Though the first issue got off to a rocky start, Kevin Smith writes a great Batman universe that’s dead in the middle between Paul Dini’s well scripted battles and one-liners, and Frank Miller’s crazies and deviants and grittyness. Though some of the banter and a few of the thoughtboxes read a bit more like somebody’s fanfiction, he does understand not just the basic bio of every character he’s using, but how they relate to one another.

I guess to put it simply, in motion this could be mistaken as an Adult Swim styled episode of the animated show, even Bats and Joker probably sound best if you read them as Conroy and Hamill in your head. It’s a Batman story for adults that respects continuity and isn’t beating you over the head with how 17+ it is.