Batman: The Arkham Saga Omnibus

Batman: The Arkham Saga #1-5

by Paul Dini, Peter J. Tomasi, Derek Fridolfs

From the world of the Batman- Arkham Rocksteady video game series comes the graphic novel tales filling in the gaps of the story, now collected here in one massive omnibus edition!

This huge volume includes every graphic novel ever published in concert with the best-selling, critically acclaimed video games Batman- Arkham Asylum, Batman- Arkham City and Batman- Arkham Knight ! Follow the Dark Knight through this amazingly unique take on the world of Gotham City. Explore the stories behind the Joker's death, the birth of the Suicide Squad, the origin of the new Dark Knight and more!

Includes contributions from some of the comics industry elite creators such as Peter J. Tomasi ( Batman & Robin, Superman ), Paul Dini ( Batman- The Animated Series ), Karen Traviss ( Gears of War, Halo ), Derek Fridolfs ( Batman, Teen Titans ), and Adam Beechen ( Teen Titans ), this oversize omnibus edition is a must-have for any fan of Batman or the worldwide phenomenon game series !

Collects Batman - Arkham Origins, Batman- Arkham Knight- Batgirl Begins #1, Batman- Arkham Asylum- The Road to Arkham #1, Batman- Arkham City #1-5, Batman- Arkham City Digital Chapter #1-7, Batman- Arkham City- End Game #1, Batman- Arkham Unhinged #1-20, Batman- Arkham Knight #1-#12, Batman- Arkham Knight- Robin Special #1, Batman- Arkham Knight Annual #1, Batman- Arkham Knight- Batgirl & Harley Quinn #1 and Batman- Arkham Knight Genesis #1-6 .

Genres: Comics, Batman, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics, Video Games

1648 pages, Hardcover

Published September 18, 2018

About the author

Paul Dini is an American television producer of animated cartoons. He is best known as a producer and writer for several Warner Bros./DC Comics series, including Star Wars: Ewoks, Tiny Toon Adventures, Batman: The Animated Series, Superman: The Animated Series, The New Batman/Superman Adventures, Batman Beyond and Duck Dodgers. He also developed and scripted Krypto the Superdog and contributed scripts to Animaniacs (he created Minerva Mink), Freakazoid, Justice League and Justice League Unlimited. After leaving Warner Bros. In early 2004, Dini went on to write and story edit the popular ABC adventure series Lost.

Paul Dini was born in New York City. He attended the Stevenson School in Pebble Beach, California on an art scholarship. He attended Emerson College in Boston, where he earned a BFA degree in creative writing. (He also took zoology classes at Harvard University.)

During college, he began doing freelance animation scripts for Filmation, and a number of other studios. In 1984, he was hired to work for George Lucas on several of his animation projects.

The episodes of the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe cartoon that were written by Dini have become favorites amongst the show's fans over the internet, although despite this as well as contributing to interviews on the released box sets of the series, Dini has made no secret of his distaste for Filmation and the He-Man concept. He also wrote an episode of the Generation One Transformers cartoon series and contributed to various episodes of the Ewoks animated series, several of which included rare appearances from the Empire.

In 1989, he was hired at Warner Bros. Animation to work on Tiny Toon Adventures. Later, he moved onto Batman: The Animated Series, where he worked as a writer, producer and editor, later working on Batman Beyond. He continued working with WB animation, working on a number of internal projects, including Krypto the Superdog and Duck Dodgers, until 2004.

He has earned five Emmy awards for his animation work. In a related effort, Dini was also the co-author (with Chip Kidd) of Batman Animated, a 1998 non-fiction coffee table book about the animated Batman franchise.

Dini has also written several comics stories for DC Comics, including an acclaimed oversized graphic novel series illustrated by painter Alex Ross. (A hardcover collection of the Dini and Ross stories was published in late summer 2005 under the title The World's Greatest Superheroes.) Other books written by Dini for DC have featured his Batman Animated creation Harley Quinn as well as classic characters Superman, Batman, Captain Marvel and Zatanna.

Best known among Dini's original creations is Jingle Belle, the rebellious teen-age daughter of Santa Claus. Dini also created Sheriff Ida Red, the super-powered cowgirl star of a series of books set in Dini's mythical town of Mutant, Texas. Perhaps his greatest character contribution is the introduction of Harley Quinn (along with designs by Bruce Timm) on Batman: The Animated Series.

In 2001 Dini made a cameo appearance in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back during the scene in which Jay and Silent Bob wear ridiculous looking costumes for a film being directed by Chris Rock, in which Dini says to them "you guys look pretty bad ass".

In 2006, Dini became the writer for DC Comics' Detective Comics. That same year, he announced that he was writing a hardcover graphic novel starring Zatanna and Black Canary. In 2007, he was announced as the head writer of that company's weekly series, Countdown. Paul Dini is currently co-writing the script for the upcoming Gatchaman movie. Dini is also currently writing a series for Top Cow Productions, based in a character he created, Madame Mirage.

Paul Dini is an active cryptozoologist, hunter and wildlife photographer. On a 1985 trip to Tasmania, he had a possible sighting of a Thylacine. He has also encountered a number of venomous snakes, a Komodo Dragon and a charging Sumatran Rhi

Reviews

[Matthew Ward · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read through this one and played through the games in the order they were intertwined and while these comics definitely weren’t the greatest, reading them this way absolutely amplified my enjoyment for them. Surprisingly enjoyable experience. Though it shouldn’t be too much of a surprise, given how incredible and how fun the Arkham series games are.

[Tanya · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an absolute must have for any collectors of batman arkhamverse this massive collection collects all volumes pertaining to the arkham series

[Feeeeer Amaya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tarde mas de una año en poder terminar este gran ómnibus que junta las historias y arcos arguméntales que sirven como pegamento entre las diversas entregas de la saga. Algunas de estas bastante interesantes, otras muy flojas y se sienten como relleno.


Empieza con Arkham origins, que a pesar de ser mi entrega de videojuego favorito, el cómic no lo es, ya que su forma de narración en el que le dan al autor la posibilidad de tomar decisiones no funciona... como intento estuvo bien pero de vuelve pesado tener que regresar varias veces por no haber tomado la decisión que el libro espera que tomes. Además de esto, la historia lenta y se resuelve de manera muy olvidable.

Luego tenemos Arkham asylum y city que sirven como historíes complementarias y algunas de ellas son interesantes. Pero son descartables y no aportan tanto. Si no se leen no pasa absolutamente nada.

Lo interesante comienza al final con Arkham knight, donde se explora mucho sobre lo que pasa después de City y sobre todo el misterio del Arkham knight como personaje.

[Thezachespinoza · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a great addition to enhance the story of the video games. Nothing amazing, nothing terrible, but a solid addition for collector's.

[Carmen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just want to read this. Always and forever.

[Ian · Rating 3 out of 5]

An absolutely immense omnibus collecting all of the comics and graphic novels set in the world of the Arkham series of computer games.
Beginning with a prelude to 'Arkham Origins' which sees an inexperienced Batman still finding his crimefighting feet, continuing on through the events of 'Arkham Asylum' and 'Arkham City', before culminating in stories that lead directly into the plot of 'Arkham Knight'.

I'm a big fan of the so-called Arkhamverse, which gives us a gritty and realistic take on the Batman mythos, whilst still managing honour all of the character's real-world history, not matter how silly (Calendar Man makes an appearance, for instance). So, I was very keen to read more stories set in this particular take on Gotham, as well as getting some background to the games I love (I've not played 'Arkham Knight' yet, so I can't comment on the negative reviews it got).

As you can imagine from a collection of dozens of stories from twelve different writers, this is a real mixed bag in terms of quality.
There are some stories that almost seem like vanity pieces on the parts of the writers but there are some, mainly by Paul Dini (who also wrote for awesome 'Batman: The Animated Series' in the 90s), which genuinely feel like they inform the main stories of the actual games. There are also a few, such as one of Karen Traviss' contributions, which work as self-contained stories within themselves.
However, there's also a great deal of pointless or unremarkable stories too, the worst of which is the 'Arkham Origins' prelude, which attempts to be a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure story. I'd never encountered a CYOA graphic novel before and seeing how unwieldy and unsatisfying it is to read here, I can understand why.

The varied quality of the stories aside, there are two big problems with this omnibus that are inherently linked to one another.
The first and biggest problem is that this book doesn't include actual adaptions of the games. So the main plotlines that threat the Arkhamverse together are absent, meaning we get lead-ins and tie-ins to stories that are told elsewhere, leaving this book feeling like it's got great big holes in it.
The second problem is that not all of the stories here have been presented in chronological order, so any sense of narrative flow, already disrupted by the lack of the games' stories, is spoiled by random jumps in timeframe. It really wouldn't have killed anyone just to edit the stories into order.

Overall this is an enjoyable expansion of the lore of the Arkham games but is spoiled a great deal by the big gaps and jumps in its narrative.

* More reviews here: https://fsfh-book-review2.webnode.com/ *

[TheMadReader · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m only giving this two stars because the artwork is simply amazing. If you like your women well endowed and beautifully top heavy, you’ll especially appreciate this omnibus.

Catwoman, Poison Ivy, Talia, Harley Quinn all simply have one thing in common…a job waiting for them at “Hooters.”

Besides the above mentioned, the stories are all over the place and don’t really blend in the Batman mythos. If you’re that much of a geek and loved the games so much, you’ll probably appreciate this book? I think?

In my opinion, Paul Dini is an overrated writer for Batman. His best work was in the animated series, and Peter Tomasi wasted his time on this Arkham saga.

Anyway, it’s a collectors item for your Batman collection. Otherwise, it’s a hard no for me bro.

[Manny · Rating 5 out of 5]

As far as an Omnibus is concerned, this was an amazing book for fans of Batman and of the Arkham games (which I was and played all of them). To the exception of a few stories inside this huge compilation, the art was amazing and the stories supporting the stories set in the game. A great read for comic lovers, fan of batman and the games.

[Piotr B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Only for games fans. It's trying to explain all the plotholes, but in case of Arkham knight it doesnt. Arkham city series series is the best part of this Omni, you can truly feel how Paul Dini is a level above other writers. Rest mediocore at best.

[Lucas Carlos · Rating 3 out of 5]

Une bonne bouffé de nostalgie si vous aussi vous avez grandi avec les jeux Arkham, mais en terme de comics pur, rien de folichon non plus.

[Kole · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5
Inessential, only for fans of the Arkham games.

[JJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Batman: The Arkham Saga Omnibus collects every comic tie-in to the Batman: Arkham video game series as of the end of 2019. It's great to get all the comics together, because there are quite a few of them (including a one-shot Arkham Asylum comic that I was unable to find for purchase prior to this collection's release).

None of these stories are really vital for understanding the games, and they run the gamut from some of the very best (Arkham City) to some of the very worst (Arkham Origins and Arkham Unhinged) media tie-in comics on the market.

Overall though, I found them to be a good collection of Batman stories, many of which would feel right at home to fans of the Animated Series (not surprising, given the involvement of series writer Paul Dini in the Arkham City comics). But if you aren't a die-hard fan of the Arkham games, there are far more essential Batman collections out there. And if you are, it might be cheaper to just pick up the Arkham City and Arkham Knight collections separately. Trust me, you won't be missing much.

Quick thoughts on individual series below:

Arkham Asylum:
-- One-shot direct prequel, hard to find outside of this collection, honestly really good but not worth buying this whole omnibus for.

Arkham City:
-- Some of the best media tie-in comics ever, feels like Batman the Animated Series, good stories within and in the lead-up to the game.

Arkham Unhinged:
-- Starts off ok, but way too long and goes completely off the rails toward the end. Often doesn't feel like canon. I bought these separately before the omnibus released and kinda regret it.

Arkham Origins:
-- Choose-your-own-adventure comic, annoying characterization and hard to tell what choices will work out and what will fail for no reason, doesn't add anything to story.

Arkham Knight:
-- Excellent beginning, but lasts too long and once you get to the issues that released after the game came out it becomes far less interesting. It's a prequel, but be warned there ARE spoilers if you read the whole thing before you play the game.

Arkham Knight: Genesis:
-- Adds to the backstory of the Arkham Knight that isn't presented in the game, some annoying typos but overall pretty solid if unsurprising. Would have enjoyed more time spent in the Knight's early years instead of lead-up to the game.

[Jen-Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finally finished this book lads. It got me through such a horrible time in my life last year and I'm so glad that I've flipped the last page. I love the Arkhamverse. I miss it and I'm happy that this book kept it alive for me.