This Wednesday ushers in a new Batman and, perhaps, a new era for Gotham City.
June itself is a big month for the Batbooks — with no less than six books with new directions, new lead characters, and new creative teams. It’s a very exciting time to be a Batfan. I have a strong feeling that this is going to be a lot of fun.
If you don’t want to know what’s coming and/or the people who are behind the masks, I’d recommend skipping this piece. I’ll be discussing the people behind the masks (to the best of my knowledge)
What do we have to look forward to? Here’s the rundown:
Batman & Robin #1
Written by Grant Morrison
Drawn by Frank Quitely
Release date: June 3
I may or may not have shuddered with delight when I heard this announcement. One of my favorite writers and one of my favorite artists who together were responsible for one of the best super hero books of the last decade were taking the reigns of the flagship Batbook? Someone catch me I believe I might have the vapers.
My excitement was tempered somewhat with the announcement that Quitely was going to only be handling limited art duties, but that’s the price you pay if you want to have all your books link up. It’s better that solution than have the book come out quarterly (although what I wouldn’t give for an on-going quarterly Morrison & Quitely book).
The Dick Grayson and Damien Wayne dynamic should be a really interesting one that leads to a lot of fun conflict. You couldn’t pick two people who are more opposite than those two. Well, maybe Felix and Oscar.
Batman #687
Written by Judd Winick
Drawn by Ed Benes
Release date: June 10
This one is disturbing and intriguing on a few levels.
Number one, I’m a big fan of Judd Winick’s in general, and of his pre-Morrison run on Batman in specific.
Number two, I could really do with less Ed Benes in my life.
Number three, this book is reportedly all about Jason Todd refusing to give up the Mantle of the Bat, despite the beatdown that Dick threw his way in Battle For The Cowl. My distaste for Jason Todd is widely known but it might be interesting to watch.
I don’t know – this one I’m chalking up to “could go either way.” Judd Winick has rarely let me down, so I’m hopeful.
Red Robin #1
Written by Christopher Yost
Drawn by Ramon Bachs
Release date: June 10
Question mark, thy name is Red Robin.
I have had very little exposure to the work of Christopher Yost and Ramon Bachs so this is the one book that I know not what to expect when I flip open page one.
Since I have no expectations from the creators, I’ll focus on the character. Tim Drake. I love him. He’s the only male member of the Batfamily to not get a promotion this month, he’s making a strictly lateral movement from Robin to Red Robin. But at least he gets a full head cowl now. I like the fact that Tim is darker and angrier now. It makes sense. He was never the laughing daredevil that Dick was, so the idea that Tim would take the new status quo the hardest works. We’ve already seen glimpses of the new grumpy Tim in last week’s Gotham Gazette: Batman Alive? and I found it delicious.
Tim is reportedly the only member of the Batfamily that doesn’t believe that Bruce is actually dead. This should be fun to watch.
Batman: Streets of Gotham #1
Written by Paul Dini & Marc Andreyko
Drawn by Dustin Nguyen & Georges Jeanty
Release date: June 17
It’s the first of two books written by Batlegend Paul Dini! I believe that this is going to be a street level book, focusing on the cops and otehr non-powered people of Gotham. If that’s the case, this could be very exciting indeed!
It’s also the first of two Batbooks to feature a regular back-up story. I like the idea of these back-ups story. They used to happen all the time in comics in the 70s and 80s – you’d get a regular back-up tale featuring a different character in books like Detective and Action Comics. It’s nice to see the concept being brought back. That having been said, the back-up character in this one is Manhunter, she of the recently canceled book of the same name. I have to say, I read all of the restarted Manhunter series and it didn’t do much for me, so even though the back-up is being written by Marc Andreyko (the writer of Manhunter’s solo series) I’m not all that interested. The art is by Georges Jeanty, who I like a lot. I wonder what that means for his time on Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Detective Comics #854
Written by Greg Rucka
Drawn by J.H. Williams III & Cully Hamner
Release date: June 24
Greg Rucka’s baaaaaaaaaaaaack!
Greg Rucka represents the last great golden age in Batbooks from his time on Detective Comics, Batman and Gotham Central. His time on those books in the late 1990s, early 2000s was a great time to be alive!
I’ve been waiting since 52 ended for a book focusing on Batwoman. She arrived with much fanfare — she was all over CNN! — and it was much ado about nothing. I mean, honestly. To call her underused would be an understatement. So finally, we get to actually explore what makes Batwoman tick and Greg Rucka is just the man to do it.
It’s the second Batbook with a backup story and this one is quite exciting. The Question by Greg Rucka and Cully Hamber! I don’t think anyone but Greg Rucka is allowed to write Rene Montoya. I believe that’s in the Constitution.
Gotham City Sirens #1
Written by Paul Dini
Art by Guillem March
Release date: June 24
Paul Dini is back!
All throughout his career Paul Dini has been known to have a unique handle on cheescake. He manages to make it fun and sexy without it seeming demeaning. It’s probably because the women are almost always in the power position. Whatever the reasons why, the results speak quite clearly for themselves.
I’m looking forward to adventures of Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy and Catwoman as told by Paul Dini. Hell, the guy created Harley back in 1992 for Batman: The Animated Series, and his take on her is always the definitive one.
This book promises to be a lot of fun!
So there you have it; six Batbooks to look forward to in the month of June!
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I personally will be grabbing 3 of the six, Batman and RObin, Detective, and SIrens. I’ll listen to the buzz on the others and maybe trade wait.
I want to say that I’ll be strong and only buy a few of these, but I’ll probably buy all six. I am weak.
I’m getting Batman & Robin and Detective. I was tempted by the Sirens, but didn’t bite. Yet. Re Yost: I saw his name when I opened Runaways and my first thought was, "Isn’t his first name Kyle?"
I’m actually on board with all of these. The only question for me is Red Robin. Unlike Conor, I’ve never been that attached to Tim Drake, and Chris Yost’s stuff has never worked for me. I’ll try the first few issues, but of all the above, that’s the one I’m most hesitant about.
On the other hand, Winick back on Batman; Morrison and Quitely (and some other great artists lined up if the rumors are to be believed); Rucka writing both Batwoman and Question; two – count em, two – Dini books – it’s a good time to be a Bat fan, even if Bruce isn’t there. When they do decide to bring Bruce Wayne back, I can’t think of a better set of creators to do so.
The premise of Red Robin has me more excited than any of the others and Tim quickly became one of my favorite characters during the last two arcs of Robin, but I know nothing of the creative team.
I expect Batman and Robin to be exceptional, but I generally despise Damian, so I’m not as excited as I would like to be.
I will pick up the first few issues of each of the others, but if they aren’t solid I will quickly drop them.
Huh. So, two different books with the name of "Batman" in the title, but they’re about different "Batmen"? Interesting. I like that this will allow each team to tell their own stories, without being forced to worry about what the other group is doing. I always have a soft spot for the old days of Superman comics when every week told the next chapter of a story, even when they were written by different creative teams. Still, I’m sure that style of story-telling is ridiculously hard to do well.
I’m looking forward to seeing how this all plays out.
I’ve been planning to get Batman and Robin, but I think you just sold me on Detective and and Streets of Gotham, if for no reason other than Jeanty’s art.
Thanks for the update!
It’s interesting, I’m finding the events are becomming much less interesting than the new status quo created by the events. I couldn’t care less about Battle for the Cowl, but these books in the new bat-universe seem very interesting…
The only one I’m really on the fence about is Batman proper. I like the new direction for Tim Drake in Red Robin and I’m very excited about Batman & Robin and Detective.
Isn’t Ramon Bachs the artist from Civil War Frontline? I didn’t like that very much.
Other than Rucka, I’m thinking of skipping the whole damn thing. Maybe the Morrison book, but limited Quitely will just make the other guy seem shabby by comparison. Hey, I’m in this for my own enjoyment, right?
I think I’ll try all these titles for couple of issues, if not the first arc of each. However, the only ones I imagine staying with are Batman & Robin, Streets of Gotham, and Detective (I love me some J.H. Williams III art!). And yes, this is a very exciting time to be a Batman fan.
I’m jumping into the deep end with this one, I already have the first three months worth of this stuff pre-ordered. So fingers crossed on high quality here.
Also I think Ed Benes is only doing the first issue of "Batman" with Winick, then Mark Bagley takes over for the rest of the ark I believe.
After rewatching it as an adult, I declare that the Harley & Ivy episode from Batman TAS was totally hot!
I’m in for batman and robin, red robin, and detective. I’ll look at the other books in the store and make a choice. Good night Giant Penny.
I was originally going to try just Batman, B&R, Red Robin, and SoG… then I saw the art for Detective and I was sold… I don’t expect to be giving Sirens a shot unless its a really slow week that week
I’ll give Batgirl a shot in August, and I’m excited for Azrael once it gets a release date.
This is a great rundown, thanks. I’ve been confused about the difference b/t all these books since they were announced, and this helps a lot.
Nothing could keep me away from Rucka’s ‘Detective’, and I’m going to give ‘Streets of Gotham’ a shot, too. It sounds like the kind of Bat-book I dig (I haven’t read one regularly since ‘Gotham Central’). I thought ‘Manhunter’ was uneven and never really lived up to potential, but I’m hopeful that the new setting/format will work. Morrison & Quitely I’ll likely look for in trade, since I find Morrison’s stuff reads better for me that way.
I’m drinking the hater-ade and do not read any Batman books.
Depending on which Grant Morrison this is, I may or may not pick up Batman and Robin. Detective includes three of my favourite things in one: Greg Rucka (as long as it’s not espionage because that is the genre where my enjoyment goes to die) lesbians and redheads.
I will be giving each book a try this month, and now I’ll have to track down that Gotham Gazette issue that I seem to have missed last week.
I don’t know a thing about Batwoman (well, I guess I know one thing) but I have been looking forward to her book for some time based on the team involved. I admit I am disappointed to learn about the backup stories; whenever I look at a Question story, all I see on every page is "Gotham Central is Dead, and It’s Never Coming Back. Look What We Did to Its Body."
Have they said, when talking up the Morrison book, exactly what "limited art duties" means? That reads like something with an asterisk on it in a car commercial.
If Bagley takes over after Benes then i am down for that shit
If I wanted to start reading a batbook are there any here that are ideal from a beginners perspective?
Whats up with the anti-Ed Benes sentiment?
Well, Batwoman has been on, like, three total comic book pages in her life, so I’m betting you can’t do much better than that as a starter.
I cut almost all of my DC books in issue format about five months ago. It was done mostly because my favorite writers left books or a few of my long term books like Teen Titans started to get crappy. I’m down to Jonah Hex, Booster Gold and I’m going to read Powergirl.
It will be nice to add a bit more DC to my monthly reading.
I’ll be picking up the Rucka and Dini books.
I want to read batman and robin but I HATE damien. ugh.
@clintaa: I don’t think you’re supposed to like Damien.
Going to give this a full dive, trying all of them.
i cant wait to grab all 6! im a sucker for bat books.
I’m definitely going to try Batman & Robin and Detective. I’m hoping that with all the "event" stuff aside, Morrison’s gonna settle into a weird, cool groove for B&R. I LOVE the description of the series as being the Adam West TV show directed by David Lynch. That’s not a Batman dynamic we’ve seen recently (if ever) and I welcome the change.
And then Rucka doing Batwoman and and The Question with two great artists? SOLD. i don’t really care about Batwoman but Rucka’s great and those preview pages of art…? Gorgeous.
The rest of the line I will flip through and listen to the buzz. If the iFanbase starts to rave about another series, I’ll probably check that out — maybe in trade.
@comicbookchris oh i don’t hate benes, but bagley is my favorite artist of all time so he is the draw on the none morrison book
I’m totally down for all six.
I’m really excited about Detective–the art is just stunning! And after their run on Detective, I can’t say no to Paul Dini and Dustin Nguyen.
I most certainly will not collect the sirens line. I really can’t stand DC, outside of Batman, Jonah Hex, and Secret Six, but I’m excited for most of these titles. I love Rucka’s work on Gotham Central and I think that new Detective arc will be worth reading. Red Robin, sounds cool, but I’m already going in with speculation. I don’t think that people should be expecting ‘All-Star Superman’ calibre writing on this Batman and Robin line though.
Those (like Conor seems to) who expect Streets of Gotham to be like Central, might be disappointed. I read interviews about this new round of BatBooks and they were saying that the book will have Commish and a couple of cops, but not in the GC way. They were saying Batman was the main character of the book, unlike the dark figure in GC, and the book will take a look at those who surround him.
I’m in each of the 6 books for at least an arc. Most likely I’ll be sticking around on Batman & Robin, Detective, Streets of Gotham and Red Robin. Batman and Gotham City Sirens will be the only ones that I vacillate on. We’ll see how this goes, though.
Nice butt on Harley Quinn! Looks pretty cool, especially Morrison’s.
Getting
Batman and Robin (No brainer)
Gotham City Sirens (Paul Dini writing his favorite girls? Cheesecake artist Gulliem March doing the art? Heaven for all you perverts. But for me I am looking forward to seeing Dini write Harley Quinn, Ivy, and Catwoman on a full time basis. Yes…..Yes I know I am wearing a trenchcoat and sunglasses to my LCS now a days. But it’s because….it’s cold out….)
Trade Waitin
Streets of Gotham (Sounds like Detective Comics, but with the minor characters instead of Batman. But it’s Dini and Nguyen so whats not to love?)
Red Robin (Interesting premise, but not enough to make me want to pick up in issues)
Avoiding
Batman (Winick and Benes? Avoid like the plague!!!)
Detective Comics (I like Rucka as a writer, I really do. But I just dont care about Batwoman much less a backup story for ManHunter. Not avoiding it cause of the talent involved, just with the characters)
Amazing that I used to pick up Batman and Detective like no one’s business. Now I’m avoiding them all together with this new lineup.
Very pumped up for all of them. I used to only buy Bat books in trades, but since I moved 2 blocks away from a comic shop in March, I’ve been buying weekly issues starting with the first Battle for the Cowl. Definitely an exciting time for me (well, except for the fact that I lost my job last week and my wife is gonna be pissed if she knows I’m buying these still… yikes)!
I’m getting them all, from June or 2009 until we go back to Batman & Detective being the only two again. How many years away do you think that will be? I think most of them will get good two year runs before people can’t afford them all anymore. Honestly, I hope it stays this way forever. It will be expensive, but at least I’ll have plenty of Batman to read at all times!
I know everyone is all nostalgic about Judd Winick, but has his books been any good lately? His recent work included Black Canary/Green Arrow and Titans, and I heard that they were all stinkers. Has he written anything good lately?
@comicBOOKchris – Winick is very, very divisive among fans – probably moreso than any other creator in current comics.
Personally, I’ve enjoyed his recent work – BC/GA (and Green Arrow before that) was great storytelling, and the first 7 or 8 issues of Titans was good as well – even with the less-than-stellar Churchill/Churchill-clone art. Don’t forget his Shazam mini, too – that was great, great stuff.
His Batman stuff – forget the fanboy uproar of him bringing back Jason Todd – was also good storytelling. He had some big shoes to fill, coming off the Loeb/Lee and Azzerello/Risso arcs, and he did a very solid job.
Like I said above, I’m excited to see what he does with the new status quo of Batman and will be on board at the start.
@ComicBookChris Yeah, Dan beat me to it. I never got the hate for Winick’s GA stuff. Was it great? No. But it was solid and consistent. And he got the characters.
@TNC The Back up in Detective is the Question and not Manhunter. Manhunter is the backup in Streets of Gotham.
@Prax: Ah thanks for the correction. Thought it was the other way around.
Eh I like the Question ever since I read about him (then her) in 52….but still doesnt make me wanna buy it for Batwoman.
Batman & Robin for sure. Still contemplating Gotham City Sirens and Detective. Rucka and Williams is enough to pick up any book, but I am trying to trim my pullist. I have some thinking to do indeed.
I’m politely baffled by all the people who "don’t care about Batwoman." This is essentially a new character so how do you know?
@Ohcaroline: They hyped her up like mad in 52 and all we got was:
*gasps* She’s a lesbain!
Why should I care when the only thing we know about her is her sexual orientation?
Grabbing all of these. Most excited for Rucka’s Detective Comics.
Gotham City Sirens and Streets of Gotham I’ll probably try out. I don’t read much Batman, pretty much just select trades from the past, but I think I’d love those two (Or, at least, City Sirens). Had no idea about them though, so now to go and subscribe to them on heavyink B)
@TNC-That’s all that was talked about in the press, not all you know about her. And its just like picking up a new title anyways; you don’t know much about the story or the characters, but if you enjoy the work of the creative team than that’s enough to get you interested and want to check it out.
@drake: But if DC didnt want to hype her up until now….I mean how long has she been around? 2-3 years?
Now we’re suddenly getting a title all about her? Why not focus on her more beforehand or at least during 52? That’s all I’m saying.
Maybe I’ll pick it up for trade, maybe
@TNC: It’s the only thing we know about her because up to this point, she’s had limited exposure and no one fleshed her out yet. That’s what Rucka is going to do.
@TNC & others Rucka had been trying to do a Batwoman mini-series for a time. However, DC didn’t want to do it. She has been in the various Question minis since 52. It’s not as if the character completely disappeared. From what Rucka has said (Both in interviews and when I saw him at NYCC) DC didn’t think the mini on its own would sell and were looking for ways to put her into a "Proper" Bat Book. At the time they were even thinking of launching a new Batgirl/Batwoman book that would sometimes be spilt down the middle for each or often a team-up book. But with Countdown and One Year Later’s treatment of Batgirl this became impossible. They finally decided that putting her in Detective for the interim would be a good idea. So it’s not that DC’s not hyped her in that time much like the Power Girl book they were "Waiting for the right time." If I’m not mistaken the Power Girl book was first talked about 1.5 years ago.
@Prax: It seems weird to me that DC didnt want a Batwoman mini or think it would sell well at all. Are they scared they’re gonna get the same press treatment as they did when they first introduced her?
@Everyone: Hey on ign.com they got a 3 page preview for the Batman and Robin #1. It’s in color and has text in it. Looks fucking gorgeous! Cant wait for Wednesday 🙂
ohcaroline beat me to it. How can anyone hate Batwoman, we know nothing about her?
I’m also curious as to why so many people hate Damien. Aren’t we supposed to not like him? Wouldn’t being raised by a rich and powerful family that can give you anything you want make you a spoiled brat as well?
As for all the books, I’m excited for every one of them. The only two that have me leery are Streets of Gotham (I could give two shits about Manhnter, I’d prefer to pay 2.99) and Gotham City Sirens (I would be embarrassed to have anyone see me purchasing a book with that cover on it).
@RoiVampire: Bagley will be drawing a few issues of BATMAN in the not too distant future.
@TNC Are you sure you’re not mixing up the hype about Kate’s introduction with the way she was actually portrayed in ’52’? She’s not a major or extremely well-developed character in ’52’ but she does exist as a person and she does have traits besides being a lesbian. I thought the issue of ‘Crime Bible’ that she was in was fantastic and did a great job of drawing an interesting relationship between her and Renee. Now in a perfect world, I’d like to see the lead and supporting characters reversed, but I’m still on board.
Well if there is anyone out there to make me care about a character, it’s Greg Rucka.
I guess when the trade comes out I’ll have some reading to do
Somethings just make me happy. This is one of those things.
Just getting Batman and Robin and Detective. But man am I excited for both of those.
red robin is about him thinking bruce is still alive huh? well it could just end in one panel if final crisis actually is going to happen in the dcu. there mystery sloved tim, now move on with your life and save us the time and money of a pointless story.
@ohcaroline Couldn’t agree with you more. I thought she was well developed in 52 but not well explored.
You can count me in for every book but Red Robin and Gotham City Sirens, based on a purely monetary stand point. It does break my heart to leave a Paul Dini book before it even starts. If I were to drop another book, it would have to be Batman. I’m not a big Jason Todd fan either Conor. I think that Christopher Yost wrote/ is writing X-Force now, which I’ve enjoyed, in a guilty pleasure sort of way.
Is it bad that I mostly hope the Yost ‘Robin’ book will mean he’s leaving X-Force?
I’m looking forward to the books but I am a little iffy on the idea of the Batman book being about Jason Todd. I was hoping we’d be done with his masquerade. There’s some great creative teams involved, so I would definitely like to see a resurgence in the Bat books.
I wonder what Tony Daniel is going to do next.
@ohcaroline only if that means that for some crazy reason Robert Kirkman decides to write X-Force for a while, which obviously isn’t going to happen. But imagine if it did, light hearted gratuitious violence with a measure of meaning. Just had an epiphany, this is why they call the site iFanboy. A boy can dream can’t he.
I will say this about the entire line: each book appears to have a distinct direction and feel that is mostly independent of the other books. While i may not buy them all, I think this is a great move for the line in general. I actually LIKE the idea that Winick’s book is about Grayson dealing with Todd (if that’s true) because that gives it a real focus that’s distinct from the other Batbooks.
This is, to me, where the RIP aftermath can really improve over the Knightfall/KnightQuest mega arcs of the 90’s.
@peterporker What? Final Crisis happened in the DCU between RIP and Battle for the Cowl? And so far as everyone knows Bruce is dead. Even if he’s alive in the past, he’s dead in the present.
@daccampo: That is interesting to think about. You would think DC would try and somehow make all of these titles connected to one another. But they seem to actually let the writers tell their story without hampering much on editorial. Good move by DC, IF….and a big IF….that is the case.
There’s also no reason for most of these titles to disappear when or if Bruce ever comes back. Other then the self-titled Batman; all of these can stay around if DC wants too. Why not keep Streets of Gotham, Sirens, Red Robin, and make a Batwoman title in the future?
Nice to see these all in one place with the images and stuff.
I’m interested in detective and streets but I recently realized I hate Batman. I feel guilty about it but I can’t help it. I do like Gotham. I’ll probably end up passin on all of these…
I’ve never read Batman in issues, always been a trade here or there. I have been wanting to try it out and now seems like a good time but my problem is Conor did so well talking about the books I want to go from no Batbooks to 6 of them in one month.
I’m already going back on my X-fanism promise to myself to never buy Grant Morrison again to try Batman & Robn but now have to find money for 6 new books. Thanks Conor! 🙂
Fuck. I guess I’m trying all of them. They all sound so good.
I hate Damien because I just don’t think Bruce Wayne should have a son. )ut of the blue. Just because Morrison wants him to have one. The character is too convenient, the sort of idea you think of, but then discard as being too heavy-handed.
Getting Sirens (Dini doing supervillainesses can’t be beat), Detective (JH Williams? Hell yea), and of course Batman & Robin (I’m still swooning over All Star Superman).
Anyone who thinks I’m inconsistent with both bashing Damien and buying B&R, well, I am complex and contain multitudes.
@Conor et. al.: it’s Damian, not Damien. And by the way, I love the little bastard.
Wait… Bruce has a son? Oh I hope I don’t regret jumping into Grant’s crazy and wacky world.
@Urthona: although Morrison created the character of Damian in his Batman run, I’ve never thought of him as being a character created "out of the blue," I thought of it rather as Morrison bringing Batman’s son– born to Bruce and Talia in Batman: Son of the Demon– back into continuity.
With Son of the Demon out there (since 1987, I believe?), it wasn’t really a case of Morrison simply saying, "you know what would be cool? If Batman and Talia had a son." It was already out there.
In that respect, it seemed quite consistent with the rest of Morrison’s Batman run– dusting off old concepts in the Batman mythos and bringing them into the current storyline.
@Jim Yeah, thanks for sorting that. I don’t know where people get this idea that Morrison invented the character out of the air.
And just like that 4 new books are added to my pull list each month, the other two I’m already reading. This is indeed a fantastic time to be a Batfan. Obviously my most anticipated is the Morrison/Quietly book, but I’m also super excited to see what another street level Gotham cop-esque book can do. I’m sure it’ll be no Gotham Central, but it could at least have a similar vibe, and I’d be ok with that.
I’m on for all six. I’m excited to see Bagley on Batman, why was that left out, but the disdain for Benes doing one issue in the article?
@Urthona & Jediaxle: Just to back up what Jim said, you can’t blame Batman’s son on Morrison. He was introduced in SON OF THE DEMON. We talked about it in this show:
http://www.ifanboy.com/podcasts/video/ifanboy_-_episode__79_-__the_top_5_batman_stories___that_aren_t_the_dark_knight_returns__year_one_or_arkham_asylum_
@jstump: Bagley’s not drawing the initial issue. This article was about the initial issues. That’s why there was a number next to every title, and not just the names.
Isn’t Damians paternity still in question though?
I remember Tim Drake asking Alfred about it and him saying that they would find out eventually.
@Conor: Ah well played good sir.
Ergh. This article (along with JHWilliam’s blog) has convinced me to pick up not one but two Bat-titles (the last Bat-book I bought was back in 2000) and tradewait Dini’s stuff. And now I’m not on speaking terms with my wallet anymore. Ergh.
Well, i’m going to try out all of them for the first issue, probably won’t continue on all 6 but with so many great ideas, characters, creators i’m sure at least a couple will gain a perch on my pull list. If i had to guess? B&R and Streets of Gotham. Maybe Detective depending on how much page-time Renee gets.
Yost is a writer on X-Force and some other stuff, and ive found his stuff to be very enjoyable. im looking foreward to all six
I haven’t read a bat book in years. When I saw that greg F’N Rucka was writing Detective, i added it to my pull list. That kind of snowballed into me getting all six of these books lol. It looks like a great jumping on point. i’m excited for this stuff and look forward to reading it.
I think I’ll end up getting a lot of these. Oh, and I know I only mentioned it before, but here’s what Mike Marts had to say about the comparison of GC and SoG.
Marts: He’s more than that in Streets of Gotham. Other people have asked this question, and I think it’s different than Gotham Central because the focus of this book is on Batman. The Gotham City Police Department does show up and play a role in the book, but they’re not main characters. The main character is Batman.
In Streets of Gotham, Batman is still very much the main protagonist. The title of it is Batman: Streets of Gotham, and we’re treating this as more or less a new Batman monthly series. He’ll still be the main character in this. The difference in Streets of Gotham is that these are Batman stories told through the point of view of other characters in Gotham City. So it could be Commissioner Gordon telling the story, it could be a villain, or it could be a supporting character telling the story.
—So this will be an interesting Dini experiment, I guess.
I’ll be pickin up Batman and Robin for sure (here’s hoping for no delays) and the fact that Greg Rucka will be on detective comics soon is awesome. But im feeling kind of indifferent to Red Robin, and the cover art for the first issue is really off-putting. But never judge a book right…..so maybe i should try it out then. decisions decisions.
Great primer for what should be an interesting era. I’m on board for all six titles for now. I’m not always Winick’s greatest fan but I’m willing to give him a chance with Batman as his previous run has some good points. Unfortunately, I didn’t know about the Jason Todd thing til now, and that has me worried, can’t we just beat him to death with the Joker’s crowbar again?? Everything else has me excited, especially this weeks release. I’m a big Batfan and there’s potentially some really interesting stuff here…
Dunno if I’m all that interested in Batwoman, but the art in Detective looks amazing, so I’m giving that and B&R a go. The rest will be wait and see.
As a longtime Batfan, I’ll be reading all of these. For anyone new to Gotham, probably not the best time to jump on board if you’re expecting Bruce. But then again, it could be a good time if you wanna start fresh w/ some new bat-titles. Either way, I’ll be along for the ride. Hopefully it’s a great story. What more can we ask for?
Looking for Bruce? See "Batman Confidential
Btw, thanks for the rundown Conor. Can always count on you to represent the Bat in the show and here on the boards!
@Conor: Thanks for an excellent synopsis of the Batbooks. I really enjoyed Andreyko’s Manhunter, and that backup sold me on getting Streets of Gotham. I fear moving Kate to Gotham will nullify the hard work Marc did building her fantastic supporting cast, though.
@Jimski: Yeah, Gotham Central is dead, and it ain’t coming back. But we can still read the series, can’t we? Try to cleanse your mind of the CriSpectre. It’ll all be okay.
I’m on board for three of these. But if Morrison and Quitely don’t knock my socks off immediately, B&R will be history. I dropped and resumed Batman twice during Morrison’s brief run, which indicates one of two things: The book was wildly uneven, or I am a fickle bastard.
Rucka, Williams, and Hamner on Batwoman and the Question? Most exciting; it’s like Didio can read my mind.
Streets of Gotham should be a keeper. Dini and Nguyen with more done-in-one stories a la Detective’s last incarnation, plus the underrated Manhunter by Andreyko? Bring it.
OK. Just read Batman and Robin, and I am in for at least the first arc. It didnt have bat-mite, a psychedelic Batman. or 40 year old continuity references, and I like this NEW DIRECTION!
Bat Cave, Cool new Batmobile, sane Batman, Robin, Alfred, a creepy bad guy. Whod’ve thought this would be in a Batman title?
@Unoob I hate to ruin it for you, but Morrison’s Batman style (and admittedly the style he’s using here) is directly based off of his love for the Batman TV show of 40 years ago. It popped up several times in his Bruce run, specifically in the flash back issues before Final Crisis, but it definitely has a bit of that feel. As well, the Batmobile seen here is definitely inspired by the iconic 60s red/black Batmobile.
@PraxJarvis
I partially said what I did with tongue planted firmly in cheek.
im gonna do all of them and see what happens. i have had no problem with any of these writers or artists. i will give them a couple issues.
i am gonna stick with batman and robin, red robin, and streets of gotham. as for the others im just gonna attempt them all
Only Batman and Robin and Detective interest me. The rest seem to range from stupid to downright offensive
I’m a huge Tim Drake Wayne fan. I’ve been following him since the beginning. His transition in the past few years has been incredible. There is only so much death (in such a short time span) someone can take before they break:
Several girlfriends (some of which have returned from the dead in various forms)
Impulse (best friend)
Superboy (other best friend)
Mother (while he was training to become Robin)
Father (Killed by Captain Boomerang cause villain knew Tim was Robin)
Adoptive Father (Bruce Wayne)
Not to mention that his adoptive brother (Jason Todd) and adoptive sister (Cassandra Cain), along with the other newest sibling (Damian) tried to kill him several times.
The character has become increasingly more like Bruce (in the darkness character trait) than any other character. Bruce and Alfred both agreed that Tim was smarter than themselves. His fighting ability has improved greatly over the last two years. I’m not sure about the creative team, but I’m all aboard this book.
@MastaP: I’m curious as to what you find to be offensive.
I’ve got no cash at all and want to pick up Batman and RR next week. Ugh. I really want all six but I decided to cut Streets because I don’t know who Manhunter is so screw paying an extra dollar. As opposed to Detective which I’ll happily pay $4 for because I know and love The Question. I’m sure RR will be good as Yost’s record is very solid (lot of TV work). I want Sirens because it’s such a good fit for it’s creative team. And I think Batman will be very solid. I don’t think it’ll be groundbreaking, but I think it’ll be the perfect alternative for those who want the gritty Batman.
Just for fun, I’m going to rank them in order of excitement.
1. Detective Comics (each JH Williams cover has me jizzing in my pants)
2. Batman and Robin
3. Gotham City Sirens
4. Batman
5. Red Robin
6. Gotham City Streets
@ miyamotofreak: To be honest, I’m most excited about about GC Sirens and GC Streets cuz I love Dini’s work on Detective so much, especially Heart Of Hush. He totally rescued the book! I didn’t know that one of them is gonna cost an extra dollar though. Is this back story even take place in Gotham?
Sorry I missed your IM, I was out cold until 4:00AM. I have strange hours of operation.