With so much still to come in this issue such as the amazing Jorge Jimenez coming on board to lend his amazing art and the announcement of Joker War, I know we are all in for one hell of a ride! Batman #89 is available today so head to your Local Conic Shop or download the digital copy now direct from DC! Do not wait on this issue! Read Full Review

I am quite enjoying the current storyline. As a longtime Batman fan, it's great to see a story incorporating the four core Batman villains that make up the United Underworld from the 1966 movie. I love when a writer brings a classic element from DC's past and uses it in a modern context. If these first few issues are any indication, Tynion's run on Batman will prove to be a classic Batman saga. Read Full Review

All of the artists bring beautiful visuals to this issue. Everything from the action to the interpersonal moments are rendered beautifully and I was drawn in with every page and panel. Read Full Review

This series is turning out really well since the handoff in writers. Tynion knows Gotham well and cares about it so much that he's taking it exactly where the avid readers knew it could be the whole time. As a Gotham fanboy, this book is turning amazing in a time where people are getting tired of the cowl and I really hope it brings the love back in some way. Read Full Review

James Tynion continues his winning streak, producing another action-packed issue that's dense with drama and excitement; Batman #89 is a must-read. Read Full Review

Batman #89(Tynion IV, Pagulayan, March, Miki, Morey, Cowles) sees the arc trajectory start to round into form as the series is given an artistic booster shot. Read Full Review

Under the surface, this Batman is more unwell than he has been in a long time, and I suspect that's going to come out in a bad way soon. But until then, we're being treated to one hell of an entertaining run. Read Full Review

A great issue, action packed from the start with the occasional pause to catch your breath. Read Full Review

I would say this was half way between the Warren Ellis Batman and the 1960s TV show in terms of style as the villains still wear colourful costumes but it is also dark and gritty which is more the style these days. I did enjoy the art style in this and the characters are drawn well. Read Full Review

It's the small things that add up to a lot in another entertaining, ongoing Batman comic. Read Full Review

The current run of Batman may be pretty and action-packed, but the pace leaves much to be desired. Read Full Review

The story leads up to a big Joker moment at the end. But it is so trite that I just didn't care. Like I said, the art is pretty decent but this whole thing doesn't add up to much. Read Full Review

Batman #89 is not a bad issue and the story it tells is interesting but there are a lot of things that could have been done better. Read Full Review

James Tynion is quickly finding his footing the more issues of Batman he writes. Batman #89 is a good example of that as he is able to properly develop several storylines at the same time. Every character from Batman to Catwoman to the Designer to Joker get time to shine during this issue. It all helped build greater interest in how things will turn out in "Their Dark Designs" and how it leads into "Joker War." Read Full Review

For me Batman #89 reads like a mediocre, middle-of-the-road superhero piece. While there ‘s nothing egregious about it, it also fails to make a huge impression. Read Full Review

If youve been following James Tynion and Guillem Marchs run of Batman thus far, this issue continues the Jason Bourne-style action adventure. Newcomers, however, might be lost in a frenzy of interweaving narratives that mainly serve to ultimately bring characters together at specific locations. Read Full Review

There are a number of things that James Tynion is doing right with Batman, but in his attempts to provide fan service, characters, and some fun nods, he's failing to deliver on his core story. Is the book bad? No. Definitely not. Could it be better? Absolutely. A little more focus and an approach of show versus tell could lift this book from decent to great. Thankfully, we get incredible work from Pagulayan, March, and Morey, and that really helps elevate the book to solid standards. Read Full Review

Despite some small reveals and story progression in an issue filled with amazing art and well constructed fight scenes, this issue ultimately doesn't give the reader a whole lot. We still have most of the questions that we started with and there wasn't enough meat in this issue to really sink our teeth into. I'm willing to be patient with this book for the time being but I expect the creative team to really bring it in the coming issues if they want to continue to keep the reader's interest. Read Full Review

The big threat in Gotham is starting to take a more distinctive shape in Batman #89 and thanks to a bit more time spent on Catwoman's part the story it's more interesting than ever. Read Full Review

It genuinely feels like a rushed product done by DC, and it shows. There is a remarkable talent in this book, but not giving them proper time to have foresight into their creative output truly damages their work. While it is a detriment, this book does offer some fun for those who want to stick with it. Read Full Review

The hallmarks of a great James Tynion book just aren't there, as the writer seems to be forcing himself to write an answer to fans' expectation of what a Batman book should be, rather than deliver a title that feels uniquely his. Read Full Review

" HM. She doesn't look so tough... "
- PUNCHLINE

Prelude:
So far I've been loving Tynion's Batman. Let's see how he fares in this issue.

The Good:
I did find Gunsmith and Mr. Teeth to be cool one-shot villains.

I enjoyed the Selina/Harley team up.

March's art is great.

The Bad:
Man, Designer's costume is so stupid.

Not sure on how I feel about Joker War yet.

Conclusion:
It's a very good issue, just that there are some creative choices that fall a bit flat or just trip completely.

Slow-moving but a solid and intriguing issue overall.

Harley Quinn is at last not a cloying jabber mouth, in contrast to how she is usually portrayed these days, which was most refreshing.

The art was fantastic throughout.

Bring on the next issue!

Worth it for the last panel alone.

Things clicked a little for me here. This issue, Harley aside, just worked better than the previous three.

It's a hell of a lot better than Tom King's trash run.

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Darkseid24 - Feb 19, 2020

It’s basically Dead Reckoning& Endgame just in bad.

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Pretty solid read. No major complaints but feels like its missing something. I do like the idea of the new villain.

"She doesn't look so tough"

I am liking this story. It's getting more and more interesting with each new issue. After months of depressing and sad Dark Knight, Batman is fun to read again.

We get a lot from this issue. We get a little backstory on the new assassins that were introduced, they're pretty good. Tynion shows that he writes a good Harley Quinn, little crazy and ditzy but not stupid. We finally get to see this Designer guy for a moment and we get a short glimpse of Joker's new henchwoman. Of course with the internet and the publisher who can't keep his mouth shut we already know her name and how she looks like...

The art is good. Carlo Pagulayan's panels being the standout. His Batman looks simply amazing. The short ears on the cowl and bulky physique are a great look for the Caped Crusader. The panel where he stands over unconscious Gunsmith is the best piece of art in this issue, the best one I saw this week.

In summary, I'm enjoying Tynion's tenure on Batman. It's not the stuff of legends, but it is a good read that is definitely worth checking out. more

Okay, I gotta admit, this story arc finally captured my attention. After a tiny, tiny bit underwhelming beginning, finally side arcs begin to connect and create a bigger picture. The issue didn't answer any questions, in fact only introduced more, but i wasn't its point. The point was to connect few dots, without progressing the plot much further. Build the tension, make the mystery feel deeper and more complex, which I for once welcome. It's not the kind of pointless filler Tom King's Batman has become infamous for, nor Bendis' slug-paced heavily overthought bore. It feels like omething that shouldn't be told quickly, and with this particular issue, it works.

The art for the most part is beautiful, detailed, vibrant and dynamic. It's joy to just browse the comic, and analyze up close how it was inked and colored. March did really good job bringing Tynion's story and characters to life. With one notable exception, whose mug is on my avatar. Yeah... her. Harley, while surpriingly not annoying character-wise, like she usually is since Dini stopped writing her, looks... weird. And by "weird" I don't mean she's a victim of a mass murdering lunatic clown who abused her for years. Positioning of her eyes, nose and mouth look jut plain odd, unnatural. I have no clue why she's the only one who looks like she's mentally disabled, while the rest of the characters is perfectly fine, but I guess that's the way it is. more

I really don't have much to say about this issue because not a lot happened but it was still entertaining.

Harley and Selina team up as Batman continues to search for answers and The Riddler is missing. Meanwhile, Joker is getting ready to execute his own plan with the help of Punchline.

So yeah, not a lot in terms of story progression but we still got some fun action scenes and the few new information bits we got are just enough to keep me interested in what's going on. Also, the art this time around was better than usual, so that's another plus.

Overall, it was enjoyable but I hope the pace will pick-up from now on because, so far, this is my biggest problem with this arc.

I actually didn’t dislike Harley as much as I usually do, so that was a nice change of pace. I’m only a little more interested in the plot than I was before, but the trend is certainly upwards!

Jumping back into Batman after taking a break for a couple years. Wtf is up with Catwoman's costume? Maybe the exposed armpits serve to keep her suit from getting all sweaty and stunk up?

It's still underwhelming. The book seems to be dragging a lot. And I get the feeling that this was initially something like a mini that got adapted into a maxi series that once more got adapted into Batman. Or that this is the outtakes of a story that was split in two. Will wait for a couple of issues more but frankly this is still not working.

Great art, rushed story.

We see Harley save Catwoman in the graveyard and Batman track down the various assassins. (He sends a fleet of drones to get Deathstroke).

Batman reaches Riddler's lair and there is video with no sound showing DESIGN or whatever his name is confronting Riddler. (Penguin is wounded in this episode and threatening hospital workers).

The action is being watched by a "mysterious" woman and Joker has a murder board with Batman's sidekicks showing hero names and real names.

Finally Harley and Catwoman catch up with Batman and Catwoman says she's sorry and that we'll have to wait for the next issue to find out the conspiracy.

A lot of plot happens but too much of it is told via text boxes of thoughts as opposed to us being shown what is happening.

Like I said great art, but I feel that the reveal of the plot is awkward, very mechanical. Can't say the conspiracy is doing it for me. I think Catwoman might have told Batman about this before her hand was forced by circumstances. This kind of ruins the work King put in showing that these two have unburdened their secrets to each other. It's, to put it simply, a bit comic booky. Like the old Superman covers where's he's turning his back on Jimmy and Lois with a thought bubble reading "I have to get away from them, if they knew my true secret they'd flee in terror."

Or I could be wrong, though I have to laugh when Catwoman is drawn carrying an unconscious male assassin over her shoulder as the artist draws her as a woman who weighs 105 pounds soaking wet.

Or I could be wrong. more

I start to dislike the story. Overall it reminds me of Dead Reckoning just with other villains & nowhere as good as this story.

So Gotham‘s biggest bads made a deal with the designer & villains like Scarecrow aren’t even mentioned? Oh the disrespect. Instead Catwoman made this deal, who never even was one of Gotham‘s biggest bads? Same goes for Harley, who was just Joker‘s sidekick.

I also hate the idea of Joker knowing the identity of the entire batfamily. Snyder did this or hinted it, but in majority of stories Joker doesn’t know& also couldn’t find out with good reasons. I find it very hard to believe, that Joker wouldn’t use this information about Batman and play fair instead of murdering the batfamilys family or friends out of fun. This is just a stupid idea, that doesn’t fit his character. Overall I am bored with the idea of having another Joker war. Why the hell has everything to be always about Joker? It’s not like Batman doesn’t has a great rogue gallery. DC really makes me hate characters I used to like due to their writing& the need to shove them in the readers face.

So „,meh“ sums this issue up the best. more

5G is coming and apparently there's not a lot of interest in good stories. Apart from one last page detail it's pretty standard bread and butter DC stuff. Nothing exciting. I originally thought about giving it a 5 but this comes right after an entire run of slow pacing. Tynion needs to ramp it up very fast. Everything feels slow and unexciting.