summed up very well. i can't find one single interesting quality about Kobra. not even the dialog from the characters that i do care about holds my interest. i've said this time and time again, i really hope DC drops the bi-weekly release schedule. at least then it'd give the writers more time to hopefully come up with better stories. more isn't always better.

I hope they get more interesting next issue, but the story is soon over, therefore I doubt it. And I agree. This bi-weekly release isn’t good for the quality of the stories, but I also think we need new writers& that more often. Writers shouldn’t do 100 issues.

i've already mentally checked out with this story arc. the only thing i can hope for is some nice art, though it does look a bit rushed. . . . which definitely comes back around to this bi-weekly release schedule nonsense. it is nothing more than a way to get as much money from the fans as possible. serve up quantity over quality. looking at how exhausted and burned out the new 52 Batman ended, no writer should do 50 issues, let alone 100. that is going to be one heck of a train wreck.

I agree, unless it’s Doug Moench, he did both Detective Comics& Batman& still delivered great stories.

Just read the creative team for Detective Comics 1000. Sounds really good to me personally! This series may be picking up.

are the solicits for Detective 1000 saying the giant sized issue will be entirely taken up by Peter Tomasi and Doug Mahnke for their new story arc?

No there will be a story by them but also material from Geoff Johns, Brian Michael Bendis, Paul Dini, Christopher Priest, Denny O’Neil, Neal Adams, Kelley Jones, Dustin Nguyen, Alex Maleev and more.

wow! there's some pretty exciting names in that mix! 😃 ...i wonder if Denny O'Neil & Neal Adams will be teaming up for their contribution to the issue? very happy to hear that Kelley Jones will be in there as well. i'd be nice id they paired Dini & Nguyen.

Yes, I am looking forward to whatever Kelley Jones& Dustin Nguyen is doing. The only thing I am surprised about is a new Arkham Knight chapter.

they are putting in an Arkham Knight story?? i figured the demand for that type of thing had long since passed. . . . personally i feel Rocksteady made a grave mistake not having Paul Dini write the 3rd game. it just didn't have the same heart the other two games had.

A new iteration of Arkham Knight is mentioned, I dont know if it takes place in the Arkhamverse or if AK is put in the canon timeline. I loved Arkham Knight& it’s my favorite of the Arkham games. Thought the story was better than the others.

they made the ending too final. felt like they were trying to ape TDKR. they could have left the story open where some other studio could have picked up the story and continued it. ...it was funny how they claimed Arkham Knight was an ENTIRELY NEW character, even though everyone suspected it was just Jason Todd. and low and behold, it was Jason Todd.

I want DC to fire Scott Lobdell but they clearly win’t.

I meant to say won’t.

for his writing or behavior?

I also don’t get all these 10 ratings, those readers must have never read a Pre52 New Gods story. It’s not entirely bad, what King did here, but I think the story didn’t need 12 issues to be told. I am still waiting for the story to start. I also want a new writer fit Batman, but it’s another 2 years with King. ( Wish it was Stephen King)

For his writing. He just took 12 issues to say nothing. The only thing I can think he said was that Mr Miracle killed himself in the first issue and by the end he’s realized that being dead is better than life. So he just glorified suicide? Yeah, fire him.

wow! so once again Tom King is trying to promote suicide? how edgy.

Lol. I got banned on Reddit for saying King needs to get back on his meds and get therapy because of this shit.

Not his fault you didnt understand what you read. And your opinion is not a fact. You think Mister Miracle is bad but it really isnt

Lol. And that is your opinion. Not a fact. You think Mister Miracle is good but it really isn’t. See how that works? And you can’t say it’s because someone doesn’t understand it. It’s written so poorly that there are multiple interpretations out there.

That's why the ending works. It references it being a hell or heaven of his own making, and it is saying whether or not this world he created matters if it is real or not, as long as it is real to him. Also, in issue 7 it kind of referenced the real answer. When his baby was born it made reference to Lump. Lump was a character in Jack Kirby's original run and volume 2 that was able to create false realities for Scott Free and Shilo Norman inside their own minds.

I don't see anything wrong with a book being open-ended.

to me, the ending shows that scott chose to stay in heaven/trap (whichever you think it is) which is the easy choice, not the heroes choice. Scott basically picks the made up world in his head over the real world because that may take some effort to make good. His suicide in the beginning isn't explained...why did he do that? without knowing that, I have no idea what he is "escaping from"

usually when DC leaves a series open-ended they typically will lead into another series.

Can you imagine a follow up series to this by King? Maybe that’s his plan to stay employed. Just keep writing open ended stories that require follow ups. The problem is that we don’t know why he killed himself and the entire series basically says that if life is too hard then kill yourself and you’ll be happier. I’m serious when I say King needs therapy.

the follow-up will start with the baby slitting it's wrists.

This is entirely a personal pet peeve, but I don’t mind when people criticize a writer’s work, but when they start to criticize the person, I get really annoyed. I have never met Tom King and know near nothing about him except for how he writes, so I can’t start talking about his mental health or his employment in the comments section of a reviewing website.

I feel like if I was a comic book writer, I would just have to accept if people dislike an issue I write or a series, that’s something I have to accept with the job. But if people started saying I needed therapy or needed to be fired, I would probably feel really hurt, especially since these are people who know squat about my personal life. Again this is just a personal annoyance I’ve always felt with this website that I’ve wanted to get out for a while.

So you don’t think someone who only seems to focus on depression and suicide should seek some sort of help? You know how people always talk about there being signs someone was thinking of doing something to themselves? I feel like his entire comic career is a huge sign. I don’t like his writing. Can’t stand it but I think this guy really does probably need to get some help.

I don’t mind a sad/ depressive ending, but I just expected more with Mr Miracle. That’s my problem with the story. This could take place after Barda was killed in Death of the New Gods, but that’s not canon anymore, so I don’t know. In New52/ Rebirth timeline Scott has no reason to run from reality. I also don’t think he killed himself, but as for me I always hoped he would escape that dream world or whatever and face reality. Scott is a broken character, but he also fights when he has to.

I just don’t think that we should be discussing his mental health. That is for his family and friends to be concerned about. Maybe he has been seeking help since he wrote this issue, or maybe he just though it would have an impact on readers, and is totally stable. Also this is a reviewing website, not really the right place to be talking about stuff like this.

He puts it out there with his work. Feel free to not partake in it. He constantly talks about his panic attacks and his depression so if he puts it out for the public to see and then writes these shitty stories then both will be discussed. It’s reality. He doesn’t need you to save him.

I agree& actually I didn’t even know King has psychological issues. I care for the stories, not about his private life.

So I've just read some of King's interviews, and first of all I admire his bravery for coming out with this information. My two closest friends have dealt with suicide depression nearly their entire lives, and believe me, it is not an easy thing for anyone to talk about. It also sounds like he has confessed his trauma to someone else, who helped him through it, not necessarily a therapist, but someone who would listen, which can be just as good.

And I will feel free not to partake in it. King writing "shitty stories" is subjective. I will admit I did not know he had talked about his panic attack before, and now that I do I understand that there will be discussion on it and that he knows fully well there will be as well and I appreciate him for that. I agree, I do not need to save him. All I was saying to begin with was that it annoyed me personally and that's what I'll stick with.

personally i find the 'suicide' topic in comics to be tiresome. i didn't appreciate King having Bruce Wayne describing slitting his wrists when he was younger. it just made the character look weak. i've had to deal with too many people in my life that have either attempted it or succeeded in their mission for self imposed death. it's a horrible thing to experience. and i don't think it makes for very good superhero stories.

I have no problem with portraying characters suicidal, but it has to fit the character. It’s not the first time Bruce was portrayed as a troubled child, he also was in Hush/ Heart of Hush. And Batman isn’t like the other heroes, he is a psycho himself& often isn’t so much different from his villains. So I can live with him slitting his wrists as a child, I however don’t think this whining over Catwoman fits his character. Or that he basically killed KGBeast a few issues ago.

i just don't think any of it fits Bruce, who he is and what he stands for. if he was so quick to give up, there's no way he would have been able to endure all the training and disciplining he endured in his journey to becoming Batman. Bruce hasn't always been psychotic as some writer like to portray him as. driven, focused, determined, sometimes obstinate, yes. psychotic, i just don't think he'd be very effective at what he does if he weren't in his right mind.

I think he can be psychotic, but focused& determined at the same time. Villains like Scarecrow or Mr Freeze are also classified as insane, but are brilliant at the same time. I also don’t think cutting yourself is a sign for being weak or for giving up. Bruce tried to cope with his loss in some way& neither cutting nor becoming Batman was the right way.

i just felt the cutting was very unnecessary. ...almost like that lost chapter where Bruce nearly spent half the family fortune at nudey bars getting lap dances.

Bruce wasn’t portrayed as psychotic for most of his existence. That’s been a fairly recent development that I don’t care for. I hate how they have to keep bringing the heroes down. They are supposed to represent an ideal and thats been taken away.

I don’t think the dialogue was bad, especially not compared to Kings awful dialogue, but I agree about the plot progression.

I would say it's a different category of bad. King is repetitive and takes less is more to a whole new level. Lobdell tends just has a lot of odd jokes that never land and sometimes makes characters over explain.

I have only read a few issues of Red Hood& I think it was ok. Characters were in character. King wrote Nightwing like a total retard, when he was shot, while Lobdell made him sound normal, so I prefer Lobdell over King. I give the story a chance, maybe it just needs time to built up& I am also reading it because of Scarecrow. Nightwing 50 did a great job with Scarecrow.

Red Hood has a lot of pacing problems. And Lobdell makes Ric Grayson sound normal, not Dick Grayson. Because that character is basically gone. Also, Nightwing #50 was written by Ben Percy, not Lobdell.

That’s ok for me, because Dick is currently still injured, so I am fine with, if he sounds different. I know, but come on, the foundation is already there thanks to Percy, so Lobdell can’t mess it up that much. At least I hope so.# 51&52 weren’t perfect, but not bad either.

I don't mind of Dick sounds different personally… just that he has lost what makes him a compelling character, for me personally. I was excited for this series to go in a new direction since it had been going downhill fast, but it turned out the new direction was even worse than before.

I'd rather have this over more of Wyrm and the dark web, for sure.

I actually think I like this less than the Wyrm stuff (just my personal opinion), although that was really, really bad also. I think DC just needs to find a creative team that works, or get rid of the series entirely. I'm sick of seeing them constantly rebooting the series while still keeping the sam numbering, between Seeley, Humphries, Percy and Lobdell, there was very little actual quality there. This series for me, is how a lot of people feel about King's Batman.

Yeah, I'd say that Nightwing V4 has been bad since its inception.

I definitely agree.

I like this Nightwing run more than the New52 one& when Dick was a secret agent. I am glad when King is finally done with Batman, but that’s still 2 years. I hope he doesn’t mess any character up until then, because he sometimes doesn’t care much about contuinity. Penguin being married came out of nowhere in Kings story. I thought that was odd.

I actually prefer Grayson to this one. I think his whole not caring about the continuity thing is why he works better with smaller, secondary series, like Vision, Omega Men and even Mister Miracle.

I was slightly annoyed by the Penguin thing but not as much as some people, so I didn’t take off for it in my review. I thought the scene where it was introduced was really good, and it gave him motivation and some character depth. That’s just my personal opinion though, I can totally understand if you hate it.

Yeah I agree& as for the Penguin story, maybe King explains more in the next issues. I liked Heroes in Crisis #1 by King ( despite the deaths), but I didn’t like how Harley beat the Trinity in #2.

I liked Heroes 1 as well and issue 2 also disappointed me. Harley defeating the Trinity was weird for sure, but the main reason I disliked it was that it failed to make the story set up in issue 1 into anything interesting.

I found both issues to be extremely lacking. Characters just don't act properly given the circumstances.

I can respect that opinion. The out of character moments didn’t really bother me until issue two, and even then, I found problems like story and continuity errors to be more distracting so I haven’t taken off for it in my reviews.

I like Heroes in Crisis currently more than Kings Batman run, I think he can write better, if he has more time. I don‘t like it, when they are out of characters though. I can see, why people are angry with what happened to Wally, overall I don’t like when characters are killed off.

They are both pretty even for me. I've never been one to "pick a side" in the never ending battle of Tom King's Batman. I love some issues, hate others, it varies from issue to issue. I wish that they could have at least given the character deaths more emotional weight, it seems like you have to read the tie ins to feel the true emotional impact of these deaths. I do agree that Tom King needs to slow down and maybe take a monthly schedule. Some of his monthly work is truly amazing in my opinion.

I give HiC a chance, because some parts were good. I agree, but then it would be 4 years for King until he is done with Batman. I think 2 are already too much. Some of his stories are ok, but I don’t think he really understands Bruce. Like Bruce isn’t the kind of guy, who is obsessed with a girl, he is obsessed with being Batman/ protecting Gotham& still King turns him into a guy, who gets crazy because his girlfriend left.

I do agree he doesn’t really understand Batman, however I personally have never been an avid Batman fan so I don’t mind if the writer changes the character around, makes them different from before. If I was a Batman fan I would probably hate this series a lot more.

as an avid Batman fan, i must say that for the first year under Tom King's pen i was utterly in hell. . . . but over time, i've come to look at it as a parody and laugh at the folly of it all. ...these days neither Batman nor Detective have been very good, so i've been soothing my craving for good Batman stories with lots of back issues. various periods and writers.

Batman are my favorite comics lol King is ok up until now, there were worse writers like when Snyder made Gordon Batman, I hated that story. It was just really bad. Or Geoff Johns just can’t write certain characters. He messed up the New Gods in Darkseid War& also writes certain characters totally out of character like Scarecrow in Blackest Night for example. Doomsday Clock is great so far though. Therefore I still can live with King up until now, but I think it’s time for a new Batman writer.

i'll definitely second that notion that it's time for a new writer on Batman. ...i'll 100% agree that Robo-Gordon Batman was a terrible idea. i cannot believe it went on as long as it did. ..yeah i felt the handling of the New Gods in Darkseid War was not very good at all. ...i'll have to dip into Doomsday Clock again. the first few issues i'd read felt very fan fiction'y to me. but i'll eventually give it another shot. did they ever give a reason as to why the Comedian was saved?

I think it's still unclear at the moment.

In my 23 years of life that must be the first time i see "detailed art" as a bad thing. wow

The art wasn’t great. There were a few good panels but overall it was just us engaging.

i think i might understand what ShabaTG means by the art being "too detailed in places" . . . . meaning that if there's too much detail in the background it'll take away from the focal point. (i.e. - where the viewer’s eye should be drawn to) ... the colorist could have muted the background color a bit and left the main figures vibrant. this would have made the main figures more prominent and stand out more within the panels.

That would have improved the art. I still loved the art because of how much effort was put into it, and for me personally it really brought the book to life and made it unique, which suited the writing really well. Just my opinion though...

i didn't mind Liam Sharp's art at all. i really liked the facial features he drew for Hal. ...but the coloring (especially in the backgrounds) definitely could have used some depth and atmosphere.

I do think the coloring detracted from the book, for sure. It didn’t really bother me personally though.

I agree about Scarecrow, reading the Solicitations it seems, that he takes action later, since he is still in Nightwing 56( he is on the cover) Issue 50 started great, when it comes to Scarecrow, so I hope the new writers don’t mess it up. I also think the fake Nightwing is pointless& I hope Scarecrow wont be overshadowed by him. Would be a stupid idea. I hope Scarecrow kills the wannabes& then his conflict with the real Nightwing is addressed.

Seriously! Issue #50 certainly did have a great Scarecrow, however I am concerned for how Lodbell handles him… he has a pretty poor track record in my opinion. I really hope they drop Detective Nightwing soon. I'm actually not super opposed to the idea of having this new status quo for Nightwing, it's just that they've been handling it terribly.

this all sounds awful. i don't think i've ever read a Lobdell comic that i actually liked.

I liked some early issues of the Red Hood and the Outlaws Rebirth. Other than that, I don't think so.

i don't hate his writing as i've heard some folks do. but i've never read one of his comics and was like- "WOW! that was terrific!" or even "that was a fun ride."

I think Red Hood was ok by Lobdell. His writing is better than Kings. What annoys me are the new Nightwinfs. Just Scarecrow would have been better.

I haven't read many Lobdell issues, but I personally found Red Hood #25 to be terrific. I agree just Scarecrow would be better. This is entirely a personal thing… don't go hating on me or anything, but I personally think King has a better track record with me than Lobdell.

i'll give the Red Hood series i try next time there's a DC sale on comixology. they usually have a really good sales come the holidays.

Yeah, go for the Rebirth, not the New 52 series though, I read the first volume of the New 52 series, and it is terrible.

hahaha! thanks. i'll definitely skip the new52 one and go right for the Rebirth then.

It's good because the Rebirth requires no further reading, just a general understanding of it's three main characters. I liked it up until they started doing the whole "Red Hood: Outlaw" thing. It loses the fun of the previous issues and gets rid of its most compelling characters.

I‘ve read Red Hood, when he shot Penguin in the head& the future stories. I thought that story was good. With King I don’t know, I think he is an ok writer, could be worse, but his stories always lacks something that makes them really good for me. The new Solicitations for Nightwing #54& 55 sound fun. Seems Scarecrow takes action there.

Yeah the story arc before this whole Red Hood Outlaw nonsense was actually really good. I personally find KIng to be a talented writer who sometimes struggles with putting his unique style to good use. But I can totally understand how you say his stories lack something that makes them good for you. I often feel the same way about Donny Cates, even though everybody else loves his work. I’ll give those issues a chance, but I don’t think I’ve liked an issue of this series so far.

It’s totally fine, if you like Kings writing. I liked some stories of him, but I didn’t read one I really loved. I keep giving him a chance though. I think despite Penguins marriage coming out of nowhere it still can be a good story.

Yeah, there is supposedly going to be a team up between the two. To try to defeat Bane maybe? I'm not crazy about the idea, but it could be good.

Yes I agree. I am still wondering why Thomas Wayne is involved. He isn’t even in the timeline. Or it’s someone else.

Also, wasn't Mitch supposed to illustrate the Penguin issue? Or am I just confused. I enjoy Mikel Janin's art but I think Mitch works way better with Tom King's writing.

very good point Darkseid24. there's no logical reason as to HOW or WHY Flashpoint Thomas Wayne would be working with Bane against his own son. that whole idea is just silly.

I’ll wait to see how the Thomas Wayne thing plays out... Gotham Girl is one that really confuses me. Why would she work alongside Psycho Pirate who did all those cruel things to her in I Am Gotham.

either one of the two. or even Skeets for that matter. it's just a plot twist for the sake of a plot twist. logic be damned.

That’s true. It could lead to some interesting stuff....maybe. I’ll be open minded.

I can just picture, “Skeets vs. Batman!” That should be a... unique story arc to say the least.

I actually always thought, that Thomas Wayne& Gotham Girl, Bane etc. weren’t really there, but the pic was just a flashback for everything bad, that happened to Bruce during Kings run. But since Thomas also was in the Penguin story King seems to be serious with the story idea.

sorry for putting this one your radar. the first issue was so promising. hopefully it will have a strong finish, though it could go either way at this point.

No worries, hopefully it picks up. A lot can happen in three issues.

very true. i'm going to hold out for hope that the story picks up. i mean the art is amazing, but without a good story it'd been better to just trade wait. at least for myself. . . . . . but on the chance the story DOESN'T pick up . . . . i'm gonna feel pretty bad for recommending this one to you. 😅

i've been tempted to try this series, but i don't think Catwoman books usually hold up over time. i'll probably end up getting a digital collected edition when it goes on sale. DC always takes Batman's best supporting cast and tries to sell them in their own title. i just find they usually don't stand to well on their own.

As far as the "supporting cast" comics go, this is probably the best one right now. It has some really great art, and a good story, just some filler moments, and pretty weak supporting characters, minus the villain.

i did like the concept design of the main villain. when i browsed the first issue and saw her pulling the prosthetics off her face, that really was pretty spooky. i just wish the supporting cast titles were more tightly nit like they used to be. i just don't think DC's current stable of writers can handle juggling various titles like the ones back when we had Knightfall, No Man's Land, Legacy, etc...

This series has a very good villain, and (of course) main character. Other than that, not too many other good characters. Selina's sister was a pretty interesting character, more for how they explored the relationship between her and Selina than the actual character though.

DC does need to have their series be more "closely knit", a great way of putting it. That reminds me of the last issue of Heroes in Crisis, which featured a scene with Lois Lane working at the Planet, yet in Bendis's run she does not work there. I am fairly sure that both of these stories take place in present time and are canon, so the continuity error was pretty distracting for me.

is that Selina’s sister Magdalene that is or was a Nun? hopefully they are bringing back Catwoman’s former history (pre-new52). i didn’t like any of the changes the new52 made to her backstory. . . . . . yeah. there has been a real lack in the cohesiveness within many of DC’s titles across the board. editorial just doesn’t even try to have it all line up. i’ve also found it very distracting.

It is Maggie! I'm not a huge Catwoman fan, so I know very little about her backstory, I simply picked this series up for Joelle's art and the previews had me sold. Yes, I feel like one of the reasons the out-of-continuity series are doing so well is because they are able to tell the story they want to without worrying about continuity errors like that one.

ah! good! i hope they've wiped out all of that malarkey from the New52 away. it's so hard to keep up with what's going on with Selina Kyle with all the soft reboots they keep doing. one of my favorite eras with her besides the Jim Balent run was around the time she was being drawn by Alan Davis and actually knew Bruce's secret identity and was fighting along side Batman & Robin (until Joker kidnapped and brainwashed her).

I'll have to check those out!

i haven't had a chance to pick this up yet, but there's a lot of the Alan Davis drawn stories in this collection. https://www.dccomics.com/graphic-novels/detective-comics-1937/batman-the-dark-knight-detective-vol-1

Sweet!

i've been shopping around online. some stores have it cheaper than the $29.99 retail price. vol. 2 is out well and has some Norm Breyfogle art. think i'll be getting both of these real soon. :) https://www.dccomics.com/graphic-novels/detective-comics-1937/batman-the-dark-knight-detective-vol-2

Dan, sorry for commenting something non-related. i was just wondering it you might possibly add the 'Batman by Grant Morrison Omnibus' vol. 1? ...if not no biggie, though if you could it's definitely a book worthy of posting. thanks.

Sorry for the delayed response. Just saw this. But yeah, no problem. I added the book for you.

no worries. i figured you were busy. . . . . awesome! thank you so much. i really appreciate it. :)

maybe Alfred will get shot in the head, lose his memory, start driving a cab, and tell people to start calling him "Alf"?

Hahahahaha! I hope not!

I just looked on King's Twitter. Apparently he submitted an issue to DC that he himself hated.

yikes!!!!! . . . . well, as the narrator of the 1966 Batman live-action television series used to say . . . “THE WORST IS YET TO COME!”

Lol!

He says shit lik that about all of his issues though. He wants people to tell him how great he is. His need for validation is actually pretty pathetic.

he's either too cheap to pay for therapy, or so insecure that he needs the constant adulation. .... yeah that is really sad.

whatever he's got in store couldn't possibly be any worse than naked Oswald Cobblepot showering!

Glad to see this lived up to the expectations! Grant Morrison is one of my favorite writers, Doom Patrol and Animal Man easily both crack my top five favorite comics. This review gets me excited!

you should be in for a real treat then, and i feel you'll be right at home with this comic! 😃 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . also, after reading this issue over again, i had to raise my initial score up a mark. you're definitely going get your money's worth here. 🙃

Awesome!

Have either of you read Klaus?

i really loved the Klaus mini-series. the two one-shots that were released later on were also good.

Yes, I have. I also really enjoyed it.

my only wish is that Frank Quitely would have drawn this first issue, as well as the entire first arc.

That would be awesome! Frank Quitely is a great artist! I still love Liam Sharp's art, but I think that Quitely's art certainly works better with the writing.

i definitely enjoy Liam Sharp's art in this. i'm just coveting the idea of what could have been. at least we had gotten Grant and Quitely's JLA: Earth 2 a few years ago. that was amazing to see Frank Quitely drawing Kyle Rayner constructing those two giant hands clasping over the Crime Syndicate's Moon Base. SO awesome!! . . . . but Sharp is pretty good. my favorite work he did is the Death Dealer comics he did for Verotik. pretty sure i still have those in my collection . . . . somewhere. :-P

I LOVED EARTH 2! I'll have to check those other Liam Sharp comics out!

didn't this story made Penguin look like a weak little punk? you'd think if Bane had his wife killed, he'd want to declare war on Bane for revenge. not just roll over and hope to win back favor. he looked pathetic. ....one thing's for sure, Penguin sure ain't no Marcellus Wallace. that dude would have someone thrown out a four story window just for giving his wife a foot massage.

"Then there is this bizarre page where Alfred "plays" Bruce and tels a message to himself?" No, he just predicted what Bruce is going to say (because he knows him so well). I found it very touching.

Maybe that was the intention, but I found the execution confusing and I started to question Al's sanity.

I also read it as Alfred so used to what Bruce says while he is out, that he is able to predict exactly what he will say when an intruder is detected in his manor.

Very true, nothing really happens anymore in this book. I used to read Batman because I was excited for the story. Now I read it because it's Batman and I'm just curious what King will come up with next.

dang! so this was what everyone had been waiting such a long time for? ...with all the delays and now this mostly poor received conclusion, wonder if they are going to continue with this series, or if this is it? ...personally i think they'd do well to quit while their ahead.

The solicitation says "big things to come next." But I've really become frustrated reading a series that has one issue every three or four months. Plus you'd think with all that time, the writing would be way better. Derington has a good excuse for not finishing his work- he's doing a Batman run with Bendis. Even though he has a new Umbrella Academy series, I see no real reason why the writing should feel so half-finshed.

i just looked up that Brian Michael Bendis and Nick Derington. so they are doing a "Walmart Batman"? that'll be an easy pass. . . . this run of Doom Patrol has probably outlived it's life cycle, but it's probably just keep limping on so DC can squeeze as many dollars as they can from their fans.

I read the first issue of the Batman Giant… its pretty good actually. DEFINITELY not worth the price tag. Way better than I would have expected considering it is a Walmart exclusive.

Also, I don't know if you know this… but in that group of Walmart Giant series, Tom King is doing a 12 issue Superman run with Andy Kubert, which is ironically a lot better than his Batman. Still not great though. Probably 6/10 level quality.

Also, I wouldn't be surprised if we get either a sequel series or a full-on reboot at the time of the TV show.

thankfully when King is done with Batman, i'll be done with King. what a lot of fanboys that love to lash aout at me over insulting their favoritest most bestest writer don't realize is that i only suffer through his comics due to my unhealthy obsession with Batman. i have an acute case of Batman'iitis j'iitis. the only reason i mention this is because as much as i love Superman, it's much easier for me to pass up on him when he's in the hands of a writer i don't care for. Batman though...

a new Doom Patrol TV series, i'm sure they'll want to put out a new 'ISSUE 1'. ...even if it's not tied to this current series, they'll want to cash in. i'm not sure what it would mean for this current run though, or if they'd want a different creative team with a better track record of meeting release dates.

I sure bet there will be some new Doom Patrol cash cow. And, yes… I can totally understand how you are not "against Tom King." More against "Tom King writing Batman." I am a moderately large Batman fan… I'm usually more into lesser known comic book characters, so that is why I love some issues, hate others.

If there was a writer I hated writing one of my favorite characters, which thankfully at the moment there isn't, I would probably have a much larger negative feeling for the series.

yeah, i had almost the same scenario back when Scott Snyder was writing Batman. and i actually was really LOVING the New 52 Batman series at first. cannot tell you how many times i’d read then re-read issue #1 before issue #2 came out. but i soon tired of some of the gimmicks Snyder kept using over and over. and that exhausting dialog and exposition, even over the dang action scenes. but i do love Capullo’s art, so i was at least getting my money’s worth there. with King’s first issue on Batman,

what are some of the other lesser known characters that you’re into? . . . . i’d be curious to see if they actually start up a new relaunched Doom Patrol series, who they’d put as the creative team, and would they keep the book surreal or if they’d try to make it more accessible and easy to digest for new readers.

Some of my favorites from DC are Ambush Bug, Animal Man, Swamp Thing, Booster Gold and Blue Beetle (package deal only) and Danny the Talking Street and

Oops. Just ignore that last "and." Anyways, I'd love to see Grant return to the series. His original run is one of my favorites. Jeff Lemire could be interesting. He's got some good "trippy" stuff going on in Gideon Falls and had a mind blowing run on Moon Knight. Kieron Gillen occasionally strikes me as someone who could be good.

As for artist… Nick Derington's already pretty good. Mitch Gerads art always seemed to have kind of the right fit. I'm loving Alvaro Martinez's art of Justice League Dark, very good and weird.

Swamp thing is awesome! i really love the series Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson created after they did House of Secrets #92 together. yeah Animal Man under Morrison's pen was pretty awesome! i loved the issue where Grant wrote himself into the story. probably one of the best issues of the run. his Doom Patrol was terrific as well! they'll never be another DP run as good as his nor a JLA run as good for that matter. gotta love Danny the Street :D

i'm not familiar with Kieron Gillen. i've read a few of Jeff Lemire's New52 entries. the only one i remember off the top of my head is The Trinity War. i'll have to check out Alvaro Martinez's art some time.

That last issue of Animal Man is one of my all-time favorites. As for Gillen, I'd recommend The Wicked and the Divine, which does have an acquired taste unfortunately, Young Avengers, and his excellent Darth Vader run. Lemire has the Terrifics, which I really enjoyed the first few issues of, I'm looking forward to the trade, as well as an amazing Green Arrow run. His creator owned series are where its at though. The Underwater Welder, Gideon Falls and Descender were all good.

Grant Morrison's run on Doom Patrol was amazing and unrivaled as well as his JLA run. Not to mention his ever famous Batman run, which is very good too. The Wein Swamp Thing is great, but I grew up loving Alan Moore's Saga of the Swamp Thing. Alvaro Martinez did some issues of that Bat-team run of Detective Comics that Tynion had. Justice League Dark is what really made me appreciate his work though.

i’ll have to check some of those recommendations out, thank you. Animal Man #26 sums up Grant’s sense of humor perfectly! i love how he announces to Animal Man that he also writes the Doom Patrol though they don’t know it. one of the things that i really love about most of Grant’s writing is that it’s very enjoyable upon re-reads. in fact sometimes it’s even better have re-read it and picking up details that were overlooked the first time. his writing has so much depth.

Grant’s Batman was what got me back into seriously collecting comics. i love the Wein/Wrightson Swamp thing. i just recently got all the Alan Moore run on a comixology sale. i was reading 2016 Detective from the beginning, but stepped away for a while. though i’m sure i have all the collected editions which i’ll catch up with eventually. recently i’d started a re-through of all the Neal Adams/Denny O’Neil Batman run. some really fun stories there within, others that were pretty painful reads. 😂

I agree that Grant Morrison reads better the second or even third time. I love the way he comments on how comics at the time always had to be so violent and dark in order to be realistic. It's been a long time since I read the O'Neil/Adams run, but I remember loving the Ra's Al Ghul story. I'll have to reread it.

i actually just finished reading through all the O'Neil/Adams BatmanVsRa's last week. lot of fun. looking forward to reading that again as well as the Robbins/Adams Mat-Bat stuff. . . . that's one of Grant Morrison's best attributes as a writer, is that you REALLY get your money's worth with his writing. i can pick up any one of my favorite stories by him and enjoy it any time. . . . Grant hold's true to one of comics most important rules, is that they should be fun.

That is very true! I definitely remember Neal Adams Man Bat story, a very good read.

Enjoy disliking King's work on a regular basis, trolling King's fans, and Ninja Turtles.

i don't troll King fans. but i do retaliate when they come at me frothing at the mouth.

The Harley thing drove me crazy. It’s ridiculous.

Harley has become such an overpowered Mary Sue. she shouldn't need the kryptonite she stole out of Batman's *Bat-belt* to defeat Superman. all she has to do is swing at him with her baseball bat, or maybe just stab him with a pie knife.

This series looks pretty good… I'm very interested in the whole TV format thing.

i've been champing at the bit for this one for a while now! some comics i like to get in digital as well as the single issues. this GL series is added to my pull-list and i almost subbed to in on comixology before realizing that each issue will come with a digital code included.

i really hope this series picks up once Tomasi takes over.

Same. He has a pretty consistent track record in my opinion. The art will definitely be good, Doug Mahnke is a very good art.

*artist

Tomasi is one of my favorite writers currently in the DC stable. his B&R run was my favorite from the new52, and his Superman and Super Sons my favorite from all of Rebirth. ...i doubt they'll do this, but i really hope that after issue #1000 they switch Detective back to being monthly instead of bi-weekly. it'll really be better for quality control.

Absolutely, his work with Super Sons is outstanding. Such a great series, and anyone can enjoy it, no matter the age. Let's keep our fingers crossed for him!

very much looking forward to the Super Sons Omni. i almost wish i'd gotten his Batman & Robin omni, but i still have all my single issues as well as all the HC volumes. now it'd be terrific if the did an omnibus of all his Rebirth Superman. that i'd HAVE to get!

Totally. Super Sons, Batman and Robin and Superman are all great series. I really think he can salvage this series.

they should just make Harley Quinn and her two hyenas (Bud and Lou) the new DC Trinity and get it over with.

sorry for this random unrelated post, but i figured you might appreciate this. ...all throughout today, i spent the day reading all three LotDK Halloween Specials by Jeph Loeb & Tim Sale. ...definitely a good day to do so! :)

Nice 👍.