I Am Batman (2021-) Vol. 1

I Am Batman

by John Ridley, Travel Foreman (Artist), Rex Lokus (Colorist)

The age of a new Dark Knight starts now!

Spinning out of the events of The Next Batman: Second Son, Jace Fox thrusts himself into action when the Magistrate’s crackdown on Alleytown begins! With his own Bat-Suit, Jace hits the streets to inspire and protect...

The new Dark Knight will have to counterbalance the misinformation and violence the anarchistic Anti-Oracle is spreading and face off against Arkadine, and one Gotham vigilante pays the ultimate price when they're shot down in cold blood. The aftermath of Fear State unfolds in I Am Batman, collecting I Am Batman #0-5!

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

173 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 12, 2022

About the author

John Ridley IV (born October 1965)[2] is an American screenwriter, television director, novelist, and showrunner, known for 12 Years a Slave, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. He is also the creator and showrunner of the critically acclaimed anthology series American Crime. His most recent work is the documentary film Let It Fall: Los Angeles 1982–1992.


Librarian Note:
There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
This profile may contain books from multiple authors of this name.

Reviews

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's not much digging into Jace's character here. That was done more in Second Son. Here, he finally becomes a second Batman and operates at the peripherals of Fear State. He's new at the job and declines many of the toys, as he doesn't know how to use them. I think this will get better now that he's moving out of Gotham to New York to be his own Batman. There were way too many artists on this book.

[Khurram · Rating 4 out of 5]

I quite enjoyed this book, a couple of issues. I would have given it 3.5 stars because the story is a bit fragmented from chapter to chapter. It is actually the artwork that pushed it up to 4 stars for me.

I am not completely sure if this is set in the Future State or another reality six years since the original Batman was seen. When I say the story is fragmented, it is because they show nit and peices of Jace's past but are not elaborated on. I don't know if it is saved for later issues/volumes of the book. Also, a couple of times, the book seems rushed like there was a panel or even a page missing. I actually went back and re-read the previous page a couple of times to see if I missed something. The artwork is great, and I do like the ending as I do agree with Jace.

The book is good a sets up a number of things to come, a good amount of action, I do like that they play up on how green Jace is as Batman, and with jus weapons of choice he reminds me even more of Nightwing. As he gains more experience, he will get better and find his own style. The ending was a good choice. The book finishes with a full page varient cover gallery and sketch book. The artwork is definitely the strongest thing about this book for me.

[Shaun Stanley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I Am Batman Vol. 1 collects issues 0-5 of the DC Comics series written. By John Ridley with art by Oliver Coipel, Travel Foreman, Stephen Segovia, Christian Duce, Norm Rapmund, Juan Ferrevra, and Laura Braga

Fresh off Future State and Second Son, Jace Fox has taken up the mantle of Batman in a fight against the Magistrate. New to the job, Batman must prove to Gotham that masks can again be trusted.

Even though there was a full miniseries to help launch this new ongoing series - DC still felt the need to include a #0 issue to explain things even more. But with all this backstory, they still haven’t done a good job of telling us who Jace Fox is - why is he doing this and what are his motivations? Everything about Jace is on such a surface level. The book starts out slow but does pick up in the last couple of issues. It isn’t exactly knock your socks off but it tells a whole story.

One of my biggest complaints on this book - and shared with many DC and Marvel titles today - is that there are way too many different artists. There are seven artists for six issues which really hurts the flow of the book. I liked Coipel’s art the most but he is only on the first issue.

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fresh out of Future State, Fear State, and Second Son, Jace Fox becomes the Next Batman, and he's out to prove anyone who wants to say he's not worthy of the cowl wrong.

This first arc of I Am Batman has one major flaw, which really affects the entire story - it doesn't define what makes Jace any different from any other Bat. Yes, he's Jace Fox. Yes, he's a black Batman. But that's not enough to hang a story on. Jace himself is basically a blank canvas, even after Second Son attempted to give him a background, and unfortunately these six issues don't do much to paint over him and give him much substance at all. There are glimmers of good ideas, but it's mostly a generic Batman story that you could almost swap any other Bat-character into and it'd be almost exactly the same.

The artwork is also kind of all over the place, which doesn't help matters. Olivier Coipel draws the first issue which is wonderful, and then we get contributions from Travel Foreman (whose issues of Second Son weren't my favourite of his, and that criticism extends here too), and Stephen Segovia, who fares far better.

I will say that the problems I had with this initial arc do fall away as the series progresses. I've read up to issue #10 or so, whichever the most recent one is at the time I write this, and once Jace shifts away from Gotham to New York, the book really comes into its own. It takes moving out of the Bat-Family's shadow to really help him and writer John Ridley work out who he is, and the art team stabilises too, so while this first arc isn't fantastic, I'd definitely recommend checking out at least one more before writing the book off entirely.

Not a stellar first outing for Jace, if you count this as his first outing after Future State and Second Son. Identity struggles and artwork issues mean that it's an inconsistent debut, but it does show promise for the future if you're willing to give it a second (third? fourth?) chance.

[Frédéric · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book following events I haven’t read- yes, I’m that dumb- I had to feel my way at first but it’s not so hard. Batman has disappeared for some reason and Lucius Fox’s son takes the cape and tries to fill up the costume.
So far so good. Carloads of daddy issues, layers and layers of conspiracies, fascist state vs anarchists. And one angry guy trying to prove himself and the world at large he has what it takes.
Ok. Nothing unforgettable but It’s decent with solid writing and Jace has a voice of his own.

The Olivier Coipel issue rocks, of course. Stephen Segovia does a very honorable prestation but the too many other artists involved are left way behind.

[Michael J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I realized that I should have read THE NEXT BATMAN: SECOND SON mini-series and the FUTURE STATE and FEAR STATE storylines before this because the story moves forward from there apparently assuming that readers are familiar with those events. Despite that, I kept reading because even though this new storyline is quite complex with multiple (but linked) subplots I see a lot of promise in Jace Fox's character and want to keep reading. (Note: this series lasted 18 issues before DC cancelled it.)
Suffice to say that Batman (Bruce Wayne) is apparently dead and the Magistrate is enforcing a type of martial law through Peacekeepers (wearing enhanced Wayne tech armament) and "masks" are no longer welcome in Gotham. There's also a Hidden Agenda being followed by an anti-government force whose motives are not fully disclosed (they utilize criminals and set up fall guys to make it look like protestors are anti-cop, etc). It gets even more confusing when you add in the individual players in the whole thing.
The takeaway for me is this is an interesting alternative to Batman. Jace is the misunderstood son of Lucius Fox (the Waynetech mastermind) and utilizes first the Batman armor (until its' destroyed in Issue #0) and then a brand-new high-tech suit designed by Vos (his artificial-intelligence assistant a.k.a. Alfred). This Batman is doing what he can to avert innocent protestors from being punished as well as expose the corruption/manipulation in law enforcement (the latest T.A.L.O.S., more SWAT gear based on WayneTech). Jace doesn't really fix all these problems in the first story arc. He just basically manages to survive and make a statement through his actions.
I like that this Batman doesn't really go up against any gimmicky super-villains, doesn't have an armament of high-tech gadgets or utility belts, no advanced vehicle (he rides a motorcycle) and represents the little folks/common people as priority number one.
I'm going to read more, especially hoping for more character development/background as well as a good consistent artist. The multiple cast of artists on the first story arc also contributed to some of the flaws in this series.

[Darik · Rating 1 out of 5]

Woof.

I really, really wanted to like this-- both because I'm a huge Batman fan in general and because I liked the idea of a new Batman who's a member of a marginalized community and fights against the police rather than being chums with them-- but man oh man... this book is a f@#$ing mess.

To start with, it's tangled up in all that "Magistrate and the Peacekeepers" dystopian nonsense from the Future State crossover (which inexplicably got ported over to mainstream continuity when the Future State initiative got junked). And clearly, this book was originally written as a PART of that crossover, because the first issue explicitly claims that the original Batman's been missing and presumed dead for "seven or eight years" (even though Bruce Wayne was appearing in monthly comics concurrent with this), and then an issue or two later characters start referring to Jace as "ANOTHER Batman" and making reference to other vigilantes operating at the same time. It's more than a little disorienting, but it would be more forgivable in a better book... The problem is, though, writer John Ridley is just not doing a very good job here.

The storytelling is scattershot and unfocused. Half a dozen plot threads sprawl out in different directions at once, and never cohere into anything meaningful. Scores of new characters are paraded out without much in the way of introduction or explanation, and they all have paper-thin characterizations, mostly just existing to blurt out exposition. The titular Batman gets lost in the deluge of empty peripheral characters, and his own personality and motivations for doing what he does remain frustratingly vague throughout*.

* - I'm sure the characters are fleshed out a little more in the prologue series The Next Batman: Second Son, but I should have been able to glean SOMEthing from this-- it's the first volume of the character's solo adventures!

But as bad as the character work is, it's NOTHING compared to the muddled and unclear political messaging. The book initially introduces a violent domestic terrorist group called the Moral Majority who take their cues from a shady online conspiracy theorist called the Seer-- a clear reference to white supremacist militias like the Proud Boys and their ties to the QAnon movement. But while the story initially paints these armed creeps as ignorant tools of a shadowy con man manipulator, the plot takes a sudden swerve halfway through to reveal that Seer is actually RIGHT: there IS a diabolical conspiracy at play from a shadowy cabal affiliated with the government. The fact that the explicitly racist parts of the QAnon mythology have been stripped away from this obvious analogue doesn't make this development any less unsettling.

And then there's a bizarre insistence from the shadowy military man revealed to be behind everything in the end that he's working to suppress political uprisings "from the left AND the right"-- which, at best, reeks of cowardly centrism (and a refusal to acknowledge militant authoritarianism as a political position), and at worst legitimizes right-wing extremism in the vein of January 6th. It's not a message I want to read in a f@#$ing Batman comic.

I kinda hope another writer can come along and do something interesting with this character someday... but for the moment, this book is junk.

[Adam Fisher · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm still a tiny bit confused about why Jace Fox is Batman. I know he was set up as Batman in Future State, and I know he has been protecting Gotham while Batman is presumed dead (though I know he is alive and also knows Jace is using his moniker). But, rather than focus of my obvious error in continuity, I'll just talk about the Volume on its own.

Jace Fox is the Batman of the little people. With "masks" being banned in Gotham after both Joker War and Fear State, he works to show common people they don't have to deal with the tyranny of the Peacekeepers, and Batman can help people like them. Fighting against "The Hidden Agenda" (which sounds way too close to our version of fanatical nationalism) Jace is able to take down Seer. Near the end, the recent events cause the Fox Family (minus Lucius) to move to NYC, where Jace will continue to be Batman.

I really still don't know about this. I'm going to try to catch up on Bat's main title and his other ones before working with Jace again.

[Marius · Rating 4 out of 5]

Die Wiedergeburt einer Origin-Story

Inhalt: Mit "Ich bin Batman" setzt John Ridley seine Origin-Story des nächsten Batman Jace Fox nach "Batman: Second Son" fort. Mit der Hilfe seines Hacker-Kumpels Vol nimmt Jace einen verfallenen Teil des Firmengebäudes von FoxTech, der einst Batman gewidmet war, wieder in Betrieb und beschließt angesichts der angespannten Lage in Gotham und im Geiste der Enttäuschungen seines eigenen Lebens einen Unterschied zu machen. Als neuer Batman will er ein Symbol der Hoffnung werden und jene bestrafen, die meinen über dem Gesetz stehen zu dürfen. Doch schon bald muss er erkennen, dass das längst nicht so einfach ist. Als Maskierter steht er ganz oben auf der Abschussliste von Magistrat und GCPD. Außerdem sind die eigenen Absichten und die Meinung der Social-Media-Bubble zwei ganz verschiedene Paar Schuhe...

Bewertung: Gefühlt versucht Ridley mit "Ich bin Batman" sein Ansehen wieder reinzuwaschen. "Second Son" war angesichts der Charaktere, die meistens eher Super*rsche als Superhelden waren, irritierend, wenn nicht sogar häufig schwer erträglich. Wer es bis zu dieser Fortsetzung geschafft hat, merkt schnell, dass die definitiv sofort mit an den vorherigen teil dran gehört hätte. Durch die Teilung der beiden Abschnitte hat man eine nervige Serie und eine sehr angenehme. Nur zusammen ergeben sie aber eine Symphonie. Denn in "Ich bin Batman" passieren all die Dinge, die ich mir bei seinem Vorgänger sehnsüchtig gewünscht habe: Jace schlüpft endlich in seine Rolle getrieben von Tatendrang und Verantwortung, das GCPD zeigt seine angenehme Seite und die Fox-Familie rettet sich selbst. Besonders sticht natürlich die Entwicklung des Protagonisten zu Batman aus dem Geschehen hervor. Hier kommen viele Parallelen zwischen Jace und Bruce Wayne zum Vorschein. Wie auch der verwaiste Millionär wurde der Fox-Sohn von Meistern verschiedener Kampf- und Überlebensarten trainiert. Schön war es, Katana als alte Batman-Vertraute wieder zu sehen. Natürlich erinnert auch der Verzicht auf tödliche Gewalt und der schicke Anzug an den vermissten Bruce. Aber dennoch ist der neue Batman kein Abklatsch des Alten. Hier gelingt es Ridley genügend neue Wege zu beschreiten und dabei das Original zu reflektieren. Statt GEGEN das Verbrechen zu kämpfen, will Jace FÜR die Menschen einstehen. Er will kein unnahbares Symbol der nächtlichen Rechtschaffenheit sein, sondern greifbar für die Menschen. Das zeigt sich vor allem daran, dass er nach dem Ende der Action stets vor Ort bleibt und die Polizei u.a. mit Hinweisen unterstützt. Der Autor baut hier eine gelungene Anspielung auf Batmans berühmte Art zu Verschwinden ein, die Commissioner Gordon bereits zur Genüge ironisch kommentiert hat. Hervorsticht auch die Gesellschaftskritik die Ridley immer wieder einbaut: Realitätsverzerrung auf Social Media und Fake News, Polizeigewalt, Superreiche, die meinen alles tun zu dürfen. Man sieht: Mit "Ich bin Batman" hatte ich richtig Spaß. Dazu trug auch der Zeichenstil bei, der gegenüber dem Prequel ernster und düsterer, dadurch aber auch beeindruckender geworden ist. Ich bekomme erhebende Gefühle, wenn Batman mit ausgebreitetem Umhang aus den Schatten segelt und das bekommen wir regelmäßig im vorliegenden Band mit allerhand Schatten und klaren Strukturen geliefert.

Fazit: Ein würdiger Nachfolger, der den Vorgänger vor Neid verblassen lässt. So muss der nächste Batman sein. Gesamt: 4/5

[Subham · Rating 3 out of 5]

This felt like a weird book because on one hand you have a great opportunity to actually show a new take on the mantle but the set up in previous book aka Second so was great and they still did a 6th issue which feels annoying but good for new readers but the volume as a whole feels a bit empty and they didn't really do much with it, and too many artists like chad said.

One thing I liked about the book is showing the complex relation between father and son aka Lucius and Jace and how by the end its resolved and they come closer together and then there is the whole angle with him operating in secret and taking up the mantle of the bat, and fighting common criminals all part of Seer and his "moral authority" group aka people online who gets seduced by online personalities and think everything is a conspiracy, so yeah the politics is right there upfront ad for some people it will be a turn off but some places its utilized very well.

I felt like there were too many sudden deaths just for the shock value factor.. they could have done anarky vs batman and it would have been way better but even his death which should have set up this villain group well.. didn't end up that good.. and missed opportunity lets say but I like how it shows another angle of setting Victor Noonan as a big villain for Jace.

The whole TALOS thing felt like such a continuation of the magistrate thing like we just had it 1 issue back and you think they will learn something but nah. Also we didn't really had SEER vs Batman like it teased so thats another negative for me.

I like the family elements a bit like the hug that Lucius and Jace had in the end and the whole thing about getting help for mental health and maybe Jace becoming his own version of batman by moving to NY and which kinda helps distinguish him from Bruce so idk how the future volumes will be. So lets see but this volume was meh and some art was good, others not so much, but there are some great spreads of Batman fighting or action scenes on bike so maybe you might like it.. but give it a try!

[Brayden · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just read my issues I’ve been collecting of this and since the Vol 1 is about to release in a HC I finally sat down and read em. I also read the Future State Next Batman 4-issue book but that basically just felt like a proof of concept of what this series would be able to do.

This is doing everything I love about modernising comics and characters, and I assume that old white comic readers will not enjoy this like I did.

We follow Jace Fox (formerly Tim Fox) as he returns to Gotham and his family to work with his dad Lucius at Foxtech. His dads company has taken a hard turn into helping create an above the government offensive force to stop the actions of “Masks”, a position that Lucius has fallen into since he was apparently tortured by Punchline in the Joker War Saga? Idk I didn’t read that 🤷🏻

Anyhoo, I really enjoyed it! I like the character and the bits of family drama, the writing and dialogue from John Ridley feels real (people swear!) and the art holds up but Olivier Coipel was only on early sections 🥺

Seeing them tackle such modern events can be a little confronting which is good! Seeing police brutality, protesting on both sides of the political spectrum, corrupt governments and organisations and conspiracy theory fear states all feels like the kind of problems that I want to see a modern superhero of colour work through. Part of this is due to so early in this book being forced into the Batfamily of comics ‘Fear State’ event, but even without knowing anything about that book I feel like it wasn’t much of an interruption and instead managed to hold onto its own plot without getting lost in whatever scarecrow and the gang are up to against White Batman.

They play really well into that space of the Miles Morales problem, “oh it’s not Spider-Man it’s the *other* Spider-Man”, and by the end of the book I’m super interested to see what happens next away from Gotham and into New York.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's an awkward start for Jace Fox. Many like myself, I'm sure, didn't realise you needed this volume first Future State: The Next Batman and then this one The Next Batman: Second Son to introduce the character of the next Batman and also the current state of Gotham and DC event this book spins out of. The Future State storyline overall doesn't seem well-loved, and on the evidence here I can see why ... it's just so damned lifeless. I kinda like the satirical angle it's taking on current world events and with Trump re-elected the idea of big boss type controlling conspiracy theorists through fear seems even more relevant, but Ridley isn't able to spin much of a story with any intensity out of it at all and Jace Fox, whilst an interesting character, doesn't get a chance to shine in this volume as he really just punches out a couple of normies and pontificates a bit. I'm not checked out, mind, I'm always one to love the idea of exploring race relations through superheroes (even if it sometimes is applied with a sledgehammer) but now I'm not sure whether to go backwards or forwards with this series.

[Norman Cook · Rating 3 out of 5]

I applaud DC for letting John Ridley create a woke version of Batman in a series that will tackle issues such as white privilege and oppression of minorities. Ridley includes some very timely messages into the story, such as the detrimental use of misinformation by social media and people in power. My problem is that I didn't read The Next Batman: Second Son and so I was confused by Jace Fox's motivations and how this series fits into the overall Bat-universe. The story clearly states that the original Batman has been gone for six years, yet this new Batman is fighting the same "Fear State" villains from the current runs on Batman and Detective Comics. Is this an alternate reality? It's just not clear. If it is an alternate reality, I think Ridley would have been better off going completely away from any lingering vestiges of traditional Batman stories. Another aspect of this volume that detracted from my enjoyment was that there are quite a few different artists contributing to the story, artists with distinctive styles that don't necessarily complement each other. I hope this new street-level Batman finds an audience, but right now I'm mostly ambivalent about it.

[Eric Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bruce Wayne is dead. Lucius Fox and Foxtech own the technology developed by Wayne Industries. Jace Fox has a lot to prove to his father. He also needs to make a difference. He lives two lives. He wears a business suit in one and a mask in the other. His father depends on him, and his city needs him. He is the new Batman.

I Am Batman Vol. 1 is new from DC. It is written by award-winning author John Ridley and illustrated by an all-star team of artists, including Olivier Coipel, Stephen Segovia, and many more. Comic book heroes have always filled a need to combat the problems of the day. This new Batman is no exception. Ridley tackles issues from pollution to police brutality, and more important, the representation of people of color in comics. With Gotham representing NYC, it’s about time he had a Black Batman.

Continuing with the themes of more recent Batman adventures, the artwork is just as dark and exciting. The story is action-packed and very relevant. With a compelling narration and illustrations I Am Batman Vol. 1 is a fantastic graphic novel for new and old Batman collectors alike.

This review was originally published at https://manhattanbookreview.com/produ...

[Gregory · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read the original mini series Future State which is where the Jace Fox Batman has become popular. John Ridley is the right writer to flesh out the character and his reasons for donning the mantle of the Bat. The difference with this version of Batman is how different he is from the original. What hasn't changed is the drive for Justice.
I like the fact that the new Batman is moving to the Big Apple since Batman's creators Bob Kane and Bill Finger were native New Yorkers and residents of the Bronx. This definitely gives this Batman his own identity and not a copy of the original.

The 1st volume is action packed and didn't want to put down reading. It will be interesting to see this Batman interact in the Big Apple. Since Spider-Man, The Avengers, FF, are operating in New York, why not another NY based superhero? The story picks up from the Fear State story arc and continues on afterwards. I also love how the story addresses Race and hearing the voices of People of Color as a result of what happened in 2020 due to the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.

Looking forward to Volume 2.

[Joel Hansen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to say, I'm a fan of John Ridley's Batman. Jace Fox is certainly not Bruce Wayne, and that makes I Am Batman a very different series, exploring fresh motivations of characters from all sides. At the beginning of this volume, Batman's vigilantism is looked down upon by people on all sides of the political spectrum: banned by the police, hated by the powerful elites, and disdained by the oppressed poor of Gotham. Jace doesn't even really know why he wants to be Batman, other than in trying to use his father's technology against him and somehow make up for past misdeeds. By the end of the book, though, the picture gets a little clearer.

Overall, the tone of this volume reminds me of Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns. It's violent, gritty, loneliness in the streets. It's a (hopeless?) solo project against a very dysfunctional Gotham City. It takes a lot of time to figure out who Batman is even fighting for or against. The story is a bit disjointed and disorienting because of it, but that also makes the story a bit more real.

[Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

What do you do with a new 'superhero' that was, at best, a minor character? Work on that backstory!

We have Tim Fox, here renamed "Jace", working in black ops and being trained by a bunch of people (including a maskless Katana). He gets called home and is with his family, embedding himself in Wayne Enterprises to be close to his targets. Finds a armored Batsuit...finds out the truth about Bruce Wayne...

Fast forward a small bit to 'Fear State' times. Jace uses his connections to get a Batsuit built and works to defend Gotham from the Magistrate. The GCPD and other security systems dub him a vigilante and work on hunting him down.
-----

Nice to see them work on building a new African American superhero in the modern era. Origin story seems a bit 'loose' and cryptic, but the character payoff is still there.

Bonus: Lucius telling him to ditch the faceplace/gas mask was a nice touch. Be seen. Be known.
Bonus Bonus: when is a

[Mykhailo Gasyuk · Rating 2 out of 5]

Нудно. Після низки подій, про які я можливо, колись прочитаю, бетменом стає син Люциуса Фокса. Він лівак і він… ніякий. Філософія в нього - Бетмен має бути ближче до народу. Вселяти страх у злочинців у нього не виходить, він такий собі добрий сусід Бетмен на районі. Було у нього два великих ворога, але їх закрили в інших дісішних серіях, а в цьому томі лише коротко про це згадали десь посередині сюжету. Через це сам сюжет порізаний, і до кінця не зрозуміло, проти кого бореться Бетмен. Проти стереотипного сприйняття персонажа - ну оооок, чорношкірим героєм зараз нікого не здивуєш. Посилом про те, що треба боротися за права меншин - так само. Стрибки в сюжеті без референсів на інші комікси чи хоча б якоїсь статті після сюжету - це, як на мене, повна дичина. Який сенс тоді випускати такий куций сюжет збіркою, якщо в неї не входять ключові розділи?

[Michael · Rating 1 out of 5]

oh boy. why did I think it was a good idea to try this series again? for the life of me I don't know what people see in this. let me break it down.
remove the fun of Batman with the classic villains and likable characters and all that that we know. the joker and all that jazz.
remove Gotham city.
add a girl boss.
make it political.
make it be a big thing that Batman is black even though he wears a mask and nobody knows he was white before on account that he is a symbol.
this felt more like pandering, and Batman was more reminiscent of iron man. it was obviously motivated by racial tensions in America, and the modern audience rather than being an enjoyable experience. batman is such a great thing, but the comics are often hit or miss. there's only a few I even trust. especially on the newer ones.

[Carlo Gnutti · Rating 3 out of 5]

Il primo capitolo e’ nuovamente disegnato da Foreman, infatti e’ di gran lunga il più brutto esteticamente del volume: oltre ai disegni troppo stilizzati, la palette cromatica molto spenta.
Jace Fox condivide con Bruce molti aspetti: l’avere un trauma giovanile, un aiutante, essere mosso da un desiderio di giustizia, essere parte di una famiglia importante e che ha delle responsabilità verso la comunità di Gotham agli ecc…
Il momento in cui finalmente Lucius scopre il segreto di Jace e si riappacificano e’ stato gestito senza il doveroso Pathos.
L’unico dettaglio interessante e’ la placca metallica a coprire bocca e mento, così da rendere Batman impossible da riconoscere. Essendo una buona idea, naturalmente la rimuovono alla fine del volume.

[Christie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't finish this. Maybe I need to try to read it again another time, but I just couldn't get into it. The story felt a little too "ripped from the headlines" to be sincere and I couldn't really feel any personality from the characters. It felt like there was a prequel or something I should have read first. If there is, please forgive my ignorance, and let me know if you have time! I mostly read manga so I don't know much about American comic books except Archie.

[J.R. · Rating 2 out of 5]

The decimation of the Fox family continues. Lucius keeps up his trek down the path of authoritarianism and his family is now entirely unlikeable. That is, until he has a stereotypical a-ha moment that magically clears up everything for him. Just lazy writing, taking a beloved character and deconstructing him. Jace has a lazy backstory too. Oh, training far away from Gotham with mystics and martial parts masters? We’ve never heard that one before.

[Nick Stallaerts · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm actually really starting to like this new Batman. It feels like a new journey to follow Jace's evolution as a man and as Batman. He's definitely weaker and has a lot of issues going on, but that also allows for great storytelling. I'm excited to see what's coming next!

Favorite part: the last pages where he talks to his father and where he embraces to become Batman.

[David Thomas · Rating 1 out of 5]

Garbage. Just kind of throws together elements of QAanon, Black Lives Matter, and police brutality. Bruce Wayne is dead and Lucius Fox's son has taken on the mantle as a new Batman, which could have potential, but of course this is a Batman story so he solves these problems by punching people. Zero stars out of five.

[Ming · Rating 2 out of 5]

Future State is stupid. The Magistrate is stupid. The entire setup is stupid. Which is why Ridley then spends the first story arc trying to clean up that frightful mess and having the Foxes act all crazy before suddenly realising that oops maybe we screwed up. Hopefully the next arc is better after all this housekeeping, because that's basically what this feels like.

[Jamie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent book but nothing too special. Turns out the Batman in this story is Lucius Fox’s son, which I didn’t know about till reading. The art is kinda inconsistent: the drawings of Batman in action look great but then majority of the other stuff looks kinda mid. But overall, the artwork and writing is pretty good. The story wasn’t particularly interesting, but good enough.

[Daniel Butcher · Rating 3 out of 5]

It feels to me like this is an alternative history coming out of Fear State. And I get frustrated because I feel like there is room for Jace in Bruce’s world.

So is this canon…or is this an imaginary story?

[Jim · Rating 1 out of 5]

this is volume 1, but starts in the middle of a story. i couldn't figure out what was going on and stopped after about 30 pages. seems to be a parable about maskers and anti-maskers in the time of covid.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

I Am Batman Vol. 1

Great book. Great read. Wasn't what I expected but got so much more. Have makes a great Batman, despite only starting out but has the train and the equipment. Now just need Mir experience.

[Jacob · Rating 1 out of 5]

Public library copy.

The lack of consistency in art hurt this work. The strongest issue was by Oliver C. Some issues were so boring to look at with hardly any camera or POV movement.