While the writing is just okay, the art of this series are what won me over. It is nice to have a no-nonsense/non-deconstructive Batman story, even if is is a bit too grimdark for my taste. The pacing and art sequencing are excellent.

Look forward to seeing where this story goes with cautious optimism.

This probably should have never happened. Sure, Robin lives, but it's just more nihilistic crap! Nothing I'd ever want to read again.

While there were some things story-wise that I honestly wasn't a fan of, I must admit this really had me engaged. The mood and the pacing had me hooked. And the idea of challenging Batman's moral code is done pretty well here. I just hope the writer sticks the landing.
But I really don't like when writers take an ageist approach with ongoing Batman stories. We already covered that in The Dark Knight Returns, and that was an Elseworlds tale. Hearing about Batman having had knee surgeries has no place in monthly comics. And please don't site Dark Knight Rises as a counter point. If Bruce had as many Knee problems as he did at the end of Chris Nolan's trilogy, the reality would have been him sitting out the rest of the film with his affected leg elevated while taking Vicodin.
Also, I am absolutely no fan of Mikel Janin's "ART". Dude! Just draw it on your own! Stop tracing over 3D/CG character models. It just looks stiff and emotionless. Whenever Janin "draws" a character with their mouth open they just end up looking like a ventriloquist dummy.

My biggest gripe was the very last panel. If this was actually a thing with Thomas Wayne, then WHY is this the first time we are ever hearing of this? I really don't like when writers play loose and fast with continuity. It really just takes one out of the story. I'll check out the next issue, but I'm not really going to go in with much expectations. more

***Cons***
-Goofy Anime-looking art (Batman looks ridiculous)
-Too Subversive (This was built for the first time read. i doubt the twists will hold up upon re-reads)
-Too Deconstructive (There is only so much you can bend and deconstruct characters before they are NO LONGER the same character. I'll avoid going into spoilers, but you'll know who I'm referring to right from the start of the comic)
-Yet another Brutal Batman that kills (At least this killer-Batman is different in that he stabs and hacks his enemies to bloody bits)
-SOOOO EDGY!!! (I am sick and tired of grimdark edgelord comics)

***Pros***
-At least its not by Tom King
-Thankfully not by Chip Zdarsky either
-At least this Batman doesn't weigh a buck and change, and have to wear armor to compensate.
-Thankfully Scott Snyder refrained from making this as overly-wordy as his prior Batman writing.
-At least this Batman hasn't killed anyone with a gun (At least not yet)
-There might have been another positive? I just can't think of it right now.

I'm going to try re-reading this at some point and see if i feel differently about it later. more

Scott Snyder has written some exceptional Batman comics. This is not one of them. Nick Dragotta does a pretty good job with the art, he definitely has a unique style. I feel like I have read this before, however. I think it was called The Dark Knight Returns by a guy called Frank Miller, which was fantastic. This seems like the same recipe only Bruce Wayne is young instead of old. Also, I don’t feel as though we got to know much about Bruce Wayne/Batman in this issue. It mostly takes place through the eyes of Alfred, which is not all that interesting. I was kind of wondering what was up with the big blocky bat on his chest. Though the reveal was not all that interesting. Will I buy issue 2? Most likely, but this title is on a short leash for me. It is definitely readable but not a unique take on the character. more

I tried to read it and made it to page 6 and just didn’t care to finish, I am going to try to read it again later . Might change my grade later. I just did not care to finish it

Hot take: I actually think Matthew Rosenberg vision on DC vs Vampires is more interesting and compelling compared to James Tynion IV.

Ok.... First off... Scott Snyder did what he do best... Concoct a Good Story.

Though, funny. Reading this issue felt like I'm ready a Spider Man x Punisher mashup as Batman story.

Bruce Wayne living a normal life (ala Parker's Luck) with his very alive Mother (ala Aunt May). Though his father is dead (ala Uncle Ben).

For Bruce's night life, he becomes the Batman but very Punisher-esque hardcore with cool grappling cape and a huge axe.

The relation between Bruce and Pennyworth was kind of predictable, very Movie-ish... They'll start as rival then becomes partners, so on and so forth.... Let's all see...

Plus the tease of Joker as a corporate mogul (ala Norman Osborn).

All in all, the story premise is very familiar... very Spider-Manish, but I like it none the less..
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The score represents the fact that I was completely lost because I am not following the Absolute Power main story.

But for a tie-in, the writer has something to say about Bruce and Selina. He actually writes her as smart, insightful, and mature. She actually seems like a grownup and a partner who can hold her own physically and in the brains department. Bruce isn’t written as a lox. He is relatively self aware, but has room for growth, growth driven by actually having an equal relationship with Selina. So well done.

But not caring about the story it is tied into means the majority of the book is about something that does nothing for me. Overall, I give the writer points, which tells me he can actually write Bruce as Batman, which makes the previous year or two even more disappointing.

Or I could be wrong. more

Yes they do deserve a happy ending. And at least a moment on the beach.
The story of Batman Bruce Wayne and Catwoman Selina Kyle really deserves mature writing.
I could care less about the latest Absolute Power soap opera and lunatic Amanda Waller.
In fact, it was the cover that sold me. As I am sure it sold many others.
Many of us don't want Bruce to be miserable. I want Batman and Catwoman to walk on the beach hand-in-hand. Yes, I know that is not riveting story. But to those who really care about the Batman Bruce Wayne character it is. more

This is utter dog sh*t!!!

(pun intended)

Stay away from this Poor Wannabe Animal Farm.

Orwell was a master. King is just a booger eater.

This is NO "jumping on" point! This is a continuation of the 150 issue run (plus countless other tie-in issues/mini-series) that had just concluded.

Someone coming into this fresh will have no idea what they are in for. This is a terrible idea for a relaunch of TMNT comics!

While the art is great, I really dislike that this is not a fresh restart, nor a direction that I particularly care for. The Issue starts with Raphael in prison and his brothers no where to be found. The other Ninja Turtles only appear within a very brief two panels worth of flashback. About 95% or more of the issue takes place with Raph in prison.

I cannot even begin to express just how disappointed I am with this re-launch. more

While it's an interesting premise, this is ultimately a shameless cash-grab by DC. Hardly worth paying Five dollars for Four issues. If this is something you're interested in, probably better to just trade wait.

Parts of the story did throw me through a loop and had me guessing. But again, better to just wait for the collected book.

I really had very high hopes for this series. Unfortunately it failed to deliver in both story and art. Within time this story is going to fade into obscurity, just like so many other mediocre offerings before it.

I'm no fan of cross-over/tie-in events. But the premise of this did pique my curiosity. Unfortunately I didn't find anything in this comic to convince me to invest is the large list of multiple titles spanning several issue across the next few months.

The only portion that I'm planning to read are the Superman tie-ins by Joshua Williamson. Other than that I'll more than likely skip the rest of this event. more

Overall this was an alright read with pretty ok art. And while I won't be in a rust to read this again any time too soon, Williamson surprised me with this one. I enjoyed it a lot more than I expected to.


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(VERY very minor)


I'm really not sure how I feel about that last page cliffhanger. while the intrigue may be tantalizing, i honestly would have preferred this reveal show up later closer to when this upcoming plot point will start. I just really dislike when stories never have just a nice solid conclusion. more

DC has no sense of shame to keep letting this poor excuse for a writer ruin Batman and his supporting cast.

Send tom king back to Marvel where he belongs!!

This series is the discount version of George Orwell's ANIMAL FARM.

But whereas Orwell's story was a timeless and brilliant work of art, tom king's poor attempt is nothing more utter rubbish!

The real crime here is they wasted paper and ink on this.

Yet another pretentious load of crap from tom king. He's honestly the absolute worst Batman writer of all time. Why DC continues to allow him to sully their most popular character is beyond me?!

All the typical tropes are on display. 9 panel grids, meaningless time-skips, terrible dialogue, entire pages checkered with artless panels of text, senseless violence/gore, terrible dialogue, Bat-family punching each other in the face, terrible dialogue, Batman humiliated and shamed, terrible dialogue, nihilism, more terrible dialogue...



Do yourself a HUGE favor .... AVOID!!! more

while i normally quite enjoy Mike Allred's art, this was just an insufferable story to slog through.

Bring back BATMAN '66, but PLEASE do not make Allred have to draw garbage like this. You can even see how much he was not enjoying having to draw this within each panel. Poor guy was probably gritting his teeth the entire time.

I finally figured out what bugs me about this story. It doesn’t matter.Batman Year one mattered because it was a new Batman after Infinite Crisis. This is just a story where the Joker kills a lot. We know where it is going to end. Crazy Joker who kills a lot.

We also get another story where Jim Gordon doesn’t kill Joker. Again lather, rinse, repeat.

Also not a fan of the art style. But that’s me. I won’t argue if you like it.

Not a great story. More of a cynical cash grab that went nowhere.

Or I could be wrong. more

Wonder Woman character was created and introduced in All-Star Comics as a character to raise up and unite American people. Now we have CIA's Tom King using the DC Comics issue almost as a parody level of absurdity of targeted hate based on race, gender, and religion. If the roles were different, the DC Comics published tract would be labeled as a "hate crime" piece. But as it is, CIA Tom King's effort to divide and demean is now good "comics fiction."

Wonder Woman is a prisoner of the criminal Sovereign who seeks to brainwash Diana with a "Lasso of Lies," while Wonder Woman hallucinates including a scenes where her daughter uses a bow and arrow to mutilate (and possibly murder?) criminal Sergeant Steel tied to a tree. The comic goes through various out-of-context writing from the Christian Bible, based on a Jewish writer Saul/Paul and his religious teachings based on the Torah (yes, Tom King leaves **THAT** part out for certain), and eventually after I concluding "I do not believe in Your God," Wonder Woman breaks the Lasso of Lies and attacks the criminal Sovereign.

The story begins with Wonder Woman hallucinating about the 1950s era with a sexist, hate-filled version of Steve Trevor, and the criminal Sovereign using a "Lasso of Lies" and quoting Christian religious scripture of Ephesians 5:22 from 2000 years ago, twisting it out of context to make it be a basis for inequality, rather than a basis for love. Furthermore, using a translation that does not match the original text in Greek. And since Tom King wants to use this as a religious attack, the correct statement is: "Submit to one another," NOT "Wives, submit to your husbands."

Tom King also takes out of context Christian Bible passages from Corinthians (based on Paul/Saul's Jewish history and his interpretations of the Jewish Torah), Timothy (again based on Paul/Saul's Jewish history and his interpretations of the Jewish Torah), Titus (once again based on Paul/Saul's Jewish history and his interpretations of the Jewish Torah).

Now if this was Saul, and they were quotations from the Jewish Torah? How would this be viewed in USA today? Would it be considered Anti-Semitic twisting of religious verse to spread anti-Jewish hatred? But since it is Paul who converted to being a "Christian," Tom King views this as "OK."

But the goal here is for Tom King to divide between men and women, religious Christians and others, young and old, and target a certain group as inherently evil. Mr. King fails to note that he actually fits a lot of the element of the inherently evil hate he spews towards others.

No I am not going to rate this comic based on the "backup comic." That would be cowardly and lame dodging. Let's be clear about what this issue of Wonder Woman #8 is: "Hate Crime Tract." It is the same type of thing you would read from racists, those who hate people based on their gender, and those who hate people based on their religion. In fact, it is PRECISELY the type of thing that the Wonder Woman character was created to combat. But now, with the CIA's Tom King, DC Comics has turned Wonder Woman into the very thing she was to defeat: Hate Itself.


I only give this a 1 because there is not any lower score available. It does NOT deserve a 1.

To those of you who think, OK, but I hate old people, I hate white people, I hate men, I hate Christian people, etc., remember - other Hate Mongerers can fill in those labels with different lables. Hate is NOT the Answer and it has no place being praised in comics heroine stories. more

Dan Jurgens may have been a decent writer once upon a time? But those days are long gone.
The art while nice in parts is very messy and inconsistent. The color is also inconsistent as well. Some pages are dour while others look like fruity pebbles.

Joker is the loon who thought Joker Fish would make him rich, not this imposter.

Not much new to say, so I'll just leave this here. I think Batman is too big of a character for Zdarsky to handle.

It's really annoying how many writers are just trying to retcon classic stories and characters these days. While the writers often try to expand on these classic stories or give them more depth, the opposite often occurs and they end up tarnishing them.

That's the case here. Zur-En-Arrh was a cool concept when Morrison introduced it, but now it's just a corrupt Batman. The Jokers motivations have been retconned to all be about bringing out Zur-En-Arrh. Killing Joke? Death in the Family? All because of Zur-En-Arrh now instead of the Jokers affinity for chaos and obsession with Batman.

Zdarsky is taking from the Batman mythos instead of adding to it. I don't know why DC is allowing these horrible changes to their most popular franchise. Avoid this Batman run. Everyone is out of character and it's just butchering classic stories. more

I will say it again... I hate reboots, but... DC PLEASE REBOOT BATMAN!!!


....and keep these hack writers far the HELL away from the character!!

I must be reading a different book than the other reviewers. I'm not sure how you can have a Batman book without Batman. Two issues in a row, a third of the story completed and Batman has not showed up. Instead, we get a Harley with no Joker, and Bruce playing Firefly. This issue has turned bad real fast.

My Comic Review Channel - https://youtu.be/PHxYj7kKmss

I'm no fan of reboots, but DC seriously needs one! Especially for Batman!!

Zdarsky has no place writing Batman. His run has been one poorly recycled idea after another. I'd call it fan fiction, but at least fan fiction has some passion to it. Zdarsky is just phoning this crap in.

The art is okay, but I really dislike that Jorge Jimenez has simply become a poor imitation of Dan Mora. Only less dynamic, and much less fun to look at.

Batman comics need some serious help! They'd needed it for a very long time now! more

There is NO WAY this comic was worth the $7 price tag!

I honestly cannot remember the last time I was this bored reading a Batman comic. The beginning starts with a ton of exposition, by the time the headless victim shows up I had already checked out. The story meanders a bit more until Batman finally shows up in one of the most wonky, awkward, unsatisfying splash pages I've ever seen. Not helped by the fact that Batman's cowl is drawn overly bulky. The cowl is also inconsistently drawn from panel to panel, making for a very jarring reading experience. If there is no clear distinct vision of the story's main character, then please don't bother trying to tell a story about them.
The art, while polished is quite dull. Characters look very posed and stiff. Much of the backgrounds look like traced photos, and at times looked rushed and very sloppy. The color is really nice at parts, but they cannot seem to make up their mind to go all dull and gritty, or overly vibrant. But most important is the fact that this comic is just not worth the price of admission. It's a rip off.

After this dull first issue, I'm not even sure this comic will even be worth trade waiting. more