Batman #696 was another good read that continues what has been a very fun Batman story written and drawn by Tony Daniel. Daniel has really impressed me with his work on this title. Even though I got a little tired all of the shifts between past and present this was still a very well written issue that gave us some nice character work for all the characters in the issue. If you are a Batman fan Irecommend picking this issue and story arc up. Read Full Review

The finale to Daniel's first arc is sure to be a doozy, as Batman and Black Mask's rematch promises to provide some much needed answers in addition to more teeth-rattling action. If only this penultimate chapter did a better job of ratcheting up the tension, suspense and high stakes in the clearest manner possible. Read Full Review

I like the story he is telling. He's re-connected with Jeph Loeb's Long Halloween and Dark Victory stories along with bringing back some of the classic pulp mad scientist character types with Hugo Strange and Black Mask, who shares some of those same elements. Read Full Review

Being a fan of Dick Grayson, I have to say, this storyline has been very lackluster. Read Full Review

The story ends with the promise that Dick knows who the Black Mask really is, and the villain's use of an Aristotle quote is surely a clue, if you're interested in trying to figure out such things. But this issue, like Daniel's run so far, isn't about subtlety or narrative gamesmanship. It's about telling a gung-ho, punchin' and kickin' Batman tale, and it's not a bad one. Read Full Review