Batman: The Rebirth Deluxe Edition, Book 1

Batman: The Rebirth Deluxe Edition

by Tom King, Scott Snyder, David Finch (Illustrator)

BATMAN: THE REBIRTH DELUXE EDITION BOOK 1 collects the first two Dark Knight arcs from a new era, in hardcover for the first time! With stories by author Tom King (THE OMEGA MEN) and art by David Finch (WONDER WOMAN), Mikel Janín (GRAYSON), Riley Rossmo (CONSTANTINE: THE HELLBLAZER), Mitch Gerads (SHERIFF OF BABYLON) and more, this is a great starting-point novel for longtime fans and new DC readers alike.

 Batman’s methods have always been clear. He fights criminals wherever he finds them. He lives in the shadows. And he works alone. But as Gotham evolves, so must the Bat.

 A duo of super-powered youths calling themselves Gotham and Gotham Girl have joined the fight against crime in Batman’s city. They want to pull Gotham out of the shadows and into a brighter tomorrow. But with two godlike metahumans protecting the city by the light of day, does Gotham still need a Dark Knight?

 Through these young heroes, the Dark Knight discovers a criminal plotting against his city. To stop this foe, Batman must align himself with a team of villains straight out of Arkham Asylum. This makeshift Suicide Squad is every bit as unstable as the real deal, and while Catwoman might have a good heart despite her troubled past, the other members most certainly do not. 

 Collects BATMAN: REBIRTH #1 and BATMAN #1-15.

Genres: Comics, Batman, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics, Comic Book, Superheroes, Fiction

379 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 1, 2017

Reviews

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

At the urging of friends, I finally picked up Batman's Rebirth again.
And I have to say, I'm happy I did! Now, I still didn't care for Batman, Volume 1: I Am Gotham, Gotham Boy and Gotham Girl were still stupid.
But.
It wasn't as annoying this time around.



The second half of this, though?
It was surprisingly good. The whole Catwoman storyline was absolutely inspired. I not only loved this version of her, I loved this version of him. It made a huge difference! I was honestly so tired of this Batman the Lone Douchebag routine that I've not been a fan of the character in a looooong time.
My husband bought me a Batman mug and it hurt a little bit because I thought, Do you not know me at all?, and then I realized that I should just be happy that he got me a damn coffee mug.
Plus, it's one of those that changes color - the Gotham skyline changes - which is pretty fucking cool.



Anyway. The point is, Batman needed to come back down to Earth a bit and wander around with us mere mortals. Make some fucking mistakes or something, you know?
And the second half of this volume has this refreshingly human Batman.



I'd heard that King's run was good, but after a disappointing 1st volume, I just didn't actually believe them. Plus, as I've mentioned before, I was kind of sick of the whole Darkest-Darkety-Dark Knight shtick.



I loved it. Thanks to all the Shallows who made me read this thing.
Recommended!

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have my issues with this start of this run. Calendar Man and Batman riding a plane to the ground like Ben Hur were ridiculous. The Monster Men were preposterous and made only worse by only including the Batman issues of the crossover. I don't know why DC likes to dick over its fans so much when they collect crossovers into trades. Tom King's writing does shine through though, especially in I Am Suicide and the sublime two-parter with Catwoman on her last night before she heads to jail. Now that I've read further down the road, I see that King has a plan for most of what he does. Mitch Gerads, David Finch, and Mikel Janin are all at the top of their game and make this book sparkle.

[L. McCoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hear some saying it’s the best Batman comic they ever read and others saying it’s dumb... It’s not my favorite but it’s fun.

What it about?
I can’t say much without spoilers but this book contains multiple stories that make up the first few arcs of the Rebirth run of Batman.

Pros:
The stories in here are fun and interesting. It’s what fans would most likely want from a Batman story except with more obscure villains which I really like because it requires more creativity than “hey look, the Joker is trying to fuck with Batman for the billionth time” so awesome job there, King!
The art is mostly really good. It’s interesting, well drawn and fits the tone of the story.

The characters are pretty cool. King’s Batman is one that I think should work for almost every fan of the character. He’s not written in a super gritty way but he’s not written in a too bright and colorful Batman ‘66 sorta way so somewhere in between, I really like that. I already went over why I like the use of more obscure villains, there are some well known villains in this book and King writes them well. Gordon is great in this. There are some other superhero characters that are pretty awesome. Catwoman is in the last half or so of this, she’s really cool, true to the character but with more depth than I had seen in her before (and the creative team makes sure to do the sexy but bad-ass thing well).

(Now I understand why Batman jumps off rooftops considering the loveliness that waits for him)
The action scenes are frequent and intense throughout. The creative team makes sure to give Batman fans the gritty, intense action that readers will most likely want.
This comic is not too predictable. I like how in the first story it was one of those stories that I thought was predictable at first but then became unpredictable, I really like that.
Some solid comic relief. Especially some of the stuff with Batman and Gordon, that was great.
I had already heard about this but the relationship between Batman and Catwoman is actually pretty good. I really enjoyed it, I think they make a great couple and it surprises me that I actually like it.

Cons:
I mostly (not entirely) blame DC on this more than the creative team but the Monster Men bit... while not a bad story, I was annoyed by how it’s apparently one of those obnoxious “you need to read every fucking tie-in in order to understand it” things. I like the idea of these events but when just trying to enjoy the part from this series there’s parts of the story I missed making this confusing and without a conclusion in this book. Either have these events make sense without every fucking tie-in (ya know, like Valiant does) or don’t do it! We get enough of this from Marvel.

Punch and Jewelee are annoying as shit. I mean, yeah they’re meant to be kinda annoying but still... would it be too much to ask for a special appearance from Deathstroke just to chop their heads off (I wouldn’t even care if he did anything else)?

Mixed thoughts:
The dialogue. Sometimes it’s well written and perfect for the characters, other times it’s cheesier than a bowl of Kraft.
The art in the last 2 chapters... sometimes it looks beautiful

other times it looks like this.


Overall:
This is mostly a good book. Sure I had a few nit-picks and one bigger problem that is more a problem that DC caused, not the creative team, but other than that it’s an action packed story with cool art, a fun mix of characters, some suspense and a bit of comic relief. It basically has the things a Batman fan would probably want making this a solid read.
Recommended!

4/5

(AFTER REVIEW SONG PARODY)
(Read this in the tune of Old Town Road by Lil Nas X)

Mmm-hmm
Na na na na na na
Mmm-hmm
Na na na

Yeah, I'm gonna go patrol on the Gotham roads
I'm gonna fight 'til I can't no more
I gotta go patrol on the Gotham roads
I'm gonna fight 'til I can't no more

I got a dark and gritty past
PTSD attached
Cape is darkest black
And I’m dressed up as a bat
Fighting with real force, ha
Saving lives of course
I been in the alleys
So it’s safe to leave your home, now

I’ll be fighting super villains
I fight super villains
I’ll be fighting super villains
I fight super villains

No need for a ladder
Fire pole is faster
Just beat Poison Ivy
Don’t you go and kiss her
My life is in movies
Comic books and TV
Actors do portay me
Least favorite George Clooney

I’ll be fighting super villains
I fight super villains
I’ll be fighting super villains
I fight super villains

I'm gonna go patrol on the Gotham roads
I'm gonna fight 'til I can't no more
I gotta go patrol on the Gotham roads
I'm gonna fight 'til I can't no more
I gotta...

[Corey Allen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, congrats Tom King, you've done it once again.

This book was a lot of fun. I thought Gotham Girl and Gotham were cool. Although I wish they would've chosen a less dumb name. The I am Suicide part, was also very good. The only thing I didn't like was the Monster issues. First of all, they only included two of them. So what was even the point of including them at all? Now you made me start a book that is so bad I don't even want to finish it.

Surprisingly, this is far less wordy than other Tom King books I've read. But it has that style to it at the same time. The art here done by David Finch is also fantastic. There are some great panels.

Overall, It's a great collection. Even if there is a few issues keeping it from five stars.

[Paz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yeeees. Now that I've finally started reading King's run from the beginning, and in order (look at me I'm finally done with spoiling myself), I'm so freaking excited. I loved this. Well, maybe not all of it. I liked the I am Gotham arc, let's skip the couple of issues of Night of the Monster Men, I loved I am Suicide and I freeeeaking loved Rooftops. Bless your face, Tom King. Bless. Your. Face.

Now, gotta be honest, I looked the reviews and it miiight be because I read this super late in the game, having spoiled myself with lots of things from this run, that I just... I can't see it, sorry my GR friends, y'all tripping. I'm suddenly distrusting everyone's opinion. If you at the very least didn't find those 'I am Suicide' issues to be okay, we can't be friends. That's the way it is. I don't make the rules, it's just how I feel.

Okay, but seriously, I loved the writing, I loved this Alfred, maybe since Injustice I haven't loved an Alfred this much. The artwork? We all know Mikel Janín is on a superior level, the coloring, the lettering, everything looks wonderful. I loved the little emotional moments in here, not gonna lie I kinda teared up more than a few times, I loved the BatCat letters, and the way the story is structured, and I especially loved the set up:

'Remember that this is where it started. The origin of Gotham Girl... The death of Batman.'

'Tis gonna be a fun catch-up!

I Am Gotham (issues 1-6): 3.5 stars
Night of the Monster Men (issues 7-8): 2 stars
I Am Suicide (issues 9-13) : 4.5 stars
Rooftops (issues 14-15): 5 stars

[Mia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was bored most time, just meh.

[Christopher (Donut) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Almost worth it, at times:



I remember a stand-up comedian once explain the difference between Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune. Watching Jeopardy, you feel stupid because the questions (answers? Let's not get distracted) are so hard. Watching Wheel of Fortune, you feel stupid because, well, you're watching.

Likewise, Grant Morrison's Batman can make you feel stupid because the author seems to be making allusions to his own universe, only glimpses of which he cares to show in any given issue.

Tom King's Batman can make you feel stupid because, well, you're reading it:



The formula seems to be, write like Frank Miller All-Star Batman and Robin, the Boy Wonder, Vol. 1, only remove anything "laddish" and replace it with Matt Fraction-y arch unfunny soyboy humor.



Never mind that there were elements here of a good story (or two), if Tom King could get over his affectations. And given the praise he generally receives, I don't see that happening anytime soon.

The art was good, except for the last two issues.

[Rick · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's a moment in Batman Rebirth: Vol 1 Deluxe Edition that kind of blew me away.

In it, Bruce writes a letter to Selina Kyle during her imprisonment in Gotham's infamous Arkham Asylum. Despite being arch-nemeses (don't worry, that's a real word), they have developed an attraction to one another. They're not all that different, really. They've just chosen to deal with their pain in different ways.

Bruce, as you might recall, watched his parents die after they were shot in an alley when he was just seven years old. As a response to that trauma, he deals out vigilante justice dressed a man bat. Which is stupid.

It's why I've never been able to get behind Batman. To me, he's always been one of the most ridiculous super heroes (in a genre that is ridiculous by nature) because he takes the thing so seriously. He's this dark, brooding, bad-ass character and yet he dresses in cosplay, does karate, uses words like batarang, and drives a"Batmobile". It's insane. But nobody talks about it.

But with Bruce's letter in issue #12 of the Rebirth relaunch, writer Tom King did two things. He addressed how such a serious person can do something so silly, and he added a dimension to the caped crusader that was sorely needed: pathos.

It's one of the best issues of a comic I've ever read.

-->Read my full review on AnotherBook.blog<--

[David Dalton · Rating 4 out of 5]

kind of a mixed bag in this huge collection. I was not crazy about the Monster Men, story veered off into another title NOT in this collection. The Batman's Suicide Squad story was okay and all the attention on Catwoman was the icing on the cake. Read this Deluxe Edition via my digital library. Hope they get more titles in this line.

[Matt Quann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a big fan of both Tom King's previous work and Batman, so I'm glad to finally be able to read this run in these deluxe collections. Snyder and Capullo's seminal run on Batman was easily my favourite thing of the New 52, and it is heartening to see King veer off in his own direction with the series. Overall, this is a decent collection (issues 1-15 of the run), but it lacks the fire of the other King content I've read.

My biggest gripe is with this collection is the horrendously cliche and truncated issues of The Monster Men crossover included here. You get part 1 and part 4 and a suggestion that you pick up a separate collection if you want the whole story. Riley Rosomo's art is nice to look at, but I was genuinely pissed off by the decision to include only the Batman main series issues in this collection.

As for the rest: well, it's good too! This is a bit different from the maxiseries of King's that I'd read in the past in that he is obviously laying the groundwork for a long run. I enjoyed his look at Bruce Wayne's psyche in this collection and am excited to see where he takes the series in the next collection. Michael Janin steals the show from an art perspective with some really unique layouts and kinetic splash pages. David Finch's art on the opening arc made the comic feel...old? I think having come from Capullo's expressive, cartoony art to Finch's more workman-like lines changes the vibe between creators in a very visual sense, but I'm just not a huge fan of Finch.

So, good but not the greatness I expected from King. Hoping the next volume picks up!

[Zaczytane Oczy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Daje dwie gwiazdki tylko z powodu bohaterów.
Masakrycznie się wynudziłam. Niestety nie polecam, a wręcz odradzam

[Matěj Komiksumec · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kingův Batman je snad s každým čtením lepší a lepší, I am Gotham je jedna nejlepších věcí co jsem kdy četl. Přestože tenhle komiks obsahuje obrovské množství "batklišé" jsem schopen si to vychutnat. Kresba je parádní a jednoduše se mi líbí jak se Kingovi komiksy snaží pracovat s médiem, rozvržení panelů je zkrátka parádní.

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first Batman Rebirth Deluxe Edition continues the uneven start shown by the initial Flash Deluxe volume. Tom King's opening arc, much like Joshua Williamson's in The FLash is a treat to read with new and old characters pushing the storyline in exciting directions. King has an excellent grasp of Batman, his mythos and the city of Gotham. The design and concept of new superheroes Gotham and Gotham Girl is a really intriguing development. Unfortunately the potential of those characters is under utilized with both becoming more plot devices than characters worthy of investment. The potential of the opening arc is lost with a couple crossover issues that lack a conclusion. A poor choice on behalf of DC. The crossover either should have been represented in its entirely or removed from the collection. As a result it is a jarring removal from King's narrative with little value to the overall story. Subsequent story arcs deal with Bane and Batman's relationship with Catwoman.

Having never been a fan of the Bane character I find this storyline to be relatively uninteresting. Batman creates his own 'Suicide Squad' largely made up of obscure characters that lack an engaging comic history. The dialogue from Batman during this arc is particularly weak, with his motivation appearing not only overly dramatic but misguided. The volume concludes with issues focusing on Batman and Catwoman's relationship. Given my lack of familiarity with their romantic past these volumes were nicely illustrated but I was not nearly as invested. Despite this I am interested in seeing where King goes with his narrative. This volume plants some exciting seeds but overall it would have been strengthened by a greater focus on Gotham and Gotham Girl, their experience as new heroes in the city and their relationship to Batman.

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

There was a LOT of Bat-content in this Deluxe Edition, some of which I found tedious to the extreme, but mostly that was all confined to the opening two arcs introducing the new costumed crusaders in Gotham named (sigh) "Gotham" and "Gotham Girl" as well as the preposterous "Monster Men."



Yeah, they were not in any way interesting.

The "Suicide Squad"-esque caper with Super-Nude Bane, though, was much more entertaining.



I guess his power set now includes mastery over conveniently-placed shadows and objects?

and the building relationship with Selina "Cat" Kyle was well-handled, and sneaky sexy (for a mainstream DC book!)



I'm in for the next Deluxe Edition, anyway!

[Brian Dickerson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the way Tom King writes! “I am Gotham” and “I am Suicide” are very good arcs, but in the middle of this deluxe edition I remember what has driven me somewhat away from DC and Marvel - event tie-ins... Really, 2 disjointed issues of Night of the Monster Men as a ploy to buy another title? I love Riley Rossmo art, but Batman even has a different voice due to the script writer addition.

The Catwoman issues at the end - a little meh, but the pacing and panel design was great.

I look forward to the next collection.

[Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's so refreshing to pick up a new comic and instantly love it. There's just a certain quality King's writing has that sets it apart, even when it occasionally wanders into familiar ideas. He has a very distinct cadence and thoughtfulness to his work that shines through here, adding a weight (and sometimes, weirdly, comedy) to a character that has had thousands of stories told about him at this point. Yet just by filtering some of this stuff through King's specific voice, new life is breathed into the stories. You can really feel the difference when the "Night of the Monster Men" story interrupts this volume. The first arc is breezy and character-centered and sort of terse and economical, then the Monster Men story issues hit and it's just overloaded with exposition and endless dialogue and repetition. Then I looked it up and realized those issues weren't actually scripted by King, only the story for them was co-written by him, and it all fell into place. But then, once it pulls itself out of that muck, the stories pick up again.

Love the Gotham/Gotham Girl stuff, love the Bane storyline. Not totally sold on the Bat & the Cat stuff yet, as it feels just a touch too cliche, but it still resonated with me a bit so I'm interested to see where it goes. Something else I'll say about King's Batman that I like is that he allows him to get hurt. Often Batman is an impervious, perfect fighting machine who can never lose. But in this book, he gets his ass kicked a few different times, and the thing that's impressive is how fast he gets back up and powers through the pain. He's a human, not a superhuman, and his perseverance is what sets him apart from someone like Superman. This theme has been embraced by some previous writers (Chuck Dixon, Grant Morrison), but it feels particularly visceral here.

Bring on more of this!

[Shaya · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Stars

[Ri · Rating 5 out of 5]

I officially stan Bruce Wayne

[Chloe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bruce: She stole it!!!
Alfred: ....... what did she steal?
Bruce: the nIGHT.

we stan a dramatic dad!!! /＼ ^._.^ ／\

[Michael Torres · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tom King’s Batman run is truly hit and miss. His ideas are great, but the execution sometimes falls flat.

I am Gotham and I am Suicide are both decent story arcs, with fantastic art; but some of the moments just don’t land like I think King wants them to land.

Still worth the read for fans of Batman, and flows perfectly into the next volume.

[Cara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't read many Batman comics, in part because I think writers fetishize him; he becomes super-human in his intelligence, physical abilities, and strategic and tactical abilities. But I'd read a lot of good things about Tom King's work on the title, so I decided to check it out.

I don't think King is free from fetishizing Batman; that's most apparent in I Am Suicide arc, in which Batman creates an overly-complicated plan that, of course, goes off without a hitch (even if it seems to have a lot of hitches along the way, and even if Batman is repeatedly beaten to within an inch of his life). Still, it's a clever use of many characters.

Where I think King excels in his exploration of the costs of heroism. The I Am Gotham story is tragic, if somewhat unsatisfying in how and why the tragedy occurs (that basically happens off-page). It's hard to fully sympathize with Gotham and Gotham Girl's plight when we only see the results of what happened to them. I Am Suicide gives a bleaker explanation for Batman's existence, which is an interesting take on the character. I can see how it works to explain Batman, but I'm not sure I'm convinced. I learned of the twist before reading the arc, so I don't know if I would have found it more or less convincing had it been a surprise.

I've never been a big fan of Catwoman, but I liked her here. She's got the appropriate horrific back story, but she comes off as a very good partner for Batman.

[Relstuart · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kind of a mess.

Morrison and Snyder both brought something different to writing Batman and they did something really different with the story while doing it. Morrison added a biological son and explored what kind of an impact that would have on Batman along with focusing on Batman as the man who is prepared for everything. Snyder added a new villainous organization early on but seemed to lose of his focus into his run.

King... is trying to do too much without fully developing what he is doing. The two new characters of Gotham and Gotham Girl with near superman family type powers were a very interesting addition to the Gotham family of bat characters. But, they become more plot device than people.

I'm not sure I want to buy in to the idea of the I am Suicide story arc - that Bruce Wayne's Batman efforts are really an elaborate suicide effort to assuage the survivor's guilt from his parents death.

[Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gave up on this is singles. I just couldn't get into it. But after seeing a lot of positive stuff surrounding it I decided to give it another shot in the deluxe edition, and I'm glad I did. The first volume is good, but average. It's in the second volume I Am Suicide were it starts to pick up, and the two parter between Batman and Catwoman that ends the book is enough to justify the admission fee alone. It's a good Batman book. The art throughout is great. I've seen online some of the stuff Tom King does with Batman/Catwoman and he starts it here and I'm excited to see where it's heading.

[TheMoonDog · Rating 5 out of 5]

What can i say? It's the first two Volumes of Tom King's Batman, also including Batman: Rebirth #1, and i thoroughly enjoyed both issues. With great art, storytelling and characterisation, i recommend this book to all Batman fans. Plus, the book is super-reasonably priced and will lookgreat on your shelf.

[graciee · Rating 4 out of 5]

"She stole it."
"I'm sorry, Master Bruce. I do not quite understand. I obviously conducted a detailed inventory after Ms. Kyle left us. Everything appeared, surprisingly, to be in order. What then did she steal, Sir?"
"The night, Alfred. She stole the night."

THEY OWN ME IN EVERY VERSION, THOSE ARE THE FACTS.

[André Habet · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun sexy cool Batman comic to end a long day. Love the humanity and self awareness of the caped crusader here. Catwoman is COOOOOOOLLLLLL.

[Alek Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

So I finally started tackling Tom King's Batman and I must admit that I was a little quick to judge at the start of DC's Rebirth. I got into comics with the New 52 and Scott Snyder's Batman, and his version of the Dark Knight has been my template for the character. Snyder wrote Batman like he should be in my opinion. Where Bruce is the mask and Batman is the person. Snyder's stories gave us a Batman that was human; with emotion and a personality that wasn't the brooding silent type. All this stuff is really why I was reluctant to give Tom King a chance.
King writes Batman different. His version of the character gives us a Batman that is Bruce, a man with a very dangerous coping strategy for loss. And at first I didn't like that. I didn't like a Batman that was a mask, it just wasn't my Batman. But after finally finishing the first edition I have adjusted. It's kind of interesting to see Bruce as more than just a suit jacket Batman throws on. It actually makes Batman feel more human. Snyder tried making Bat's human by giving him a personality that enjoyed being what he was; King is making him human by keeping Bruce alive.
So once I adjusted to that I was able to enjoy the book. The "I Am Gotham" story is a bit rough, and I had already read it before hand. I don't like the character names Gotham and Gotham Girl that just reads stupid, and it still does. And really the premise of Batman trusting meta-humans to save his city is weird. But it still has beautiful art and a fun moments to get you through it. "Night of the Monster Men" was a waste of time in this book really. It is only two parts of the whole thing and it doesn't really give much information to explain what Hugo Strange's goal was. Skip it if you want. The "I Am Suicide" story however is were I started to take a seat on the Tom King band wagon. This is were King's version of Bruce being Batman makes sense and had me wanting more. I still don't care for Batman and Catwoman calling each other Bat and Cat, but the character development between them feels believable.
I liked how this one ends and can tell that Bane is going to be a spectacular villain in King's run.

[Bill Wallace · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thanks to the Austin library, I'm working on catching up with Tom King's work for DC. I'd read the first few issues of his Batman a while back but set the series aside for future reading.

Batman has been a lifelong favorite but I have definite biases against many of the turns the bat fable has taken over the last few decades. I'm not a fan of the completely grim, monosyllabic avenger that many writers seem to prefer and I don't really enjoy the dark knight detective performing Superman type feats, so much of this volume isn't very interesting to me.

I'm also a major non-fan of most modern comic book art, especially the fetishistic muscle madness that characterizes what I still think of as the Image Comics school of superheroes, and some of David Finch's art is exactly the kind I dislike. So, what did I enjoy here? The modernizing of Hugo Strange's Monster Men is good stuff and I like the Gotham kids' subplot and am sorry the rest of the volume isn't that interesting. Most of the rest of this episodic epic seems like a lot of cliché filler, unworthy of the imagination King has clearly shown in his other works.

I have Volume 2 on the way and I sure hope things improve there.

[Hamad Al-Hamad · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first real introduction into the DC rebirth saga and I did really like it. My favorite story was the I AM SUICIDE story arc. I love the plot in which Batman tricks Bane into inadvertantly giving up Psycho Pirate. Excellent execution. I also did like the Rooftops arc, exploring a bit of Batman and Catwoman's relationship. The art was the main attraction in my opinion, David Finch and Mikel Janin did some outstanding work.



I was not a fan of Gotham and Gotham Girl. I thought that they were very flat characters that weren't very exciting. I thought that they should've shown exactly what what Psycho Pirate did to them. Furthermore, like other readers posted, I disliked that they cut out parts 2 and 3 of Monster Men from the edition. Why bother including the arc if you're going to cut out the entire core of the story.

Overall, I really loved this edition depite my issues with it as noted above. I look forward to completing the Batman series, as well as the rest of the DC rebirth series.

[Josh Grady · Rating 2 out of 5]

For the first instalment of the Batman Rebirth relaunch this story just kind of happened. What seems to be two major character seems to have been rushed, poorly executed (in terms of telling their story) and just kind of happening without any real build up or suitable and enjoyable end. Everything kind of just occurs… To top it off it then rushes to go somewhere else without really achieving or doing anything.

Nothing was really great in this was just like ‘filler’ so to have this be the opening of a relaunch it was very underwhelming and sort of basic? With what I’ve heard about the future instalments I don’t think I’ll be continuing this, especially after this read :/