I imagine there are some folks who decided to pass on this book since it didn't have Snyder and Capullo working on it. I'm sorry if you decided to do that because you missed a great issue! It's an excellent way to bring a high-power Bat-book to its conclusion while looking ahead to Rebirth. Nicely done! Read Full Review

Batman #52 is a perfectly enjoyable series finale, albeit one that doesn't really measure up to issue #51 when it comes to bidding farewell to the Dark Knight. Taken on its own merits, though, this issue provides a heartwarming look at the bond between Bruce and Alfred and showcases Riley Rossmo's considerable storytelling talents. Read Full Review

We close the door on the New 52's greatest success with a non-clichd, feel good comic book story. It's about growth, just as issue #51 was about Gotham's growth, #52 was about Bruce's growth following the death of his parents and his 10 years off the grid. No, it's nothing in terms of story, but it closes this chapter the way it deserved to be closed. Read Full Review

This is a good final issue that reminds us Batman is just as human as we are. He went through a traumatic moment and is still living with it today, but because of his relationship to Alfred and his never-ending efforts to move on, the trauma gives way to the Batman. Read Full Review

This is a strangely comforting story. It's a fitting coda to the New 52, not just for Batman but as a whole, and a worthy addition to the canon. It's affectionate without being fawning. Tynion understands Batman, but equally understands that Bruce is more than just a mask for the Bat. Read Full Review

Batman returns next month with Batman: Rebirthbefore the launch of another ongoing later this year written by Tom King. Until then this issues serves as a fond farewell to a legendary run, with the promise a more adventures to come. Foras long as criminals remain a superstitious and cowardly lot, there will always be a Batman. Read Full Review

"Batman" #52 is an apt conclusion to this series. Tynion, Rossmo, Level, Plascencia and Boyd deliver a good mix of emotional and plot beats here; this is a Batman who will forever be driven, but without being consumed by gloom. I'm eager to see what Tynion does next over on "Detective Comics," and hopefully the art team will stop in for a visit as well. This was a pleasant surprise for what could have just as easily been a fill-in story, and I hope that quality continues into next month and beyond. Read Full Review

How do you end an era? Quietly, it seems, at least so far as DC Entertainment is concerned. Not with a whimper or a whine or even a sigh. The era of the New 52, the age that began so controversially and in some ways successfully withFlashpoint, is drawing to a close with considerably more dignity than foreseen by T.S. Eliot. Indeed, it may yet end with a bang. But, for the moment, the DC Universe approachesRebirth at a steady, even stately, pace devoid of apocalyptic panic. Read Full Review

How does this issue fit in with the rest of the series? It's hard to say. It is almost an epilogue of sorts. James Tynion IV delivers a fun and intriguing story with plenty of heart. Maybe it's a little upbeat for what we've had previously in this volume. That isn't necessarily a bad thing. Why not end the volume on a positive note? Perhaps it's because we just had a self-contained epilogue-type story last month, this feels a little out of place as a final story. I do like what Tynion and Rossmo do there. I'd just rather see it (and more of it) elsewhere. This issue easily stands on its own and shouldn't be missed. Read Full Review

Batman #52 is a solid issue to cap off this volume, a fitting final “backup” story from Tynion. He and Rossmo work well together, and I'd happily read these two dig into a story involving Arkham in any way, shape or form. With this issue, I bid this volume of Batman adieu…it's been one hell of a ride. Onward to Tynion's Detective and much more. Read Full Review

The creators of BATMAN #52 have the unfortunate duty of following an incredible, near perfect issue that should have been the finale to this series. Tynion and Rossmo do their best to tell a good story here, and as a stand-alone issue, it works well enough. This isn't a must-read by any stretch, and those who choose to view issue #51 as the real ending to this series won't be missing much by skipping this issue. The overall concept of Bruce's list falls a bit flat, but it does allow Tynion to craft a beautiful ending to this issue and, ultimately, the series itself. Read Full Review

“The List” is a good read on its own if you want to know some history to the story of Batman/Bruce Wayne. It gives us a story that shows the steps Bruce took to become the hero he is, and how unlike some who got powers or responsibility in their prime years, Bruce took the tough road of becoming a hero while literally still a child! Here we see a great story unfold around Batman and a pretty pointless villain–however the story surrounding Bruce is so entertaining you really don't care about the motivations of Crypsis. Check out Batman #52–if you're a fan of Bruce's origins its a read for you! Read Full Review

Although this was a good Batman story and I certainly don't want to sound like I'm dismissing the efforts of some very talented creators, this issue felt oddly placed followBatman#51, which was an already perfect finale. Rather than serving as an epilogue, it is a bit more of a standalone read. One has to wonder if it was the right move to place this between Snyder and Capullo's swan song and the kickoff of Rebirth. Confusion aside, this is a solid buy for those looking for their Dark Knight fix this week and/or folks wishing to complete their collection. Read Full Review

James Tynion IV follows suit after Snyder's powerful final issue and continues to focus the book on strong character work and emotionally resonate subject matter. Oddly enough, I thought it would have served better as an introductory issue to the world of Batman rather than as a farewell to the ongoing series. Aside from the story which is quite strong, the book really took a hit in the art department, depicting some very lackluster imagery. Since the art is definitely the downfall of this story, and Riley Rossmo is not the artist paired with Tynion for his future run on Detective Comics starting next month, I'm quite looking forward to what Tynion plans on bringing to the world of Batman. Read Full Review

There's definitely been much worse Batman stories out there and this may be a lackluster send off to Batman compared to last month's issue, but it's still an enjoyable read. Read Full Review

DC did not have to put out this issue, there was nothing to gain from adding an extra issue to the back-end of a largely celebrated and awarded run that already had their culminating issues. However, the issue did deliver a new take on Batman that was interesting and offered a new perspective, but was completely unnecessary. If you are like me, you most likely forgot about this issue and were surprised to see it in your pull list or on the shelves. Maybe you had a sense of excitement and you thought Snyder and Capullo put out another swan song issue for us, but alas it was not. The story is nice, but completely not needed to be honest. It felt out of place and in a way, disrespectful to the legacy of Capullo and Snyder to sneak this issue at the tail end of a great run just to grab sales. This issue would have served better as an addition to an oversized Batman #50, but alone it feels and reads desperate. Read Full Review

The New 52 era of Batman ends on a personal, quiet note. Fans are used to big, sprawling epics that eat up many issues. I applaud James Tynion IV, Riley Rossmo, Brian Level, Ivan Plascencia, Jordan Boyd and Steve Wands for creating a story that hits on an individual level. While highlighting Batman's past, it also looks ahead to his bright future. Read Full Review

If all DC wanted to do was stretch out the Batman series to the magic number 52 issues, they could have done worse. Maybe Snyder and Capullo charge a lot of money? Or maybe they specifically planned a 51-issue run? Who knows, but DC got exactly what they wanted: a short, sweet Batman story that celebrates the character's history. There are callbacks to his training. There are a lot of nice moments between Bruce and Alfred. And we get to see Batman chase down and defeat some fancy new costumed crook. This is all classic Batman goodness, told simply and almost effortlessly. It's nothing to write home about, but it's still enjoyable in its own right. Read Full Review

While we get that all important #52 on this issue, I can't say that this story feels all that important or even worthwhile because while it tries to give us the feels that the previous issue did, it sadly didn't come close and gave us a throwaway villain to boot.  I know I shouldn't compare this issue to the previous one, but it's really hard not to when they seem to be trying to do the same things and this one just comes up short. Read Full Review

The previous issue found Brucebody and mind fully restoredpatrolling an uncharacteristically quiet Gotham. It was a beautiful summation of who the character was and what Snyder had achieved in his time writing him. It should have been the end to the run. And while it's understandable that DC wanted to let Tynion IV have a last crack at a character he helped make so legendary, this issue leaves little doubt that it was Snyder who made this book great. Perhaps that does make the issue a fitting end to the run in some way. Snyder will be a tough act to follow. This issue proves it. Read Full Review

In truth, I'd have to say the biggest sin of the issue is that it feels inconsequentialin every way. It's an issue that in the final analysis is simply serviceable and totally ordinary. And those happen from time to time and usually aren't a huge sin. But coming at the end of a seminal run before the book is rebooted, a finale like Batman #52makes one wonder why DC instead on publishing it at all. Read Full Review

Pretty enjoyable. I rather like seeing Batman have thoughts beyond: "MY PARENTS ARE DEAD!!!!" so I actually found this issue kind of sweet in that it shows that Bruce does have some positive thoughts in his head.

Though I felt Issue 51 was the perfect bookend for Snyder's and Capullo's fantastic 5 Year Run, I felt this was a fantastic way to bring an end to Batman prior to the rebirth as a whole. 51 ended with the City feeling safe and Batman keeping watch, but his job for Gotham was done. However in this issues, it focuses on a personal relationship between Bruce and Alfred, from childhood to Batman. It brings a lovely end to the Batman story on a personal level, from the beginning it was just Alfred trying to guide Bruce and he continued to do so for all of these years, in this final Issue, we see all the hard work Alfred went through to help the brooding, angsty Bruce Wayne, to bring him to earth and to help him 'Move On', pay off. Touching, heart-warming, brilliant. more

This is a classic characterization of Batman. While you can say this comic is merely a rehash of how Bruce was affected by the tragedy we are now all very familiar with, there are merits to reminding readers of why Batman exists in the first place, to show how strength sometimes come from dark places.

"Batman" is over. It was a fantastic run and as long as I'm concerned it finished with #51, the last one by Snyder and Capullo. Issue #52 is more closure than we needed (as #51 did it so perfectly we didn't crave more psychological insight), but it still has some good sparks of ideas and touching moments, making it still a good read. The actual story is silly, with a one-shot foe who works as a means to talk about the notebook Bruce used to write the (52!) ways to move on from the death of his parents on. Alfred has a big relevance in this issue just like in #51, and I feel that the New 52 really made right to him, being the actual side-kick of our favourite hero. Albuquerque's art is not at the top of its game here, with scatchy faces and whatnot, but still decent. more

This issue tells a nice story, but it doesn't have the same level of energy that it had with Snyder at the helm. It's a shame they couldn't get him and Capullo to finish out the run!

I grant that this is a difficult spot to put Tynion in: the Snyder/Capullo run just wrapped, which are some bog shoes to fill, this needs to be a one-shot and readers expect closure and some fuzzy emotional feels to close out on. That being said, doesn't it bother anyone else that Bruce Wayne is lugging around this stupid giant text-book-sized notebook throughout his worldly training? The first time I saw he had brought a book bag to his ninja training in Japan, I literally laughed out loud... Then it kept showing up again... He dives out of a freakin' plane with no parachute, holding the book in his hand. I mean, come on! I know this shouldn't bother me this much, but I can't help it, it's so ridiculous. The art is okay, there are a couple panels where Batman is wide-eyes for no reason, the worst panel has his eyes wide open and his jaws gaping as if he's going to eat the world's most amazing sandwich, seems like an odd expression to deliver the line, "This is personal." That was another lol moment. So, the story concept sounds good, but it wasn't executed well. If you've been reading Batman since the New 52 relaunch, you might as well complete the set, otherwise don't worry about picking this one up. more

Normally Tynion manages to write some decent issues, but this was horrendous, particularly coming off of #51. As soon as I saw 52 being shoehorned into the story and Bruce holding that goddamn book while diving out of a plane, I wanted to burn this issue. Awful, awful addendum to the run. I thought Tynion was better than this (and judging from the earlier back-ups in this series and the Detective Comics reviews, he is).