Bryan Hitch has some awesome art in this issue. The characters look great and all of the details in the panels are eye-catching. Read Full Review

The Batman's Grave #1(Ellis, Hitch, Nowland, Sinclair) is a perfect Batman story in an era that desperately needed one. Read Full Review

The Batman's Grave #1 is a master class in writing and storytelling. Warren Ellis and Bryan Hitch deliver a subtle, well-thought and executed debut that builds a solid foundation with a book that has endless potential. If you find yourself reminiscing about what Batman used to be and represent; if you're not really connecting with current incarnations of Batman, then this is definitely the book for you. It may not seem like it at first, but there's a lot to unpack here, and you'll be happy you let yourself experience it. Read Full Review

Armed with a mystery ripped right out of his Image Comics works and an unexpectedly heartfelt and clear-eyed take on the Alfred and Bruce Wayne dynamic, The Batman's Grave #1 is a big statement of Warren Ellis' intentions for Gotham City. It also doesn't hurt that he's standing shoulder-to-shoulder with a truly activative art team that is moving in lock-step with his take and aiming to make it look as good as they possibly can. Cinematic, well-thought out, and pointedly written, The Batman's Grave #1 is a stellar debut for the reunited creators behind The Authority. Read Full Review

Overall, The Batman's Grave #1is a solid start to the series and is a Batman story that has a lot of classic elements while playing with uncomfortable and existential themes. Alfred's fears are palpable on the page and Batman's sure death may come sooner than Bruce expects. Either way, I look forward to the next issue. Read Full Review

ConclusionOne of the best debut issues in recent memory, The Batman's Grave #1 is a vital and thought provoking book that bodes very well for the next 11 issues. With a creative team that is firing on all cylinders, this could end up being a contender come the next awards season. This comic helps prove that the Batman character is evergreen and without doubt the standard bearer for DC Comics. We're are all going to be in for a great ride with this one. Read Full Review

For Batman fans who miss the detective element to the Dark Knight Detective and prefer a more "street-level" approach to Gotham's hero, Warren Ellis delivers a captivating mystery story in The Batman's Grave #1 that longtime fans will not want to miss. Read Full Review

Go into this book spoiler-free as possible. The art set up is cinematic in nature and the ending will stick with you. Read Full Review

This is a very good introduction to what Ellis has in store for us Batman fans. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't excited. Even if it means the death of my favorite comic character. Read Full Review

The Batman's Grave #1 is a fantastic Batman detective story and character study for both super fans and those who have only kept up with the Caped Crusader via other media or the occasional trade paperback. Bryan Hitch, Kevin Nowlan, and Alex Sinclair's are the right blend of epic and psychologically searing while Warren Ellis' script is sharp and momentum filled. I love the humanity that he brings to Alfred and the murder victim, Vince and kind of pity Batman after reading this one. His car is still cool though. Read Full Review

The Batsuit looks good on this creative team, of that we can be certain. And while Ellis and Hitch seem content for now to play along with expectations and hit the beats we all expect, it's clear that they've filled every pouch on the utility belt with their favorite tricks. They, along with Nowlan, Sinclair and Starkings, have claimed the Bat as their own. By the time this tale is done, I imagine the suit itself with be fully stripped away, and what's left will be a brutal and unique take on the character from comics' all-time greats. Read Full Review

For those comparing this book to Hitch's other recent DC work in Hawkman, you'll find Hitch is showing off some very different strengths here. There's much less bombastic action, instead, many more subtle character moments and detailed crime scenes. It also seems to be very much about the relationship between Batman and Alfred " making it an odd choice timeline-wise, unless it's intended as a tribute to the butler. Read Full Review

If you're looking for a stand alone Batman story that combines one of the greatest dynamic duo's in comics' history, give The Batman's Grave a read. We're certainly looking forward to reading the twelve issue series all in one go. Read Full Review

This was an intriguing blend of classic Batman elements, like Wayne Manor and the Batcave, with new tech and gadgets, such as Alfred on comms and the VR crime scene analysis. It blended together perfectly, and the smart darknight detective slant was refreshingly done. A great read. Read Full Review

This is a stripped-down, street level Batman detective tale with a genuinely disturbing denouement, but it doesnt quite feel like the first issue of a series just yet. Whatever direction this is going, Ellis is clearly keeping his cards close to his chest so far, although the solicitation info suggests that the aforementioned denouement is likely to have a profound effect on the psyche of the Dark Knight moving forwards and rightfully so. So at the end of the day, youre even remotely a fan of Batman the detective, this is definitely worth a look. Read Full Review

Final Verdict: 7.9 " “The Batman's Grave” #1 establishes a strong tone and murder case with an inspired visual direction. Read Full Review

Despite some storytelling hiccups, THE BATMAN'S GRAVE #1 is an engaging opening chapter. I, for one, am at least curious to see where the premise takes us. Read Full Review

The Batman's Grave manages to find fresh new material with the most familiar hero in comics. Read Full Review

This issue is a solid start to the series with a lot of potential directions to go. Read Full Review

Overall, Batman's Grave is off to a mysterious start that doesn't provide the reader much detail yet but comes packed to the brim with some great looking art to keep your attention for now.  The Alfred and Bruce/Batman relationship gets some spotlight here as well, however other than these overall snapshot observations, I'm not entirely sure of the start to this series at the moment, and how hooked readers of this will be going forward. In all honesty, in searching for comparison to this, it has a bit of a feel of the True Detective TV show to it at the moment, being so shrouded in mystery. Good, but definitely not great ... yet. Read Full Review

The Batman's Grave #1 doesn't break a lot of new ground, but it's still more than worth the read for the execution. Warren Ellis' writing is restrained and tight, while Hitch and Sinclair's art effectively builds dread and drives its ideas home. I don't quite know what this book is yet, but I very much look forward to finding out. Read Full Review

This felt short, but still promising. I love that we get to see detective work pretty much off the bat, and Ellis' thoughtfulness in the psychology of his narrative use of Alfred has me excited for this series. Read Full Review

The first installment of this Ellis/Hitch collaboration is a tale of two cities. The first half fired on all cylinders and established the beginning of an engaging psychological narrative. The second half, however, bogs down the story quite hard with a perplexing script that left me guessing for all the wrong reasons. The first half and the creative cache of the creative team are what will bring me back for next month's second chapter. Read Full Review

What kind of assholes bring their baby to a movie? It is rude and also bad for their hearing! Don’t bring your babies to regular showings of things! But like yeah otherwise this was pretty good.

A good opening that is let down a little by the depiction of how Bruce works out what happened; I like the narrative conceit, but the execution is slightly off, so it isn't completely clear how much is guesswork and how much is coming from the journal.

Off to a very good start. Loving the overall detective atmosphere to this book, and Hitch's cinematic artwork really shines here.

I like the almost theatrical way Batman does his detective work in here, that is like my ideal Batman.

Strong start. Hoping and expecting it to get better as it goes according to a great creative team.

This was good. Some of the dialogue could be a little rough, though. The ending, though, is straight out of Warren Ellis' Moon Knight run. I'm a big fan of that run, so if we can all agree to further emulate it, I'm fine with that.

Cool start. Great detective mystery with great art as well. Only confused about if this story is in canon or not. I hope Ellis can deliver with more mystery, and not get disinterested in the book

I think part of the reason for the declining sales of Comic Books is that fans are starting to realize that many of the books being released don't really matter or are simply being shipped to support the additive nature of comic book readers. Even worse, it seems that the books are designed to exploit local comic shops. The true goal is to compile these series as trades and sell in book stores and eventually large chains like Walmart and Amazon.

I support the idea of moving beyond the direct market but I hate to see retailers being exploited in the interim. Many of the Mini-Maxi series produced by DC seem totally out of alignment with traditional comic storytelling. The entire Hill House line of comics comes off as books that should have been released as graphic novels. There are other examples such as Niomi, Far Sector, and the Martain Manhunter series that was released last year. All of these books would have been better served if released in trade format but retailers and fans are asked to pay monthly for comics with severe pacing and format issues. Some of the comics even end in the same spot they begin with literally no story progression beyond exposition inching the plot forward.

The goal seems pretty clear with DC comics pulling out of Diamond and moving into alternative distribution channels. I predict that DC will eventually transition to releasing these titles as trade paperbacks and ditching the monthly format altogether aside from core titles they consider to be evergreen.

Other books like The Batman's Grave, Daphne Byrne, Metal Men, etc. will be released Digitally or in stores as graphic novels only in prestige format. Whether this is a good thing for retailers time will tell but change is in the air. I just wish DC was transparent or honest about their long-term intentions.

I mention all of that because after reading The Batman's Grave I have no idea why this story wasn't tabled and released in either the main Batman book or Detective Comics. The selling point is Warren Ellis and Bryan Hitch on the creative team. The two are legendary creators but unfortunately, there is nothing in this issue that feels like it deserved to be pushed into separate series.

The story follows Batman after a night of patrol. Prior to going in for the night, he receives message from Alfred regarding a case that the GCPD is too overwhelmed to attend to. Upon investigating the crime scene and parties involved it appears that the case will be a lot more complicated than he was expecting.

Not really much else to the issue. The writing and art are solid as to be expected from this creative team but the story at least in this issue hasn't formed yet. There is an amazing exchange between Bruce and Alfred that calls out Bruce's methods but aside from that nothing of note happens here.

As usual, I'm behind on the series. The Batman's Grave #7 just released last week and aside from this review I haven't seen any mention of the series on social media. If I hadn't had the book on my pull list and been so behind I would have immediately dropped the title and waited on the trade. Readers are in for a decompressed story that will read a lot better in one sitting, which is clearly the intent.

Nothing here is bad but unless you're a completionist or just a fan of the creators I'd probably stay away from the series until it's done. It may get better or become a must-read title but how much money are you gonna invest in a hunch or a maybe? more

Not a very good start for this first of twelve issues from the writer Warren Ellis.

Yes, we all know that Alfred deep down knows that Bruce, eventually, will die before him. So Ellis in the first pages trys to conect us with that feeling. Ok! fair enough! but the next sequence?
What's the point of showing a couple walking through an alley and getting robbed by some random burglars and Batman interfiring to save the moment? Just bringing more background that it's not really neccesary. The tempo of the story it's fine I guess, it takes us to the crime scene for a very quiclky interrogation and it show us the inside of the victim's appartment (this with the purpose of showing this "cool" gadget that can reconstruct a room and the user can interact virtually with it).
Then we have this weird scene of Alfred and Bruce talking and in a flash we are back in the appartment again (thanks to the mentioneted gadget). This leads us to Batman returning to the phisical place and finding someone under the floorboards.
And that's just a quick preview of the issue.

My problem is, How mighty is this artifact? Batman just scan the place and suddenly he can open doors and see through the furniture, read books that were in the place with out been previeosly opened and above all we have this weird transicion between the "narrator" and "the speaking voice". When Bruce is thinking and searching for clues in the virtual embiroment he talks to himself (this happends like an accompaniment to the action of seeing a book that is on the table). Suddenly the voice we are reading, apparently, it's not Bruce's voice, it's the victim voice but the globe of dialogue still appers in the persona of Bruce. Then the voice it's pass on to the dead guy who is rising of the bed. ¿? What?? At the end, why he discovers the man under the floorboards remains a mistery to me. I have no logical explanation.
The narrative it's very poor from my point of view and the art... meh! just regular. This first issue doesn't have a very intriguing plot and I hope the next issue rise the quality.

Sincerly, it did not catch my attention and it's to soon but I don't want to start bealiving that I had made a mistake subscribing to this twelve issue series.

BONUS: Why did Alfred suggest that killing is a very good option for Batman? He was drunk!? Boy, I hope so!! more

Good start. Sets an appropriate mood, though I had to reread some lines of dialogue because they weren't clear the first time.

Strong art and a lot of intriguing moments, but the ending was abrupt and Ellis's take on Alfred seems a bit off. But Warren definitely gets Batman.

The Batman's Grave is a frustrating read. The entire first half is ominous and terrible, placing Batman so firmly in the tradition of Warren Ellis's doomed detectives that it's strange that this is his first major project with the character. But after a dozen flawless pages, the story sinks under the weight of an incoherently-narrated investigation. I haven't got a clue what's supposed to be happening at the issue's end, and it's not because Hitch's art is anything less than clear and expressive.

Has potential to be good, but wasn’t in love with this issue. Looking forward to issue 2.

Big miss on the characterization. I'm not buying Alfred's sudden turn into hippie logic. And the detective work was all flash, no substance. Bruce just figured everything out spontaneously. Like he was being fed insights from a script, rather than coming to any logical conclusions. 12 issues? No thanks.

The art is the only thing that this book has going for it. IF you like thinly veiled pro-liberalism/left leaning politics mixed in with your Batman story then this is the book for you I guess. Warren Ellis isn't subtle with his virtue signalling in this book and it makes the book very "cringe" worthy. Bottom line, save your money as I don't think the next 11 issues will be much better.