Batman by James Tynion IV Omnibus, Vol. 1

Batman by James Tynion IV #1-2

by James Tynion IV, Hugo Petrus (illustrator)

James Tynion IV, the bestselling writer of Something is Killing the Children and The Nice House on the Lake teams up with acclaimed artist Jorge Jimenez to turn Gotham City into a battleground with The Joker pulling the strings.

The Joker has spilled his war out onto the streets of Gotham. Much like the Clown Prince of Crime himself the city has been reduced to chaos and lawlessness. With his entire fortune turned against him can Batman rally and mobilize his allies before the city he’s sworn to defend is reduced to rubble. Writer James Tynion and Jorge Jimenez craft a brutal and epic tale in one massive omnibus edition. Will this be the Bat-Family’s last battle in the city they call their home?

Collects: Red Hood: Outlaw #48; Nightwing #70-74; Batgirl #47-49; Batman #86-100; Harley Quinn #75; Detective Comics #1020-1026; Catwoman #25; Batman Secret Files #3; The Joker 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular #1; stories from Batman Vol. 1: Their Dark Designs; Batman: The Joker War Zone #1.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Batman, Dc Comics

1040 pages, Hardcover

Published March 4, 2025

About the author

Prior to his first professional work, Tynion was a student of Scott Snyder's at Sarah Lawrence College. A few years later, he worked as for Vertigo as Fables editor Shelly Bond's intern. In late 2011, with DC deciding to give Batman (written by Snyder) a back up feature, Tynion was brought in by request of Snyder to script the back ups he had plotted. Tynion would later do the same with the Batman Annual #1, which was also co-plotted by Snyder. Beginning in September 2012, with DC's 0 issue month for the New 52, Tynion will be writing Talon, with art by Guillem March. In early 2013 it was announced that he'd take over writing duties for Red Hood and the Outlaws in April.

Tynion is also currently one of the writers in a rotating team in the weekly Batman Eternal series.

Reviews

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was my first time reading James Tynion's work. After finishing this omnibus, I thought it was okay. As much as I like the Joker, I got tired of seeing him. I also don't find too many of the stories memorable. In fact, I cannot tell you much except Alfred's dead and at one point the Joker took Bruce Wayne's fortune, and he ends up in South America. Out of this tome that is all I remember. It would have been nice to see different villains and have memorable stories than just the few I remember.

[Loki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tynion's Batman was a breath of fresh air, reinvigorating the title after the lengthy Tom King run eventually disappeared up its own arse. He writes a Batman, a Joker, a Jim Gordon and a Harley Quinn, all of whom are frustrated by their own limitations and struggling to rise above them. And he introduces Ghost-Maker, who is just plain fun, as well as Punchline and Clown-Hunter, two characters who provide distorted mirrors of the Joker and his effect on the world. Great stuff, but then, Tynion almost always is.

[Cyril · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent run that introduces 5 new characters and kills one major villain, shakes the status quo of Batman and Robin but the omnibus had a lot of fillers like clownhunter, punchline and ghost maker
3.25 stars

[Ángel Javier · Rating 2 out of 5]

¿Cuántas cosas se pueden hacer mal cuando escribes a Batman? ¡James Tynion tiene la respuesta! ¿Hacer que el Hombre Murciélago se comporte como un crío llorón? ¡Hecho! ¿Convertirlo en secundario dentro de su propia cole? ¡Por supuesto! ¿Tratarlo como un detective inepto, incapaz de unir las líneas de puntos más obvias? ¡Eso ni se pregunta! ¿Dotar a cada diálogo de un impostado tono solemne que da vergüenza ajena al más pintado? ¡Adelante! ¿Crear personajes de mierda y dotarlos de un protagonismo que no se merecen? ¡Claro que sí, guapi! ¿Tratar de hacer por millonésima vez la historia definitiva del Joker? ¡Obviamente! De hecho, ¿hacer del Joker el verdadero protagonista de prácticamente TODAS las historias que escribes, y cuando no, que salga al menos en una o dos ocasiones? ¿Y por qué no?

Bueno, para empezar, porque es una estupidez. La historia definitiva del Joker ya se escribió hace un montón de años, y se titula The killing joke. De hecho, Tynion tiene eso tan sabido que hace referencias una y otra vez a ella, sin vergüenza ni complejos. Para continuar, porque te hace aborrecer al personaje; su omnipresencia es cargante, su insistencia en que él ya ha triunfado porque si patatín, porque si patatán, es ridícula, y además tenemos oído ese discurso desde... pues, claro, desde The killing joke, ¿desde dónde si no? En cuanto a los nuevos personajes, son ridículos hasta decir basta: Punchline es una tía normal capaz de vencer a Harley Quinn. Toma ya. Tynion ni se molesta en explicar que... yo qué sé... que es una gimnasta olímpica o alguna idiotez parecida. ¿Para qué, si el lector es tonto y se va a tragar cualquier idiotez que se le diga? Lo mismo vale para Clownhunter, un chaval de 17 años capaz de lidiar con los sicarios más endurecidos del Joker básicamente porque sí. Porque en el insti se enfrentaba a los matones. Una historia de superación en toda regla, sí señor. En cuanto a Ghost-Maker... pues no está tan mal. Es el único que tiene un pase, y el especial dedicado al personaje, de lo poco tragable del tomo.

Y qué decir de los dibujantes. Guillem March y Jorge Jiménez realizan un trabajo aceptable (tampoco es ninguna maravilla, ¿eh?, pero bueno, no está mal). El resto, basura. Dibujantes del montón, como mucho, plasmando historias malas y mediocres. Y me he gastado 90 pavos por esto. Por leer cómo Tynion hace el vago, cómo no se lo curra nada; por ver cómo se burla de los lectores sin complejo alguno. Y me he leído este montón de estiércol humeante de principio a fin.

Pues nada, que soy gilipollas.

[Harrison Delahunty · Rating 1 out of 5]

I can’t stand Punchline or Clownhunter, and there is a staggeringly huge amount of page real estate given to both in this collection. It makes this a chore to read for the vast majority of its page count.

On top of that, very little of the content that actually concerns the title character is particularly engrossing or thoughtful. When Tynion tries for thoughtful, his writing often seems to disappear so far up its own ass that you can’t tell which end it started from.

March’s artwork took a while to grow on me, but eventually did. Jimenez’s art is stellar right out the gate, but there is pitifully little of it in this volume. Other than that there weren’t any particularly memorable art moments here.

Overall, not worth it. I got this book at a hefty discount and still feel like I paid too much. It’s hardly a Batman book, and even when it is it’s not a very good one.