Interesting story and great art.  Batman on the run with...??
590229
'All-Star Batman #1' by Scott Snyder with art by John Romita Jr. is the beginning of a series where the villains of Batman are reimagined. In this issue, it's Two-Face.

The issue starts with Batman on the run, and two hired killers, Firefly and Killer Moth out to catch him. We then flashback to recent time, 22 minutes earlier to a scene that will be referenced later in the issue. Then we get a flashback two hours before that. There has been an acid rain attack on Gotham and Batman is about to enact a crazy plan with Two-Face. Most of the rest of the issue cuts between Batman and Two-Face on the run and people trying to catch Batman.

The flashback within a flashback within a flashback was an interesting device. I loved an unusual choice of weapon that Batman makes at one point. The art is just brilliant. I like the look of this Batman. He's got substance to the way he looks. This is a man who has trained and is not going to go down easy. Two-Face is a great character and how he is portrayed here is good.

I received a review copy of this issue from DC Entertainment and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this comic book.
2768645
Awesome graphic novel of Batman Vs. Superman. I'm fan of both is awesome that this graphic novel collects comics when batman and superman fight each other in the different universes. Would be awesome to see a second volume or other graphic novels with superheroes vs. stories in the future.
402759
I thought the story in this issue was fantastic. In it Alfred teaches a young Batman a lesson. The art, however, was sub par. The art was too abstract for my tastes. Batman looked out of proportion and Bruce Wayne didn't look like Bruce Wayne. I'm sure it's all a matter of taste but I still didn't like it.
3060094
I've always loved Batman as a character, I love the stories that people have told about him. Chuck Dixon, Grant Morrison, Paul Dini, Jeph Loeb, Frank Miller; but none of these writers have written Batman as I have wanted to see him. Ive always seen Batman as too grimdark, or too campy, or surrounded by so much plot armor that he effectively becomes Batgod instead of Batman. Scott Snyder, who himself considers himself a horror writer, writes the Batman I want to read. The tone, Bruce's thinking, his internal dialogue, the right amount of grimdarkness, and that special moment where Batman rises above despite being apparently beaten. The Court of Owls is one of the best Batman tales in recent memory. A unique villain that pushes Batman to his very edge, and the thought that they know Gotham better than it's protector.
I also loved the art. I was hesitant with Capullo, he used to work on Spawn which is extremely gritty and in my initial opinion not fitting to Batman. I grew to love Capullo's art as it matched the tone of the story that Snyder was trying to tell. It fits the story and blends seamlessly with Snyder's writing style and enhances the book greatly.
From a die hard Batman fan, I approve of the new52 Batman, and will keep reading as long as Snyder and Capullo keep creating these amazing stories, and I look forward to the Night of Owls, which is fantastic so far.
4250221
Before reading this book, understand this is a batman on parallel earth kinda story. Not just modernizing batman, but make everything new and exciting for first-and-long time readers. So expect alot of tweaks and twists on familiar characters. Is it necessary(for batman)? Maybe, I thought superman needed it much worse, and that turned out really well in my opinion. Is it entertaining? Definitely, but I think they almost didn't do enough to be revolutionary to the bat-mythos. Imagine the '90s spider-man cartoon, but with batman. It's like a streamlined take on the regular comics. I have to tip my hat to Geoff Johns for his tweaks to the Wayne and Arkham family histories, and how Bruce loses his parents. It fits with making the story seem new and original from the regular comics.  The rest of the tweaks i didn't hate were sort of average to me: like the Bruce/Alfred relationship, Jim Gordon's role in Gotham etc. The atmosphere of Gotham and its history fit with the story really well, but after seeing the whole Chris Nolan bat-trilogy i think a big influence was 'Batman Begins". I'm betting John's either saw how popular it was and wanted to incorporate it, or just wanted to use the recent movies to attract new readers. Whichever, i think its a decent job accomplished. There were a couple reasons I gave this 3 stars: 1. it seems kinda short, both in terms of the original price and in comparison to "Superman: Earth One". Even if SEO was the same length, I feel the writer was able to tell the story in a complete way. 2. One reviewer said that Geoff Johns was making fun of batman, and I agree to a point. Before the climax of the story batman fails every time, it seems like he would get at least one thing right, just one, but for whatever reason its not until he "applies" himself that he pulls it together. 3. I felt the Penguin could've used more time in the story to be fleshed out, it seems like GJ thought changing his HQ was enough to make him fresh but as he stands after reading the book I felt it was laziness on his part the way Penguin turned out. GJ usual stories read like an action blockbuster movie, which a batman story usually isn't. I was worried that would affect the story, and I was partially right. This isn't a detective,Noir, superhero story, it's more of a crime drama focused on 3 characters that's alittle too short. Which doesn't mean it's bad, but it needed a bigger page count to up the story. The best analogy I can make is that its the first Batman movie. Really good, but alot of room for improvement. I did enjoy reading it, and think a first time batman reader would also enjoy it. There's a cliff hanger at the end, which makes me really want to read the next book. Even if they don't surpass this first book, but just a new chapter of equal quality I wouldn't be unhappy. Knowing Johns tho he will try to outdo himself so I imagine the next book will be better.
2524429
I have to say off the bat that I don't know a lot about Batwoman. Not to long ago I met a woman whose favorite superhero was Batwoman so when I saw this on Netgalley I decided to give it a try. Batwoman Vol. 1 : The Many Arms of Death collects issues 1 through 6 of the new ongoing series plus a one shot called Rebirth 1. The book includes writing from Marguerite Bennett and James Tynion IV along with art from Steve Epting and Ben Oliver.

Right away I have to say I wish a little more time was spent on the origin since I didn't know much about her. But I liked the art and there was enough background information given so that I wasn't lost. Agter the orgin we find Batwoman tracking people who have an illegal drug called monster venom. It causes people to turn into monsters giving them the means to cause destruction and kill as many people from as many nations as possible. Batwoman finds a man in Istanbul who just used the drug to transform and kill people in an international market.

Simple story, great characters and good art, what else can you ask for in a comic. I loved that Batwoman has a Pennyworth assisting her. I also liked that it takes place mostly on an island  called Coryana ruled by pirates and other thugs. It would have been nice to have a little more background information on the history of Coryana and the story could have been a little more detailed. At one point we seem to abandon the story about the drug and go right into a story about the island about to be destroyed.

I did like how Batwomans lost year on Coryana was described, its pretty much shown as a home for vigilantes and it has some questionable characters.. My favorite part was when Batwoman is fighting a woman named Tahani and explains how she is not like Batman. She states that Batman would never work with the killers and thieves she is willing to work with. Batwoman shows herself as being a much darker character than Batman and doesnt mind bending the law to her needs. One question I had was why does Batwoman wears a disguise since everyone seemed to know who she was anyway? All in all this is an entertaining book.
998558
It's always fun for me (being a Batman fan) to read an Elseworlds book.  Elseworlds is when the writer takes Batman out of his usual universe and puts him in an alternate one that has no bearing on the Batman history timeline.  In this case Batman is a Vampire.

I won't give away any spoilers.  This book was a GREAT view of how Batman would act as a vampire.  The writer new what he was doing and what he wanted to get out of it.  I was afraid the writers would dumb down the vampire mythology by making them too "Disney" but my fears were soon laid to rest...basically, this ain't Twilight. If I read a vampire book (which I don't often do) I want to get vampire action/violence and this book did not disappoint. The first part contained mature violence, the second part contained more, and the third part was an all out vampire-fest.  It was ALOT more violent than I was expecting.  I'm not one who thrives on violence but it was nice to see vampires being true to their nature.

The art was EXCELLENT! The best part about the art was Batman. This was one of the coolest Batman characters I've ever seen.  Of course I wouldn't always want him looking like this, but for this book it couldn't get more perfect.  I loved his cape, it was simply spectacular.  The villains were also well drawn.  If I were to say anything bad about the art, I would say they could have made Alfred better.  His face seemed too fat.  Alfred usually had a slim face but in this book he has fat cheeks which bugged me at first but I got used to it over time.  My absolute favorite page was the very last one (no peeking till you get there!).  If you aren't a Batman fan and haven't read much Batman then the last page won't mean that much to you.  Though, for a Batman fan the last page was breath taking.  I had to sit and stare at it for a full minute.

This is a book that HAS to be in a Batman fan's collection.  If you're just starting out reading Batman, I would suggest other books such as Year One, Killing Joke, etc before you read this one.  For someone who has read Batman before, this Elseworlds tale will be a great and unforgettable addition to your collection.
2661287
Great plot, epic story and adventure. I would DEFINETLY recommend this to batman lovers and just people who love comics and friends! Batman rules and so does the author!!!
402261
I like ANYTHING Batman & this was a good story, but not exactly like the comic book story line which I liked.
514159
BATMAN
CASTLE OF THE BAT

Elseworlds is an imprint of DC Comics that allows the writers to take characters we all know and put them in places and stories they would never really be a part of. This story in particular is set in the 1800's and is based on Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein". If there ever was a character in the DCU that would adapt well to that story it would be Batman. An in my opinion this book is a very well done and one of the best in the Elsewords stories.

Bruce Wayne is riding with his family when they are stopped by a robber on their way home. In the moment this happens Bruce's father and mother is killed and Bruce vows vengeance right then. Fast forward and a grown Bruce is a respected member of the scientific community. That is until Bruce begins experiments that might not go well with the college he is a member of. In fact these experiments may lead to the creation of a creature that haunts the night looking for oppressors to oppress. This may also lead to the man that killed his family.

I love the take on Frankenstein here and that Bruce is actually not Batman in this story. He is the good doctor that creates the Bat-Man after finding his fathers brain in under the college. When I first picked this up years ago I didn't know what to expect but judging from the cover and art work I knew it was serious. Sometimes it is cool for a comic to not take itself seriously and that includes Batman from time to time but this was not one of them.

Bo Hampton's art here fits perfectly with the story that is told and gives that old school kinda gothic feeling that the actual novel is known for. It is dark and full of atmosphere and adds so much to the story. As for the story, that is brought to us courtesy of Jack Harris who spins Mary's story into the DCU using Batman. This is one of those books that is close to perfect in my opinion. I am a huge horror fan and a huge comic fan so the meshing of the two here is excellent.

I am not sure if this is the best in the Elseworlds stories but it is really a good one. The way the Bruce Wayne story is told is very much like his original but in a different time. I would recommend this book to any comic, Batman, Frankenstein, or horror fan out there. Also I would recommend checking out all the other Elseworlds books; they are cool takes on all your favorites out of the regular continuality.
1802408
I like the idea of different Batmen running al around the world I just wish they would focus on one per issue so you get a chance to know the character.  I think the Batman Knight is actually Red Hood which I found out in Batman volume 3 Death in the family.  To sum it up this comic didn't live up to my expectations but it was not totally a bad read.
2193750
It's an interesting take on the story of Batman. Highly ambitious, maybe to a fault. Though what it does right, mixing the path of Thomas Wayne to his death and Bruce Wayne's path to shedding non-Batman side of his life, it does incredibly well.
2445052
I thought this was an amazing piece of writing, with really great art. Shows the parallels and contrasts between Batman and Gordon, as well as the beginning of their relationship. Reveals alot of the symbolism between the characters. My only complaint is that it's pretty short, around half of the content of the book you'll get is additional material and concept art. That was a bit disappointing, since the story left me wanting more like this.
4140486
Brian Buccellato's latest Detective Comics collection, Vol. 7: Anarky, is a good read. Rather than one long story, this collection contains several stories. The main storyline focuses on the character of Anarky, in his New 52 debut. Batman catches the Mad Hatter with the skeletons of several children, while Gotham is put on alert by a villain calling himself Anarky. Anarky distributes masks to every citizen, while also wiping out the digital imprint of every person. This causes mass chaos, and Batman is left to put the pieces together. This is a pretty good story, with several elements coming together in the end, like a good mystery should.

The other two-part story involves a plague being released via an airplane landing at Gotham International Airport. This story has a focus on Batman's problem solving skills, rather than the traditional super-villain confrontation. It was a refreshing reminder that Batman is indeed the world's greatest detective, not merely a superhero. Buccellato does an excellent job highlighting this aspect of Batman.

Although the back of this collection states that it only has Detective Comics 35-40, my copy included two more stories. Detective Comics: Engame #1 is a tie-in with the Joker story Endgame. It introduces the character of Moneyspider, a hacker who plays a role in the Anarky storyline. Also in this collection is the Detective Comics: Futures End #1. This story has a team-up between Batman and the Riddler, as they go after the Calendar Man. I enjoyed this story; however, I'm not overly familiar with the Futures End storyline, so I can't comment on how exactly it fits in.

Overall, I enjoyed Detective Comics Vol. 7: Anarky, and would recommend it to fans of Batman.

I received a preview copy of this book from DC Comics and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
3163210
Awesome comic! The art work was cool. I loved the story and Banes master plan to defeat Batman is pure genius. I definitely recommend this book.
3567672
This is the first batman comic I bought.really nice story and though I would have preferred a touch better, the art was good too. Awesome story.
2467318
Clicked on this comic cause it sounded like an interesting premise and lo and behold...the story is really good and engaging and the artwork is well done.  Definitely worth checking out!