Batman

Gotham's pickin' up bad vibrations, buildings are getting excitations, Julia has a shocked sensation, and Hush is feeling such elation in this twenty-second installment of DC's weekly Batman yarn. The crazed suited terror, The Architect is back to his old "Got to destroy Gotham landmarks for my dishonored family's honor!" using what is essentially the Patlabor: The Movie scheme. Julia is shocked and dismayed that Bruce Wayne is, in fact, the vigilante called The Bat-Man, and Hush does another "stepping out of the shadows" thing that makes me think he's just desperate to ape Batman's style at this point. What's next, the Hush Signal?

The issue is just as much awesome as this cover, a rarity in comics.

The court adjourned, a long time villain returned, information was learned, and the plot took a huge turn in the alcohol-aged installment of DC's weekly Batman hubbub. Continuity probably took one on the noggin, given that some of the events the villains present here happened with characters either no longer present in the DC universe (as in, never existed according to new continuity) or are much different. Are we all sure Batman's only been around for six years? Ah, hand wave it, because this is the best issue in a long time, and it might be the best issue ever.

Welcome to the jungle, we'll have... ehhh, one pretty good scene.

The mystic crap feels tired, Falsario's retired, a Lion is required, and Stephanie's inspired in this twentieth issue of DC's weekly Batman yarn, pack full of terrible art and story padding, but with at least a couple of really choice scenes that spare this thing from the trash heap. Frankly, though, I'm looking forward to some of these storylines consolidating, because most of them aren't that interesting on their own. It's starting to look like a weekly Bat book was a mistake because they're simply not holding my attention very well. Why do you think every review comes a week late?

I wish this was the interior art.

Jace and Babs hug, Harper works out bugs, and Gordon knocks out thugs, all in this nineteenth installment in DC's weekly Batman shindig. The artwork is all over the place, the "hypnotized ally you have to convince you're not who they think you are" cliche is eye-rolling, as is Jason's Babs wank, and honestly I want them to get rid of this supernatural element, too, even if it means even less Batman in the book, because unlike Bats, I don't care about Croc's missing cult followers. But hey, Jimmy kicked some ass in Blackgate, and that was the highlight of this entire story arc so far, even if it was just one page. Still, I preferred Scott Snyder and Gerry Duggan's
Batman #34. By a lot.

The sewers are creepy, Jason is cheeky, and a toy shop is freaky in the eighteenth entry in DC's weekly Batman series. Jason talks Babs up as she falls into a trap, things get tense in Blackgate, we find out what happened to Killer Croc after Arkham War, and Batman is actually a character in this book again! What a week. Too bad the art is kind of... ehhh. Middling. It varies from page to page.

Vampire Hero hasn't been the same since the New 52 reboot.
 

Neither will be appearing in this issue!

Corrigan is trapped, a monkey is zapped, and Batman's old scrap in week 17 of DC's weekly Batman book, Batman Eternal. Even the combined efforts of Jim Corrigan and Batwing are no match for Deacon Blackfire and The Spectre doesn't seem to want to appear, while in Japan, Tim Drake and Harper Row try intimidating one of Batman's old teachers, and the only time we see the titular character is in a flashback to a storyline from decades before the New 52. Really, there's not a lot actually going on here, but let's see if I can dig something out, anyway!

There's mysterious ghouls, Harper breaks a rule, Joker's Daughter is cruel, and a villain's renewal in this sixteenth issue of DC's weekly Batman epic, which, as usual, has very little actual Batman. In fact, for the second week in a row, it's mostly the adventures of Jon Corrigan and... uh... whatshisface. You know. Batman Beyond. No, that isn't Batman Beyond? Oh. Uh... you know, Lucius Fox's kid, Batborg, I think. Really, who gives a damn? He's fairly irrelevant, save for his fight with Maxie Zeus.

Arkham's extra spooky, Tim flies to the home of kabuki, and a plastic surgeon's in deep dookie. In this fifteenth installment of DC's Batman weekly, our team of writers break out supernatural elements I'm not used to reading about in Batman titles, but Dustin Nguyen's art suits well. It's too bad a lot of it involves Batwing, a character I can't even remember half the time exists. As usual, there's very little actual Batman in this Batman weekly. I guess he's too busy cracking that drug ring in 'Tec, or hunting down Ra's al Ghul in Batman &. But at least we have plenty of... uh, Jim Corrigan, I guess.

Penguin wants to be King of the Jungle, Falcone's new empire crumbles, Jimbo's feeling quite humble, and Dr. Crane takes a slight tumble. In this fourteenth installment of DC's Batman weekly, Jason Bard seems to wrap up the whole gang war pretty handily. But will Batman's relationship with the "new Gordon" end before it begins? And what is Joker's Daughter up to in Arkham? And how many more pages is DC going to waste previewing other comics I'm only tangentially interested in at best? None of this and less is answered in this issue!

Jim's tempted by a son who's demented, Bard's plan is attempted, Steph's friend is lamented, and a comic preview's presented. Issue 13 of DC's Batman weekly book shows us that there's at least one cop as competent as, maybe even moreso than, Jim Gordon, with his plan to trick Forbes into whittling down Falcone's forces. We get plenty of Vicki Vale, just a little of Harper Row, and a minority character introduced and then blown up in the same page. Oh, DC.