Batman, Vol. 6: Abyss

Batman (2016)

by Joshua Williamson, Karl Kerschl (Inker), Jorge Molina (Inker)

The Dark Knight will leave Gotham and enter the Abyss! While unraveling a mystery that involves his closest allies, Batman will come to face-to-face with a new villain who turns the darkness into his greatest threat.

As Gotham celebrates surviving Fear State, Batman retreats alone into the darkness. But when he learns of a mystery involving Batman Inc., it forces the Caped Crusader to leave Gotham for a brand-new adventure! He’ll discover Batman Inc.’s mysterious new benefactor and clash with a brand-new foe who turns Batman’s greatest weapon against him. Will Batman be able to save his closest allies or find himself lost in the dark against the Abyss?

Collects Batman #118-121, #124.

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

168 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 2, 2022

Reviews

[Sam Quixote · Rating 1 out of 5]

Batman Inc. are arrested for moiderising some character called Abyss in Badhnisia (which is east of Crapland and just south of Nasty Place). Batman flies out to see what’s what.

The good news is that James Tynion is off Batman!
The bad news is that Joshua Williamson is his replacement!
The good news is that Williamson’s not hanging around for long!
The bad news-maybe-not-but-probably-bad is that Chip Zdarsky’s going to be the full-time Batman writer!
The good news is that I’ma stop with the good news bad news thing now!

So yeah, I’m back to reading the main Batman title now that Tynion’s no longer writing it (I stopped after that Joker War garbage). Even though Joshua Williamson couldn’t write a good comic even if you handed him one to copy, I was willing to give him a shot - and he flubs it, predictably.

The Abyss story couldn’t be more pointless or throwaway. Some bad guy does some bad guy things while some obviously good guys are accused of something bad until blah blah blah. Obvious, dull writing of a level I’d expect from a SaTURDay morning kids’ cartoon. Batman’s temporarily blinded, which seemed like an interesting development, until it didn’t slow or hindrance him in the slightest, so that was useless.

It’s good to see Batman Inc. again - it’s a shame they haven’t been used much outside of Grant Morrison’s work - but I’d have preferred seeing them in something better than this.

Speaking of blasts from the past, the final third of the book features a YA Batman team-up story with Maps Mizoguchi from Gotham Academy. Some Japanese Yokai (supernatural entities) called Kappa (water yokai) are in Gotham, some kids go missing, and so on. I don’t rate Karl Kerschl as a writer much either and this kid’s story only added to the feeling of this book being made up of kids’ cartoon writing.

I’m glad to see the writing lineup on the main Batman title given a shake-up so that it has a chance of being good for a change, but Joshua Williamson ain’t the guy to turn the quality around. Abyss is instantly-forgettable abysmal filler - an easy one to skip entirely while Zdarsky settles into the title proper.

[Jim Ef · Rating 3 out of 5]

6.4/10
A good small run featuring Batman Inc. and Lex Luthor? Decent story with some nice twist here and there. The art by Jorge Molina is very good, so no complains there.
The extra story with a character from Gotham Academy is cute and fun.

[Subham · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a pretty fun arc as Batman travels to Badhnisia after he sees Batman Inc. being arrested there for something and then we see the introduction of a new villain called "Abyss" and how they tie into it plus the coming of Luthor and the whole mystery of what is actually going on and there are a lot of twists and turns some feel forced but then again its still a fun read with Batman being badass and some solid panels and like by the end its so good and sets up the "Shadow war" crossover very well and some fun stuff with a new member for Batman inc. in #124! Its a good one-time read and a must read if you're gonna read Shadow war. Also there is a backup story with Maps from Gotham Academy which was alright.

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the wake of James Tynion IV's departure from the main Batman book, Joshua Williamson steps in for a fill-in arc. You'd forgive him for half-assing this, since it was fairly short notice, and with only seven issues to tell a complete story, it'd be hard for him to set-up anything long term.

And yet.

Only five of Williamson's seven issue run are collected here, but that makes sense since the missing two are part of his big Deathstroke/Batman/Robin Shadow War crossover. More on that when that collection's out.

The first four are the titular Abyss story, which Williamson manages to use to introduce a new villain, reintroduce Batman Inc. to set-up their new ongoing, and throw in some Lex Luthor goodness as well. It's a lot for four issues, but it's tightly plotted and works really well as a result. The final issue of the collection is an epilogue to the Abyss story, which probably works better with Shadow War as a buffer between it and the main story - without those, it's like Batman leaves, then comes back in the space of an issue to check up on what's been going on, which is odd. It's not a bad story at all, but the collection does ruin the pacing.

Also included, according to the cover credits anyway, is the excellent Gotham Academy back-up story that brings back Maps Mizoguchi in an adorable murder mystery featuring fish people and Batman. Any excuse to revisit Gotham Academy and its characters is a welcome one if you ask me.

On art for the main story are Jorge Molina and Mikel Janin, who work wonderfully well together; it's nice to see Janin back on the main Bat book, even for a few pages at a time, and while Molina doesn't often do interiors these days, I do love it when he does. The back-ups are also drawn by Karl Kerschl as well as written, so it really is like a trip back in time to Gotham Academy's heyday.

Abyss may have a little collection problem, but for an arc that could really have been just throwaway filler, it's surprisingly meaty and substantial. Then again, it's Joshua Williamson -I shouldn't really be surprised that he's turning out good stuff.

[Shaun Stanley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Batman: Abyss collects issues 118-121 and 124 of the DC Comic series written by Joshua Williamson and Karl Kerschl with art by Jorge Molina, Mikel Janín, Howard Porter, Jorge Fornés, and Karl Kerschl.

In the aftermath of the Magistrate, Gotham is looking to celebrate and turn over a new leaf. On a nightly patrol, Batman is made aware that 5 members of Batman, Inc. have been arrested for the murder of a supervillain in a foreign country. Batman travels to the crime heavy South Pacific island nation of Badhnisia to discover that Lex Luther has taken over the funding of Batman, Inc. and Batman will have to play nice to get to the bottom of the mystery.

I love the smaller scale story and the revisiting of Batman, Inc characters. Abyss was a pretty good “throwaway” villain to transition between Tynion’s run in Batman and before Zdarsky takes over. I have been saying for what feels like years now that I have wanted smaller scale Batman stories and Batman actually having to adapt to no longer having his fortune - I believe this arc captured that desire perfectly. The art was really good throughout as well. I also really enjoyed the back up story featuring Mia “Maps” Mizoguchi from Gotham Academy. I have never read any of the Gotham Academy books but I thought the story was adorable so I may have to check them out!

[Andrew Shaffer]

Batman Inc? More like Batman Stink!

[Lashaan Balasingam · Rating 2 out of 5]

You can find my review on my blog by clicking here.

When accustomed to a world where crime surges from the darkest alleys, it is difficult for heroes to find respite, recuperate, and return to the battlefield fueled with an overwhelming sense of justice. Always looking out for the smallest sign of trouble, always hoping to find ways to prevent crime before they even occur, heroes remain tormented and obsessed with their raison-d’être and that alone is enough to keep evildoers away from their usual activities. With writer James Tynion IV’s run completed, the mantle is now given to writer Joshua Williamson, only temporarily, until writer Chip Zdarsky takes over, the canonical Batman series as this story arc collects Batman #118-121 and #124 to fill in the gap and keep fans on the edge of their seats with the introduction of a new villain who turns the darkness into the Caped Crusader’s greatest threat.

What is Batman (Vol. 6): Abyss? With Gotham now having survived Fear State, the Magistrate out of sight, and Scarecrow sent to the newly-constructed Arkham Tower, Batman is left wondering what he should be doing with his nights as everyone is out celebrating. Upon learning that Batman Incorporated, heroes that form the Club of Heroes (Dark Ranger, The Hood, El Gaucho, Bat-Man of China, and Man-of-Bats), has been arrested for the murder of a dangerous night-crawling monster called the Abyss, the Dark Knight leaves Gotham on a brand-new adventure to Badhnisia where he must confront Batman Inc.’s new benefactor and solve the mystery around this murder.

This was no surprise. Writer Joshua Williamson has yet to write anything inspiring and whenever his name pops up, my expectations are at their lowest, as he comes up with some of the most typical stories to tell. It does help to know that he was never meant to stay long with Batman but that doesn’t make what he does write any less boring. From the very instant that Batman Inc. was mentioned, trouble was around the corner and not because of the reintroduction of Grant Morrison’s creation but because Joshua Williamson was clearly never going to properly utilize the international heroes within a forgettable five-issue story arc. As much as I would have liked to see him surprise me, what occurs in this tale is a bunch of ah-ha moments that never quite land their punches, told too fast, and with too little care in the world. If anything, this allowed him to create a new villain while maintaining the status quo. For DC, that’s probably a win-win situation, allowing the next writer to not get to work with unstable foundations.

As much as I’d like to say that the artwork saves this volume from being any worse than it is, I can only say that the artwork alone is brilliant, detailed, and grandiose in style. If it was void of the words that guided the events, it might actually be quite impressive, especially when you’re following up on artist Jorge Jiménez’s artwork on James Tynion IV’s run. The concept design behind Abyss is also decent but nothing mind-boggling, mostly looking like a hybrid between the already-new Ghost-Maker and Batman, very much like a cartoon-ized version of the Grim Reaper. With that being said, the artwork might indeed be the only reason to push on forward until the epilogue teases the upcoming stories within the DC Universe.

This volume also contains two short stories, completely unrelated to the main story and simply there to mix things up, definitely not to carry the volume and bring home big money. The first story, written and drawn by Karl Kerschl, is split into three parts and is a Gotham Academy adventure featuring Mia Mizoguchi, a young girl, dressed up as a Robin and out to solve the mystery around her missing friend Lindsay Okamura as the case leads to the discovery of kappas and their devilry. The second one-part short story, written by G. Willow Wilson and drawn by Dani, is found in the final issue and serves as a prequel to Pamela Isley’s own comic book series, quickly brushing over her future as Poison Ivy following the events in Fear State. Cute and inconsequential, these stories are also meaningless and irrelevant at the end of the day.

Batman (Vol. 6): Abyss is a mediocre and forgettable filler uninspiringly reintroducing Batman Incorporated and unveiling a new and uninteresting villain called Abyss.

[Frédéric · Rating 2 out of 5]

Never liked the concept of Batman Inc. so I felt kinda left out here.
Not that the story is remarkably atrocious, it isn’t remarkable at all with a corny twist that spells l-a-z-y w-r-i-t-i-n-g.
A transition volume reserved for hardcore completists.

[Clint · Rating 3 out of 5]

The backup story collected in the last 30-40 pages of this are great. I wasn’t familiar with Maps Mizoguchi specifically or Gotham Academy in general, but this brief visit with them makes me want to check that series out soon. The tone is the charming sort of YA and the art looks nice and distinct from most superhero comics.

The rest of this book is the namesake Abyss arc and, despite mostly looking really nice and having some great character designs, the story feels exactly like the rushed and pointless between-series-writers throwaway that it is. Curiously, Batman’s design is not one of the great ones; he’s awkwardly wide to the point of being distracting, like an over plump sausage about to burst.

[John Funderburg · Rating 2 out of 5]

Artistically well-made, but narratively bankrupt, and flat-out stupid in places. Looking forward to Zdarsky taking over this book.

[Jess · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did not remember where I was with this storyline AT ALL, which is always the problem with reading a lot of a run at one time and then finding out there are more volumes later. We'll see how we do with the next one, though I am hoping having more characters I know will help.

[Khurram · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good story and excellent artwork. I really enjoyed this book. If I had one complaint I think they should have included the Batman 2022 annual in thus volume as the story look like it should fit in there.

After the Fear State Gotham City is healing, Batman is brooding. Not knowing what to do he turns his attention to another part of the world facing darkness. The return of Batman INC how gave they been carrying on since the Wayne fortune dried up?

The final story was a little weird, but I can see it has repercussions for a new Bat-family member. The volume finishes with an excellent varient cover gallery.

[Geoff Mclennan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Joshua Williamson’s first Batman volume pales in comparison to his Robin book. Its pretty disappointing, his high concept Robin is the best that book has been in years so I was pretty excited to see what he did with Batman. Turns out; not much. It’s not bad, just uninspired and the storytelling feels a little muddled. There were some issues with weak art as well which usually doesn’t happen in Batman. The Gotham Academy backup was pretty fun though. Have you guys read that book? I’m wondering if I should check it out.

[Blindzider · Rating 2 out of 5]

This probably deserves three stars but for some reason I just found it to be very generic.

A few notes:

It appears this occurs after Fear State.
The story lets you know of a rift between Batman and Batman Inc. happened previously but that's about all they really tell you.
The art is pretty decent but once again it is a different artist each issue.
Abyss' motivation wasn't that clear to me, even after the finale.
There was a surprising revelation between Batman and one of the villains. I guess this occurred previously in another story? But I'm just finding out about it now.
This also contains a multi-part story with a Gotham Academy character. It's geared toward kids so I didn't have any interest in it.

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Joshua Williamson was brought aboard as a placeholder after James Tynion IV finished his Batman run and that fact is extremely evident in the bland, unremarkable story being told in Abyss. Basically, Williamson thought, "we haven't heard from Batman Inc in a while," and then crafted a narrative.

There's a new villain, Abyss, wreaking havoc with light-removal powers in a forgettable Asian island nation. Batman, fresh off his Fear State achievements, decides he needs to deal with this Abyss character because they're involved with Batman Inc. And then Lex Luthor shows up, claiming to be running Batman Inc., and looking perfectly normal, even though Scott Snyder's Justice League run saw him morph into something extrahuman (or so I thought?).

Twists upon twists follow, none of which really matter, until the final few pages set us up for the Shadow War narrative, which will no doubt completely ignore the events of Abyss.

The only thing that nearly drags this volume up to three stars is the back-up tale from Karl Kerschl that features the return of some Gotham Academy characters. God, I loved that series. The tale is a precious little mystery with some D&D framing. Skip the Abyss narrative and read the back-up.

[Billy Jepma · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was fine. I liked the change in setting, the almost-horror vibes of the earlier villain appearances, Luthor’s dynamic was fun, and (most of) the artwork—I was surprised how well Molina and Janin’s art complemented each other—but it’s still a rushed, ultimately inconsequential interstitial story. The stakes are murky, the motivations too scattered to mean anything, and the conclusion too rushed to have any meaningful impact. Which is a bummer, because the bones of something cool are all there—they just weren’t given enough time to develop into anything memorable before the loose ends had to be quickly and unceremoniously wrapped up in a single issue.

But yeah, it was a fine read. The backup story with Maps from Gotham Academy—a series I loved and miss constantly—was the highlight. I love the YA trappings of that corner of Gotham, and it was so great to get another snapshot of it. It’s a simple story, sure, but its use of folklore, colorful visuals, and capitalization on the dynamic between Maps and Batman give it an excellent personality. I hope we get more of the Gotham Academy world, in whatever form we can, because it’s a refreshing change of pace from the usual Batman series’ and is too charming to lay dormant indefinitely.

[Rolando Marono · Rating 2 out of 5]

Me gustó que la premisa de este volumen era el regreso de Batman Inc, esos personajes me gustaban y sus aventuras pueden ser muy interesantes. Lamentablemente aquí tenemos a estos personajes que aparecen muy poco y que eran el gancho de la historia y un par de giros exagerados y sin sentido, me pareció ridiculo cuando revelaron que estaba sucediendo y quien estaba detrás de todo. Una historia sin gracia ni chiste.

[Nikita · Rating 3 out of 5]

Непогана історія з чудовим артом основного сюжету. Я б дав на один-два випуски більше щоб дати сюжету подихати, бо все трохи швидко рухається.
Додаткова історія про Abyss... ну таке, можна було б і без неї обійтись.
А от про Мію було прикольно дізнатись і почитати.

[Mariano · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kind of pointless really. It's a fine story. It's enjoyable. I didn't suffer reading through it. I'm probably not going to remember it. So, like... disposable. It was cool to get the Gotham Academy backup though

[Judah Radd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good Batman story!

It was kind of nice to get out if gotham for a bit, and I liked the mystery aspect. Killer art as well. Joshua Williamson is definitely a good Batman writer.

[Anna Quilter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kind of feeling I'm overdosing on Batman right now...this was fine...international Batman Inc were in this but you have to look elsewhere if you want to get to know them a bit better

[Arturo Del Rosal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favorite one!!!!
Did not like the last story.

Not much to say!!!

[Andrew Lyon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yeah that was ass. On paper a Batman story with a Batman Incorporated funded by Lex Luthor (who also wears a robot batsuit), where Batman loses his sight sounds great.

Unfortunately it's very bland and the ending was very average.

And wtf was that weird self-insert short story at the end?

[Shaya · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5⭐️

[Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

What do you get when you take a bunch of B list superheroes all loosely based on Batman and heroing and cut them free from the Batman monthly titles?

We'll see...

Coming out of Fear State, Batman still thinks things are slightly off in Gotham and his own life. He takes Oracle's suggestion of taking a break and goes to check in on the Batman Inc crew who got into trouble. They claim to have killed a super villain named 'Abyss'.

Batman Inc is a carryover from Grant Morrison's Batman run. Bruce Wayne, billionaire playboy at the time, fully sponsored and paid for Batman to be a global brand of crimefighter. Setting up shops across the planet for like minded heroes. This is pre new 52 when Morrison was given a pass and most of his ideas weren't tampered with as 'New 52' hit the shelves. Other characters got rewritten, but large chunks of Batman stayed as canon.

It's a fun little Batman centric story with no Bat-family run ins and no giant crossovers. It's a good 'back to basics' detective story for Batman. The Batman Inc heroes are shown, but we don't get into some of the weird origin stories or locations they protect (probably too much of an info dump)

Bonus: The back-up story across this TPB is about a Gotham Academy character, Mia Mizoguchi (aka Maps). One of the Academy's students has gone missing and, as we've seen before, Mia styles herself as a detective and future Robin material. Love it. ROBIN TO THE RESCUE!
Bonus Bonus: Luthor in his armor with the subtle changes in regards to his new 'business venture'. Stylish.

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Williamson knew he was only writing Batman for a short time and so gives us a short arc. Gotham City is celebrating after the end of the Magistrate. (I'm very glad it's over as well.) Batman end up heading to a third world country where Batman Inc has apparently murdered this Abyss character. Lex Luthor gets involved. I don't remember how he made it out of Snyder's Justice League unscathed given how he went full-on villain there. It' a solid setup for an arc. There's also a backup story written and drawn by Karl Kerschl that brings back Maps from Gotham Academy. The two missing issues are part of the Shadow War crossover and will be collected there.

[Wil Carpenter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joshua Williamson is swiftly becoming one of the most prolific writers of DC Comics and this, his all-too-brief fill-in arc for Batman is a great reintroduction to the character following the lacklustre James Tynion IV era. The swashbuckling international adventures of Batman are given a new lease on life, while the new titular villain Abyss, manages to be compelling and deadly. The real star here is the artwork from Jorge Molina which is stunning to behold and is sorely missed when other artists like Howard Porter pitch in for segments. A brief run that deserved to be longer.

[Chris Richards · Rating 5 out of 5]

Batman: Abyss is a complete arc by DC’s current biggest writer Joshua Williamson to fill time after the close of James Tynion IV’s Batman run and the start of Chip Zdarsky’s.

I’m a fan of Williamson’s writing that I’ve read so far (most notably his Flash run) and he’s taking a relatively recent part of the Batman mythos that got quietly pushed aside - Batman Incorporated - and preparing for new life to be breathed into it.

The Grant Morrison era of Batman comics was one of the most exciting and innovative eras of recent Bat-history and created many brilliant new characters which have proved to have impressive staying power. It culminated in the creation of Batman Inc as Morrison created and explored other ‘Batmen’ from around the world. These included some fantastic new characters, a good number of which return after a long absence here. They don’t actually play a huge role but it’s still a treat to see El Gaucho, Man of Bats, Dark Ranger, The Hood, and Batman of China once again, and the book promises a Batman Inc relaunch and so we should see much more of these characters again, alongside a few new ones. Batman even wears his old Batman Inc costume for most of it, presumably just out of nostalgia.

This isn’t a backdoor pilot for that series though. The focus remains very much on Batman throughout. It serves as a nice reset for Bruce as he leaves a safe and celebrating Gotham for a relatively quick adventure in Badhnisia.

The plot of Batman working with the instantly likeable Detective Cayha and possibly with, possibly against Lex Luthor to investigate the arrest of the aforementioned Batman Inc members for murder is immediately grabbing. The first issue is one of the best opening issues I’ve read in a while, giving plenty of enjoyable and effective Gotham action before Bruce gets pulled into the mystery of the book. Being invited for breakfast with Dick and Barbara only to immediately announce he’s going dark for 48 hours was a particular highlight.

The relationship between Bruce and Lex is a particularly interesting part of the book. For reasons presumably covered in another book (possibly Snyder’s Justice League and Death Metal event? I can’t remember), Lex now believes there must be a Batman. He also is well aware of Bruce’s secret identity though doesn’t use this against him. With Bruce’s fortune destroyed during Tynion’s run, Lex is now the only one of the two with unlimited financial reach, and the one funding the heroes of Batman Incorporated now.

Abyss is a cool villain with a great design, and the art compliments his powers of darkness well. He is sadly underdeveloped though and the story ends without feeling like we really got to know him at all sadly. Batman does spend most of the story effectively blind/only able to see in darkness because of him though which was a cool aspect of the story.

I would have liked to have seen more of the Batman Inc characters in the story, and to have got to know Abyss better before the end, but it remains a very enjoyable story in my eyes that pulls on nostalgia for one of my favourite eras of comics but also tells a great story in its own right.

There is then an epilogue where Cayha takes on the mantle of Abyss and becomes the newest member of Batman Inc which I was pleased to see. I hope to see much more of her. By the end its clear this Abyss arc has themes of being lost in darkness but never lets this overshadow the need for a good story in its own right and the book never feels overly dark.

Also included is the back up stories of Batman teaming up with ‘Maps’ from Gotham Academy. I haven’t read Gotham Academy yet but I found the story enjoyable and loved the art - particularly the blue cowl.

[RubiGiráldez RubiGiráldez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tras el rápido desenlace de FEAR STATE, el autor Joshua Williamson recogió las riendas de la cabecera troncal de Batman para encauzarlo a su plan de Shadow War que estaba perpetrándose con el cómic de ROBIN y el tema de Planet Lazarus. Para esto, se la juega sobremanera no solo presentando una nueva amenaza para Batman. El andamiaje argumental de ABYSS se basa tanto en generar un disfuncional Team Up con... LEX LUTHOR como implicar a los miembros de Batman INC. en una aparente conspiración que los acusan de asesinato. Este tropel de personajes ciertamente demandan un interés creativo a mayores que solo usarlos de reclamo para "animar" más fácilmente el desarrollo. Algo que en la historia propuesta por Williamson no creo que surta el efecto deseado. Si bien aún consigue arañar de la etapa de Tynion IV esa mayor predisposición lectora a contentarse con esa acción por encima del argumento. El cual en su premisa escueta, muestra a este nuevo personaje como una contraparte total a Batman de métodos no solo más brutales, también su empleo de la oscuridad como táctica ofensiva con el crimen tiene una mayor relación con capacidades sobrehumanas. Pero esto no se concreta en lo argumental ni es excusa gráfica para generar interesantes planteamientos visuales de la oscuridad rodeando a personaje y lector.

Interesa más la miniserie anexa de Gotham Academy.

[Dawson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Holy frick Jorge Molina's art is spectacular! Watching him evolve over the past decade has been a pleasure. Starting on his x-men work, to Star Wars, to here. It's absolutely beautiful here, espcially with Moreau's colors.

Mikel Janin also puts in some solid work here as well. Janin is a bit more hit or miss for me. I don't love his artsyle personally, but, when it hits, it hits.

The story, on the other hand, is much less exciting. I actually quite like the first issue. It's just Batman doing Batman-things in gotham—somehthing we dont' get enough of anymore. It frames the rest of the arc around the idea of Bruce savoring the wins and slowing down to appreicate them. Technically speaking, this arc is about this. It's just communicated very clunkily and mostly kept to the first and last issues, which denies the story a deeper resonance in my opinion.

The mystery of Abyss is also incredibly poorly done. Poorly set up. Bad execution. With a out of nowhere conlucsion to wrap it all up. The revelation about Luther in the arc is so incredibly obvious, but, in total contrast, the stuff with Batman Inc. (good to see them again, by the way) isn't established whatsoever, robbing the conclusion of any form of satisfaciton. It's poor storytelling. I liked the detective though. Doubt she'll ever show up again, but she was decent here. As was Bruce for the most part.

The smaller scale and more intimate atmosphere of Abyss make it a decently enjoyable story and particularly novel in the modern Batman comic landschape. I did enjoy the book at the end of the day. It was a nice breath of fresh air even if it stumbles across the finish line.

Final Score: 3/10