A collection of short stories involving Batman? Sign me up for some TNC PELLET REVIEWS!!

The Butler Did It: (W: Damon Lindelof/A: Jeff Lemire) Damon Lindelof should just write an ongoing comic. He brings so many great ideas into comics whether it be a mini-series or a random short story. This story started off slow but once we got into the flashback to get us to the point of the story, it was just amazing to read. It is a side of Bruce and Alfred we’ve never seen before and I would kill to see this depiction in the future. Also, Jeff Lemire should try at drawing Batman again. His panels aren’t perfect cause sometimes seeing Bruce under the cowl is a bit creepy. But the sequences where he’s jumping off rooftops or the black & white sequence towards the end showcases his wonderful talents. Also, chicks dig the long cape.

All of the Above: (W: Jonathan Larsen/A: J.G. Jones) Another great artist for a short story, it is nice to see Jones do a comic again. This is a simple story for the most part, but I always thought Jones drew a great Batman. Mainly because he goes for the more old-school approach with the figure and costume. Anyways, this Amazo story is fun if not a little cumbersome. I mean I enjoyed it but it feels like Larsen was proving a point Grant Morrison already made in JLA. But I love the idea of Larsen describing how to stop a ‘Speedster’ and the use of Bat-Shark Repellant is always a plus in my book.

The Crime Never Committed: (W: Tom Taylor/A: Nicola Scott) To wrap things up, this story makes me realize what this collection of short stories are. Well they are a collection of short stories originally published online. But for me, this feels like they should be involved in another volume of ‘Batman: Black and White’. Seriously, put the color off these bad boys (no offense to the colorists) and you got the same theme that the original ‘B&W’ series did. This story by Taylor and Scott feels like a story I’ve already read in that collection. The art is very good and the story is okay….but it doesn’t stand out from the other two stories that came before it.

I’m glad they are collecting these online stories because if this first batch of stories is any indication then these are going to be absolutely amazing to read. Just go buy this, or the original digital short online, of the Lindelof/Lemire story. That is worth the entire price tag alone for this issue.