Full Review

Naysayers can whine all they want but Snyder is consistent in keeping this book feeling fresh and exciting at every turn. This has been one of the most consistent books in comics, and still continues to be. Read Full Review

Mr. Bloom is meeting with Penguin. Penguin has Mr. Bloom shot, and takes the remaining seeds to sell to anyone willing to buy it. As they leave, Mr. Bloom recovers from his headshot, and stabs everyone in the room, including Penguin, with his long, pointy fingers. Whaat?! Hope Cobblepot doesn't die. Read Full Review

Batman #43 was an excellently dense read. Scott Snyder was able to craft a comic book that felt like it had double its actual page count. Through all of this Snyder was able to provide proper justification for Bruce's resurrection and why he is not going to be returning to the cape and cowl any time soon. This explanation opens the door for some fresh character development for Bruce Wayne. At the same time, Snyder spent an equal amount of time developing Jim Gordon as the new Batman and how dangerous Mr. Bloom is. All of this equated to a comic book that I wanted to read over and over again which is what all great comic books Read Full Review

This is a series everyone should be reading. Read Full Review

It seems to be a pattern with the new series, with great characters and strong visuals, but the stories are often improbable. My disbelief, I'm sorry to say, is sinking fast. Read Full Review

A decent issue that explains some lingering questions. My biggest problem is Gordon sidelined as the result, and hopefully we see more of him next issue. Read Full Review

While Batman #43 is still laying down tracks for the rising action bound to follow, the promises made between and during the exposition are incredibly exciting. Mr. Bloom's reveal is the clear, standout moment of the issue, but there is a lot to love here. Capullo and Plascencia are still effortlessly delivering each action and emotion-oriented beat. Snyder continues to bring Batman to wilder places with enough death traps and introspection to satisfy all sorts of fans. It's the promise offered by both the talent of this team and the best moments of this issue, that ensures Batman's place as one of the best superhero comics coming out today. Read Full Review

I really dug this issue, and am looking forward to the surprises Snyder and Capullo have in store during the rest of 'Superheavy'. Read Full Review

Scott Snyder's Gotham is a paradoxical place, an enormous city wrapped in shadows, their black folds thick and stifling, pressing in until a screaming sense of claustrophobia permeates the very air. It is a world of heroes swimming in an aether of evil, a city where no nobility can rise above tragedy and no power deny the foundation of ultimate weakness on which it rises. Read Full Review

There are other realms of story to tell with the concept of Batman, some of which Snyder teases with the seeds of future tales he's previously told. Even as Gordon confronts Bruce at the opening of the issue, the debate of what Batman is and can be is overtly discussed with Gordon, who concedes that Batman "needs to be something more" than just a middleman. It's also a commentary on delivering the type of story needed for the creative team's iconic run on the book. After 40 issues of story, they needed to be something more than just the middlemen continuing to deliver the same plots with the same villains over and over again. Batman represents something more than that; he is a symbol, and symbols need to grow and change along with the stories that incorporate those symbols. "Batman" #43 is another stop on what is becoming a wickedly fun and unpredictable journey for the wielder of that symbol. Read Full Review

Greg Capullo's artwork is, as always, wonderful to look at. His facial expressions stand out this issue, especially with Alfred as he carries much of the emotional weight. Capullo also does an excellent job depicting the action scene at the end, complimented by FCO Plascencia's gorgeous colouring. This art team is one that never disappoints. Read Full Review

This entire creative team consists of genetic freaks, grown in a lab for the sole purpose of writing powerful Batman stories. Or, at least, I think that's true. Either way, go buy Batman. Read Full Review

Snyder and Capullo's stellar Batman run continues to deliver as it explores its new status quo. Read Full Review

With the creation of the GCPD sanctioned, privately funded Batman, Snyder conceded that this is the current cultural context of the superhero, but steadfastly refuses to be quietly complicit in it. Nor does he fall back on a didactic take on Jim as Batman. Instead, Snyder creates and sustains a moral tension within Gordon that refuses to embrace this new reality. Snyder and Capullo's Batman is a comic that participates and engages with the zeitgeist, but refuses to bow to it. Read Full Review

This is a solid entry into the next phase of theBatman mythos, and it is wellworth reading. Read Full Review

An excellent introduction to a new Gotham and a terrifying villain who might make a "Dark Knight" at of Jim Gordon just yet. Highly recommended. Read Full Review

But even if takes a little while to warm up, the thought behind Batman #43 is more than sufficient here. It's clear that Snyder has put some thought into the passing of the baton from Bruce to Jim - and perhaps back from Jim to Bruce again. This transition could have been particularly bumpy, but Snyder has given us a suitable reason for Bruce to be absent, and has taken solid steps towards giving Jim Gordon a solid rogues gallery of his own. It's a brand-new Gotham City, and let it never be said that Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo haven't taken great steps to earn it. Read Full Review

"Superheavy" has felt like it was holding back until now, but if you dropped off the title because of Robo-Bunny Batman, now would be a good time to catch up and pretend you never left. Read Full Review

This issue of Batman doesn't come together as cohesively as most, nor does it place the spotlight on Gordon as much as he deserves. However, there's plenty of good material on tap in issue #43. Capullo's work is as strong as ever, and Snyder's refined dialogue results in a number of standout scenes and moments for heroes and villains alike. Read Full Review

This story isn't three issues in, and already it's suffering from a tonal imbalance. Is Batman a thundering superhero yarn or a chilling psychodrama? Can it be both? Well. There's only so much space found in between. Read Full Review

Snyder and Capullo are still telling a strong story on Batman. I'm certainly still here for as long as they are. The only surving creative team from the New 52 launch. Here at a very different time at DC. The issue is stellar and the one you really need to read before you dismiss Robobat. Was very clutch way to keep me attached till the end of the ride Read Full Review

Batman #43 is an important issue, answering old questions and creating new ones in their place. What hurts it though is the uneven storytelling and tons of exposition that really hit the brakes on this whole story early on in order to explain everything revolving around Bruce. It does recover a bit in the second half when the pacing and writing improves, though. Either way, despite its problems, it is not an issue to miss. Read Full Review

Snyder is playing with some interesting ideas here, and I'm eager to see where he goes with them. I think we can all agree that this new status quo isn't going to last, and that Bruce Wayne will return as Batman before too long. But for now, I want to see what he can do with all these new ideas (and I personally love that Snyder still gets to play with Duke Thomas! Read Full Review

"Batman" provides a lot of information about what happened to Bruce Wayne. Using Jim Gordon, Clark Kent and Alfred makes this issue strong because some of the more important relationships in Bruce's life are looked at. The comic book struggles with transitions and jolts the reader in the back half of the book as it switches over to the latest villain and the brewing plot. Perhaps this issue would have been better served staying more closely focused on Bruce for more pages. The artwork is stellar as always. This is a decent read as Snyder and Capullo never fail to entertain. Read Full Review

Batman #43 may not be the most exciting issues in the series, being the worst to come following Convergence, but that doesn't stop it from being intriguing. Having great character developments, with wonderful background, this issue gives us a lot of information" a little too much. Read Full Review

Up until now, I was patiently waiting so I could get to spend some time with Bruce. I figured if I didn't like one half of the story, I was bound to enjoy his sections. Now it turns out that not only are we reading a Batman story with a Batman who isn't Batman, but also a Bruce Wayne that isn't Bruce Wayne! I think that pretty much sums it up. This particular issue was quite problematic for me. There was so much amazingly introspective character work done that I have to demand that you read it, but at the same time, I can't bring myself to award it any more accolades due to the mistreatment of Bruce. I have a real love/hate relationship with this issue. It is good, and it brought out feelings and emotions in me, but I just can't fully accept the subject matter at this juncture. I'm sure that many will tout this as wonderful, which it is in a way, but I simply can't overlook the fact that this story is needless. Read Full Review

Batman #43 starts off very slow as Snyder uses a lot of dialogue, much of it unnecessary, to characterize the new Bruce. He then provides a reason for why Bruce is the way he is now. There were some great moments pertaining to Alfred's characterization and the final conversation between Mr. Bloom and the Penguin. Capullo's artwork was generally good, minus the few scenes that were a little difficult to tell what exactly was happening. FCO Plascenia's colors were absolutely stunning and were the highlight of the book from the differing filters to the contrast in colors. It was excellently done. Read Full Review

Snyder finally clears the air on some of the burning questions we've had. The interesting and somewhat sinister thing is, if you think about it, this was due to the chemical the Joker was using to drive the citizens of Gotham crazy during Endgame, Dionesum. Although it has a different effect on Bruce, Joker is either directly or indirectly related to this. In Death of the Family Joker tries to eliminate the Bat-family so he can have his twisted love obsession with Batman but in Endgame his emotions flip to insane hatred. What if this is still an elaborate scheme of Joker's? I'm hoping Bloom doesn't just turn out to be the Joker in disguise because I genuinely want a new villain in the Rogue's Gallery but the clues are starting to reveal themselves. Plus the invention Alfred shows Clark is interesting and leaves the door open for a return of Bruce as we knew him. If Snyder and Capullo intend to leave at issue# 50 (which I hope they don't) I already see that they are gonna go off with a bang. more

I'm back on "Batman" after a long hiatus, and here comes a brand new, mysterious villain: Mr. Bloom. For starters, we need to praise Capullo and Plascencia as usual for their outstanding job, especially awesome in the action sequence concerning Batman and the Devil Pigs. Bloom looks crazed thanks to his physical appearance, design and the odd lettering reserved to him making him more freakish than he already seemed. Story-wise, he actually reminds me of another villain we saw on this series some twenty issues before, Doctor Death, who also recalls the long, deadly fingers of this one. Hopefully, and I have no reason to doubt Snyder's so far excellent writing, he'll be different on many levels, starting from his presumably relevant identity, connected to Gordon's past. The rest of the issue was interesting and it was bitter-sweet to see where Bruce stands now and how he's coping with his previous identity. Snyder always manages to build greatly complex situations for his characters, and this is no exception. more

Oh no, everyone is dead! Probably not. Mr. Bloom is a quaint new villain, I'm liking him so far. Snyder finally sheds light on what happened to Bruce Wayne, it's a good idea that I'm sure will be temporary. The new Bruce finally brings some peace to Alfred, who I'm happy for, and it's interesting to see him explain this to Superman

Dionesium, Batman cloning machines and magic-power-pills...All these plot devices are making me nervous. Worst case scenario, Mr. Bloom is Joker and Bruce Wayne re-Batmanizes himself with his magic machine we've never heard about before. I hope that's not the case, because it'd be predictable and lazy. This issue in and of itself probably deserves a higher score, but there were far too many moments that felt like they foreshadowed depths that Snyder doesn't need to sink to.