Batman #688 was a good read. While it is nothing amazing, Winick is doing a good job showing the rough transition Dick is going through from being Nightwing into being the new Batman. I am also interested to see another confrontation between Dick and Two-Face now that Dick is the new Batman. Read Full Review

Those who followed Mark Bagley's work for DC on the weekly Trinity series might be a little surprised with what they find in this comic book. Obviously, scheduling likely allowed the artist to take a bit more time with this story arc, and it shows with greater attention to detail. Of course, the greater levels of depth and texture might also be attributable to the fact that he's teamed with a different inker on this project. Bagley's more conventional approach to super-hero genre art suits the tone of Winick's script, which is much less avant garde than Morrison's approach to the same ideas. Read Full Review

Ultimately, if Batman is going to succeed in the shadow of its sister title, it's going to need to establish a unique identity for itself, and deal with themes different from those in Morrison's work. Otherwise, the comparisons will continue to be unavoidable, and what was once the Bat-Family's flagship title will become, at best, redundant. Read Full Review

If you're a Batman fan, I'm sure you've picked this one up already, but if you are casual Bat reader, skip this and read Batman and Robin. Read Full Review

If only this comic could feature more story to go along with it. Read Full Review

I've bitched in the past about the forcing of Two-Face being Nightwing's Joker, and this was used heavily at the end of the Nightwing series. Well now that Nightwing is Batman, it looks as if Winick plans on taking it right back to that dry well. If Grant Morrison's series is all about the new, this Judd Winick book comes off as bringing back the old into a new setting. Average writing plus average art leads me to an average grade of C. This is even more disappointing because of the opportunity for doing bold new things in the Bat-Books right now, which neither of these guys are bringing to the page. It seemed like everything was set-up wonderfully; Tony Daniel gave these guys a hell of a pitch with Battle For The Cowl (which Winick was originally supposed to write) but these guys bunted instead of swinging away. Kind of makes me wonder what it would have been like if Tony Daniel had been left on the book. Read Full Review

Batman #688 doesn't really contain anything important. But since we're only one issue in for a new arc, I suppose Winick and Bagley's run is still somewhat worth sticking around for another issue. It's just too bad that this main Bat book doesn't have fans wishing for the next chapter to come out already. Read Full Review

The image of "Batman" as the secondary Bat-title is not helped here with this issue repeating scenes from "Batman and Robin" #2, a move that effectively sabotages Judd Winick as he's forced to contend with Grant Morrison. The lighter tone sets Winick apart, but isn't enough for this book to stand by itself. Read Full Review

. This was really the only book this week that I would consider to be "bad." Winick's spotty dialogue, illogical story beats, and stale overall plot keeps me from getting interested, while Mark Bagley fails to live up to the hype with equally as disappointing work. If it weren't for the fact that I'm a completist with this title, I'd consider dropping it after this one. Do yourself a favor and be smarter than me; avoid this week's Read Full Review