Batman #102

Writer: James Tynion IV Artist: Carlos D'Anda, Carlo Pagulayan Publisher: DC Comics Release Date: November 4, 2020 Cover Price: $3.99 Critic Reviews: 23 User Reviews: 52
7.6Critic Rating
7.5User Rating

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Bruce Wayne and the city he loves have changed dramatically following the events of “The Joker War,” but Batman and his mission are eternal. But not everyone thinks that should be the case... The mysterious vigilante known as Ghost-Maker has known Bruce since they were teenagers, and he’s made his decision. It’s time Gotham City had a new hero.

  • 10
    DC Comics News - Derek McNeil Nov 3, 2020

    Batman #102 shows the promise of Tynion's post-Joker War Gotham City. I look forward to seeing the challenges it poses for the Darknight Detective and how he will overcome them. I can hardly wait to see what Tynion has in store for us as he ushers in a new era of Batman adventures. Read Full Review

  • 9.5
    Lyles Movie Files - Jeffrey Lyles Nov 3, 2020

    With new characters like Clownhunter and Ghost Maker in the mix and new roles for Oracle and Harley, Batmans next chapter is shaping up to be a fascinating direction for the title. Read Full Review

  • 9.5
    Geek Dad - Ray Goldfield Nov 3, 2020

    This era of Bruce's past hasn't been explored too much"the last major plot thread to come from that was David Cain as his deranged former mentor"so there's a lot of promise here. And like much of Tynion's run, it's sure to make a chaotic Gotham even more challenging for a very different Batman. Read Full Review

  • 9.4
    Comic Watch - Cody White Nov 3, 2020

    Across the board, the post-"Joker War" era for Batman feels like it offers an incredibly fresh voice that pays respect to the past while keeping an eye to the future. I can't wait to see what comes next! Read Full Review

  • 9.1
    The Super Powered Fancast - Deron Generally Nov 3, 2020

    Carlo Pagulaya and Carlos D'Anda deliver some impressive imagery in this issue as well. Every page is beautifully detailed and I really enjoyed the visual energy of the flashback scenes. Read Full Review

  • 9.0
    Black Nerd Problems - Morgan Hampton Nov 4, 2020

    Batman #102 pits Batman against Ghost-Maker, a new villain that Bruce has a shared past with.  Read Full Review

  • 9.0
    On Comics Ground - Travis Tucker Dec 2, 2020

    I hype to see who Ghostmaker is and what he brings to the table. He feels like someone I would have preferred mentor Jason but it's much too early to say for sure. Be sure to pick this issue up at your LCS. Read Full Review

  • 9.0
    AIPT - David Brooke Nov 3, 2020

    Batman #102 is the first part of the "Ghost Stories" story arc and it captures the ideology of Ghost-Maker well while establishing the methodical nature of Batman. It also juggles other plot elements well. This is a Batman series that's generous with story and action. Read Full Review

  • 8.0
    Dark Knight News - Eric Lee Nov 3, 2020

    Batman #102 is a fun, breezy read. It checks all the marks of a good comic: cool premise, interesting antagonist, a fun adventure. Read Full Review

  • 8.0
    But Why Tho? - Charles Hartford Nov 3, 2020

    When all is said and done the new story arc is off to a strong start. With all signs pointing to this new foe being in a league possibly equal to the Dark Knight, itll be interesting to see where Tynion takes the tale from here. Read Full Review

  • 8.0
    Newsarama - Justin Partridge Nov 3, 2020

    It all culminates in yet another resoundingly solid issue of Batman. Though a touch expository in parts, Batman #102 finds James Tynion IV still committing to his 'new' era of the main title, injecting new characters, new perspectives, and new street-level avenues of narrative that were absent in the more baroque and conceptual Tom King Era. Let's just hope Bruce Wayne and his allies survive long enough to enjoy it.Keep up to speed with the Dark Knight with our always-updated list of new Batman comic books, graphic novels, and collections. Read Full Review

  • 7.6
    Graphic Policy - Brett Nov 3, 2020

    Batman #102 is a rather thin issue that gets to the conflict between Ghost-Maker and Batman too quickly and doesn't build enough tension. In other words, it's just another person for Batman to fight not some difficult obstacle for him to overcome. Batman #102 rushes to its end fight without giving us much of a reason to care or much of a reason to think that this will be a tough battle. It needed to focus on setting up the issue itself not issues down the road. Read Full Review

  • 7.5
    COMICON - Tony Thornley Nov 10, 2020

    The creative team faces one of Batman's greatest challenges- a retcon! Read Full Review

  • 7.0
    Comics: The Gathering - Wes Greer Nov 6, 2020

    Overall, the writing for this issue is used to give readers a bit of backstory on how Batman and Ghost Maker know each other but feels a bit repetitive at times and ultimately falls flat in certain aspects. There also is really nothing climactic in this issue which I feel leads to the reason I feel it feel a bit flat compared to previous issues. The art is a fresh new take that looks great despite a weird transition in artists half way through and the colors really create a vivid and beautiful overall aesthetic that pleases the reader from a visual standpoint. Read Full Review

  • 7.0
    Henchman-4-Hire - Sean Ian Mills Nov 7, 2020

    New characters are coming hard and fast into the new Batman, but they don't really give us a chance to explore this new Batman. Read Full Review

  • 7.0
    Weird Science - Dan Mayhoff Nov 3, 2020

    Batman gets a new storyline underway as we dive into a brand new villain for the series and it's being presented very well so far. I feel like the few pages we got with them gave me plenty of understanding as to the character's motivations. We even got a little bit of their backstory but we didn't dive too deep as things are just getting started. Perhaps this will end up falling flat in the future but as for right now, it's a very nice start to a new story. Read Full Review

  • 7.0
    The Batman Universe - Ian Miller Nov 3, 2020

    Inventive ideas and gorgeous art lift the next chapter of Tynions Batman run into exciting territory. Read Full Review

  • 6.0
    Comic Book Revolution - Kevin Lainez Nov 5, 2020

    Batman #102 was a good start to the first story arc in the post-Joker War Gotham City. James Tynion is able to show that Batman has a lot of work to do in order to be able to help Gotham City recover from what just took place. At the same time, Tynion is able to expand on Bruce Wayne's training with the addition of the new Ghost-Maker villain. How all this will play out has a lot of potential to add to what fans know about Batman's history. Read Full Review

  • 6.0
    ComicBook.com - Nicole Drum Nov 4, 2020

    The bottom line is that Batman #102 is one of Tynion's better runs, but the story feels sort of recycled which detracts from its overall quality. Perhaps instead of constantly trying to create "new" characters there should be some investment digging into Batman's lesser-explored qualities first. Read Full Review

  • 5.3
    Sequential Planet - Matt Herman Nov 12, 2020

    Batman #102 throws the audience right back into the action, but perhaps a little too quickly. Read Full Review

  • 5.0
    Bleeding Cool - Hannibal Tabu Nov 5, 2020

    Making less sense than when it started, Ghost-Maker is here to poke gigantic holes in the myth of the Bat's competence. Read Full Review

  • 5.0
    Batman-News - Brian Warshaw Nov 4, 2020

    As a single issue, this one isn't awful. But it feels like an all-too-familiar start to an all-too-familiar disappointing ride. Ghost Maker is a less-compelling take on a concept we've seen handled better by more capable writers, and with the arc ahead devoted to his conflict with the Dark Knight, I'm not optimistic. Decent visual storytelling from Pagulayan, Anda, and crew help to soften the blow, but with little faith in the overall direction of the story, I find even that is bittersweet. Unless you're one of the Tynion faithful, I say pass. Read Full Review

  • 5.0
    Forces Of Geek - Lenny Schwartz Nov 4, 2020

    Overall, I hope this comic book turns around. This is pretty rough. Read Full Review

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