I think Zdarsky has pulled off the near-impossiblethis run so far is truly a type of Batman story we've never seen before. Read Full Review

Batman #132 takes fans on a multiversal tour showcasing the villains we once knew but in a different light. Its a pretty quick read filled with tons of story beats that will leave Batman fans loads to talk about. Heck, the speculation is endless. Is this how we get Alfred back? Will he come back to Earth Prime along with Panic Attack? Moreover, will Bruce be stuck here for an extended period of time where he gets to fix this Gotham for good or will it be a quick stint where he helps them get back on track? And is the Red Mask actually Halliday? Again, fantastic questions that will keep any reader wildly interested in this surprising new direction after the Failsafe arc. I highly recommend this series and think this issue speaks volumes about where the comic was with its prior creative teams. Hop on board this while you still can! Read Full Review

This is, in fact, the second chapter of a miniseries in much the same way that Powers of X #1 was the second chapter of its own. Once readers understand that positioning, this is an easy issue to enjoy as it frames a very promising saga ahead. Read Full Review

Strong action, good character moments, and lots of tension make you feel like Bruce is in real danger. Batman #132 is yet another strong issue from Zdarsky, Hawthorne, Morey, and Di Benedetto. Read Full Review

Also, someone please bring back Alfred, weve suffered long enough. Read Full Review

Hawthorne does some beautiful work with the look of the city in this issue. I love the visual contrasts in the worlds of these character and how they build the world of this arc. Read Full Review

Batman #132 picks up steam by putting a new twist on a classic story to show Bruce what a Gotham without Batman looks like. The pacing, dialog, and action are on point, and some of the confusing elements from the previous issues get answered, so on the whole, this is the best arc issue so far. Read Full Review

Bruce Wayne is in a messed up alternate reality, and he's the one man who can don a bat costume and make things right. Pretty solid story so far. Read Full Review

Zdarsky continues to bring a compelling level of intrigue to Batman as Bruce attempts to navigate his way around this new Earth. Whilst it's left to the backup story to drive the narrative forwards, the main story is undoubtedly still a fun read. Read Full Review

Batman #132 is an excellent comic with two tales about adapting to strange environments. My one gripe is Batman may have to learn a lesson, which means the Failsafe storyline was really just put on hold. Read Full Review

Batman #132 is a worthy continuation of the Zdarsky run. It further peels back the layers of the alternate reality Gotham City and pushes Bruce forward, back towards his true self Read Full Review

Batman #132 improves on both Bruce Wayne and Tim Drake stories that are happening simultaneously in different universe. How Bruce goes about tackling being in an unknown universe made the Gotham City he finds himself a layered world. Similarly, we get a much better told story on how Tim is going about saving Bruce that makes his story much more intriguing. Hopefully the rest of the issues of this story can build on this positive momentum. Read Full Review

Batman #132 isn't a bad issue and the arc so far is ok. It feels a bit like a filler arc until the next big story. There's a lot here that could be interesting but it doesn't totally commit to its underlying themes that would make it truly stand out. Hopefully, this is one whose whole is stronger than its individual parts. Read Full Review

Batman #132 smartly keeps Bruce's emotional core beating throughout a narrative that would otherwise feel tired. It's fun, moody, and gripping. Read Full Review

: I'm not blown away by this issue. I wouldn't outright say that it's bad, but it definitely isn't entirely working for me. The main story has a few good moments, but overall it just feels like a remix of familiar elements rather than a truly original story, and the execution just isn't quite up to par. The backup is a lot more entertaining for me, but even then it's rather derivative. I wouldn't recommend this issue; it's just too expensive for something that's a really quick and forgettable read. Read Full Review

Its a fun experiment. Make Wayne the center of a story in familiar territory that couldnt be any more alien to him and see what happens. Zdarsky still hasnt found quite the right way to deliver it that would make it a distinctly Batman-like story. A big part of the problem lies in the fact that...so much of what makes Batman distinct is actually pretty superficial. Take away the distinct look and feel of things, and it doesnt feel like something distinctly Gotham. There IS a way to make this type of experiment work, though. There must be. Zdarsky just hasnt found it yet. Read Full Review

*insert people moaning about Zdarsky politics*

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Hex - Feb 7, 2023

No matter how well it's done, some people just won't, "buy the premise" even though it's exactly what they have been asking for.

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Hawthorne's art isn't as good as Jimenez or Romero, but I still enjoyed this issue.

Really like this issue. Even though the art isnt as good, the story and plot is still engaging. It's just a fun story that fleshes out Bruce Wayne's character, doesnt need to be original

Enjoying this new alternate universe storyline. I'm a big fan of world building, and I liked what Zdarsky did with that here. Speaking of Zdarsky, I really enjoy the way he writes Bruce's inner narrative (not sure if that's what it's called). As for Hawthorne's art, it was solid, but I do have to say it's definitely a bit of a step down from the amazing Jorge Jimenez. Back to the story itself, the ending did exactly what it was supposed to by making me interested to read the next issue :) (The backup story was pretty good as well).

I hadn't read this book in a few but decided to give it another try. The story is definitely more engaging, but it's hard to ignore how much more effective things like the skeleton Jim Gordon would have been in Jiminez's style. Hawthorne's work is fine, but it doesn't pack much of a punch and undersells things like that throughout.

3 more issues. I sure hope Zdarsky isn't planning to send Batman on an Earth-after-Earth tour of the multiverse in a bunch of4-8 part storylines per world. This issue was pretty average. It could've been better, but also could've been worse.
And though this seeing alternate versions of people you know and being surprised has been done to death, at least it's not totally boring. But I swear I'll rip up issue #135/900 if I learn the Red Mask is the Bruce Wayne of this world. What I really wonder is whether the Gordon Skeleton is a figment of Batman's imagination or it's just that no one else can see or hear him? I'd probably go with a figment. And if that is the case I have a feeling he's going to be a regular thing throughout this multiverse thing, if not Zdarsky's whole run.
This wasn't a bad issue, but not a good one either. And though I'm no fan of the Multiverse I must say this story is still more original than Failsafe was. more

Once again I'm more invested in the back-up than the main story...

A definite improvement on the previous issue. I enjoyed the stronger focus on Bruce getting his bearings in this version of Gotham. His dance & dialog with Selina was good. I'm not sure about Jewel, another overpowered young female character. Not much development and what's with drawing her like a dude? I think in only one panel she actually looks feminine. I'm not sold on Hawthorne's art, despite some good action scenes. And I didn't recognize Punchline! She looked like a different character.

The backup story is a bit more interesting, but the art was pretty mixed. Some good panels, but in other parts it looks rushed.

I did a more in depth video review on my YT channel Wakizashi's Teahouse.

I miss the days of Batman detecting and fighting his gallery of rogues. Now, we have deadly robots that supposedly beat Superman, Batman falling from the moon, and now being shot into another dimension by a ray gun. This would have worked better as an Elseworlds, but in general continuity, not so much. I'm not sure how long Chip is going to stretch this out.

Ridiculous. What is this? Why would I care about this alternate Gotham? Why is Bruce Wayne indestructible? Holy crap this took a nosedive.

This story line just isn’t for me. I don’t buy the premise, so no matter how well it’s done, I remain unmoved. We see Bruce learn a bit about this world, but we don’t see him be smart and do actual deep dive research. He acts on minimal information and tries to contact a guy who is known for resisting this world’s police state. He meets “Selina” and they tussle.

He fights more cops. In the other story, we see Tim doing actual work to get Bruce back. It involves Toyman tech. Bruce also sees this world’s Alfred and we learn this world’s Bruce gave away his money and the world wasn’t saved.

I get what the writer is doing - answering critics who say “if Bruce gave away his money, Gotham would be saved.” No it wouldn’t., zdarsky replies. Chris Sims has answered that observation well in the past. One, it’s boring to watch a man cut checks for 22 pages. Two, the world is setup to support Batman. Third, fixing problems over a period of years is nice but the Joker is poisoning the reservoir right now.

I mean I get the point of this arc, Bruce with no allies, money, equipment or even information. So won’t it be great when he kicks ass and takes names. Batman refined to his most essential core, without all the detritus of years of stuff weighing him down. I get that, but the problem with that story is that we’ve it in the past and it really requires very smart writing to carry out. Plotting is hard, and frankly, most comic writers aren’t up to the challenge.

This story isn’t for me, but your mileage may vary. Also I don’t like Selina’s dress. It looks like a 13 year old boy’s idea of “classy and sexy.”

Or I could be wrong. more

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motorik - Feb 7, 2023

Here's a question, why do you keep reading if you hate it so much? Read something that makes you happy. All the hate readers on this site, it's madness. What exactly do you want from Zdarsky? "we've seen it in the past." It's so redundant to say these days, we've seen it all in the past. Nary is their an original story anymore. Make peace with it. If you are looking for pure originality, you aren't going to find it in a Batman comic mate.

Quinn - Feb 7, 2023

Here’s a response. If you don’t like my reviews, don’t read them. No skin off my nose if you don’t. As to what I want, original stories that don’t repeat what’s been done before. New ways to show characterization. Well-paced plots that are fair to all characters, not redone Judge Dredd stuff. These guys are paid professionals. It is no easy task to do this with 80 years of stories already done, but that’s the job.

motorik - Feb 7, 2023

And you are expecting pure originality 100% of the time? You realise how unrealistic that is? Morrison, Snyder, Tynion, King and now Zdarsky. They all draw on the past and riff on it. Try Zdarsky's Sex Criminals. To my knowledge, quite original indeed. His book Public Domain is a fascinating look at creator ownership in the comic book industry. You're looking for originality in super hero comics, you're waiting for something that isn't going to happen. I respect your patience.

Bats20832 - Feb 8, 2023

The battle for Justice simply really does not resonate with a lot of modern writers. They prefer institutional corruption, science fiction, horror. The idea that people are genuinely suffering from criminals, rather than persecution is really difficult for those writers to understand. IMO. They are too wealthy, too privileged, too protected. They really don't face this in their lives, so unlike last century, it is more theoretical to them.

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The writing is clichéd.

The art is lackluster.

god we don't even have good art anymore...

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wakizashireviews - Feb 15, 2023

1 out of 10? Seriously? It's not as good as it has been at the start of Chip's run, but 1? I'm not a big fan of Hawthorne's art style either, but still. Harsh. I've noticed a lot of Zdarsky "hate" on his Batman run. Am I missing something? (Serious question.)

Hex - Feb 21, 2023

@WakizashiGray None of them have a real tangible reason to hate on Zdarsky for his comics generally. Most of them don't care for his politics on Twitter so they all gang up and review bomb without most of them even reading the book. Not saying that's the case here but overall. It's directed a lot at Taylor, Cates, Zdarsky and King as none of them align with their core political values.

wakizashireviews - Feb 21, 2023

@Hex I appreciate your reply, thank you. I've noticed this trend of "review bombing" certain writers, and how it can go both ways with high-scores and/or low-scores. Very strange and pretty sad, really. I always ignore the creator's social media presence and just focus on the actual comic book. Does it tell a good story?

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