The Batmen and Women of the New 52: Year One

The New 52

In September 2011, DC comics underwent a massive relaunch, collecting and renumbering 52 of their best, brightest and most beloved titles. Many of these 52 titles feature Bruce Wayne, Batman and his many, many allies. This month marks issue twelve for each of DC's 52 titles, meaning that a year has passed since the #1s made their debut. By the end of August, all the #12s will be on the stands, but at this point in writing, only a few of the twelve Batman titles have hit the shelves. This post will aim to give an overview in Batman: Year One of the New 52, based on my personal opinions and beliefs. There are a lot of Batman books that come out every month, and I'm hoping that this blog can help you figure out which one or ones are right for you. Or if you're like most people and haven't been in a comic book store yet this year, maybe this post will spark your interest in a particular title and convert you.

Pictured above are the covers from each of the #1 issues. In order from right to left: (top) Batman, Batgirl, Batman Incorporated, Batman & Robin, Batman: The Dark Knight, Batwing, (bottom) Batwoman, Birds of Prey, Catwoman, Detective Comics, Nightwing and Red Hood and the Outlaws

Must Read Titles

Batman

If there was one thing that fans got from Batman comics this year, it's that you don't mess with the Court of Owls. The first major crossover of the New 52 took its roots in the early issues of Batman and provided an action packed story arc within Batman's own pages, while the Court spread its mayhem through the #8 and #9 issues in many of the other titles occurring on the streets of Gotham City. This crossover culminated in the "Night of the Owls," and resulted in some of the best action I had yet seen from the New 52. The Court of Owls are a crime syndicate dating back to at least the 17th century, the members of which use their high stations in society to manipulate the city to their liking. When the city grows into a form that the Court deems unfit, they unleash their army of nearly-unkillable assassins upon the city to kill a long list of public officials and top-players in Gotham City. If you encountered the Court of Owls in one or two of your other favorite Batman-themed titles and wondered what their story was all about, I highly recommend that you go back and read Batman 1-11 to get the whole picture behind the dastardly deeds of the Court of Owls.
#12 focused on Harper Row, a young civil electrician who has decided that it's her fate to aid the Batman after he saved her and her homosexual brother from a violent hate-fueled mugging. I'm hoping Scott Snyder has big plans for Row, because I've already taken a heavy liking to her and I can't wait to see the sparks fly when she meets Damian.
In September, the #0 issues will premier, giving us a new perspective on Batman's early days of crime fighting. Then after that, the Joker is back in Gotham in #13. 

Batman Incorporated

Batman Inc. was part of the second wave of DC's New 52. Some titles get cancelled for various reasons, and to keep the title count at an even 52, titles have to get added every now and then. So even though Batman Inc. is only coming up on issue #3, the awesomeness that occurred in the first two issues of vol. 2 have at least a year's worth of amazing story, written by the one and only Grant Morrison. Morrison is my favorite writer, and his traditional slow-burning story style pays off in this series. He's combing the back catalogs of old Batman characters who deserve to see the light of day again, and is using their unique quirks to carve a masterful story behind Batman's worldwide crime-fighting squad. Batman Inc. made headlines in July when DC comics and the creative team behind the title decided in the last minute to pull it from the shelves due to some disturbing imagery that related too closely to the shooting that occurred in Colorado the weekend before issue #3 was supposed to hit comic stores. Morrison is known for pushing the envelope, but I hope that this doesn't affect the title negatively. There are many more positive qualities within the pages of Batman Inc. than there are offensive and negative images, and I know that fans of both Batman and Grant Morrison would say the same thing. Issue #3 hits the stores on August 22nd and then we'll see how this incident affected the title.

Batman & Robin

Batman & Robin focuses on the father-son relationship of Bruce and Damian Wayne, putting a personal touch on this most classic crime fighting duo. So not only does this comic tell an intriguing story of the home and office lives of these two dynamic characters, but it also fleshes out and enlivens the story of the caped crusader and the boy wonder. The first story arc, written by Peter Tomasi, focuses on a past ally whose father helped train Bruce Wayne in the deadly arts before he donned the cape and cowl. But this killer, calling himself "NoBody," because he wants to kill but desires no recognition for his acts, crosses a line that Batman cannot abide. But Damian believes that NoBody's methods are exactly what the duo needs to clean up the crime in Gotham. Trained as an assassin by his mother, Damian has killer instincts that NoBody takes advantage of when trying to coax him to the side of evil. Imagine a 10-year-old whose father denies him an ice cream cone, but a stranger offers a cone with three different flavors. It's not hard to believe that the 10-year-old would be eager to disobey his father and reach out for the ice cream offering. Now imagine that the ice cream symbolizes murderous methods and the 10-year-old is Damian Wayne, the son of a revenge seeking master assassin and the caped crusader himself, and you can easily see how this title keeps one on the edge of their seat. So Batman & Robin is well written and well drawn, but it stands as one of my personal favorite comics because it gives Damian more page time than any other title. Damian as Robin is my favorite character in the entire catalog of DC characters, and if you pick up Batman & Robin, you'll see why. In September's #0 issue, Tomasi will showcase Robin's origin, which promises to be an intriguing story whether you already know it or not.


Batwing

If you're like me, when you first saw Batwing on the rack, you didn't recognize him from his short debut in Batman Incorporated. Instead you just assumed Batman had a new black ally with a silly bat-themed name. Well, after picking it up, I discovered that not only is Batwing the first Batman of Africa, but also that this is one amazing comic book. David Zavimbe is an AIDS orphan and was a gifted child soldier, forced to fight and kill by a malevolent mercenary. He escapes and vows never to kill again and eventually becomes a police officer in the city of Tinasha, Democratic Republic of Congo. This book is one of my favorites because it shows a rare side of crime fighting and appropriately showcases the brutality of mercenary conflict in Africa with beautiful art. Batwing was imagined by Grant Morrison and first appeared in Batman Inc. #5, but Morrison got the idea from a one shot story in Batman #250 called "The Batman That Nobody Knows," as described in the bonus content in the back of the hardcover edition of Batman Inc. Vol 1. In this short story, Bruce Wayne takes a group of underprivileged youngsters on a camping trip, and the Batman becomes a topic of discussion. The three children begin to describe what they believe the Batman is really like. One child ultimately decides that Batman is "Muhammad Ali--Jim Brown--Shaft--an' Superfly all rolled into one!"  

Now that is a hero we can all believe in. And with a new design by Chris Burnham and Yanick Paquette, Batwing was ready for his own monthly series, one that I that hope will continue on for many years. Plus, in the first story arc, a Justice League-esque African super hero team emerges. I believe that "The Kingdom," as they are called deserve their own series one of these days. Though I can only hope.

Batwoman

Written and drawn by J.H. Williams, Batwoman has some of the most dazzling spreads in any book I've ever read. The art and panel work is reason enough to pick up this book every month, not to mention the fact that the story is killer too. This title stands out to me in particular because it shuns the tradition of having female characters appear in books for the sole purpose of romantic drama with the protagonist. Romance and relationship drama is a big part of the new Batwoman title, but because Kate Kane is a lesbian, it provides a new take on an old dish. The art, the action and the forward thinking are reasons enough to pick up this title, and I highly recommend that you do.

Must Read--Honorable Mentions
Red Hood and the Outlaws

I put this book in the honorable mention section because it's a book that I like for specific reasons, but I don't care enough to defend it tooth and nail to convince the naysayers otherwise. It has several problems, but I pick it up every month because Red Hood, or Jason Todd, is a former Robin, and all Robins keep a special place in my heart. His story of resurrection and his thirst for violent vengeance fascinates me. The outlaws, although they are never actually referred to as that are Princess Koriand'r, or Starfire (fans of the Teen Titans TV show should recognize her) and Roy Harper, or Arsenal, a wise cracking archery ace who is also a former Teen Titan. 

In the same way that Batwoman is forward thinking, Red Hood and the Outlaws reverts back to the oggling days of old--Starfire has been converted to a sex object, constantly sporting the most revealing of outfits and having intercourse with both her teammates within the first few issues (although finally settling on Harper). Although it can be argued that her alien socialization provides her with a more liberated take on sexuality, I still believe that she is portrayed as a too-perfect being who's sexually ready and willing at all times. Basically every comic fanboy's dream. Maybe subconsciously, that's really why I like reading it. Plus the art is great and the colors are awesome.

Catwoman

If you can get past the softcore porn and all the annoying quirks, Catwoman is actually an interesting title to read. The story is intriguing and the current villain is pretty disturbing, so this is one title that I pick up each month despite the embarrassment that it brings. So this title is not for everyone, and in a few months it might not even be fore me, so read this one with caution.

Read if you're bored

Nightwing

So far in the first 11 issues, Nightwing is an interesting read, sort of mediocre. Nightwing is Dick Grayson, who can boast that he's held the position of both Robin and Batman. The first story arc revisited the killer of Grayson's parents while the second story arc focuses on Dick fighting with a group of young adults in disguise who desire to be tomorrow's leaders. Nightwing is a good character, and a former Robin, but I think a change in writer is necessary in the next few months.

Batgirl

As comic books, Batgirl and Nightwing are almost identical, simply formatted for a different audience. I imagine that Batgirl is written for teenage to twenty-something girls and Nightwing is written for a similar age group for guys. Both Barbara Gordon and Dick Grayson are fast talking crime fighters who crack-wise page after page. Batgirl has been interesting so far, but because of how it's written, it's not for everyone. I like this title in particular because the brutal serial killer James Gordon Jr. made his debut in the New 52 on the pages of Batgirl, after he went to Arkham in the dark events of "The Black Mirror." So if you want to chose between Nightwing and  Batgirl, you have to pick up both and figure it out yourself. But personally, after one year, I pick Batgirl.

Birds of Prey

Birds of Prey is about a group of masked female adventurers who fight people, usually benefiting themselves in the aftermath. I use the term masked adventurer because they are not crime fighters in the same respect as Batman, Superman etc. They're wanted as criminals for crimes that they actually committed and many of them are not afraid to kill when necessary. The current Birds roster is composed of Black Canary, Starling, Katana, Poison Ivy and occasionally Batgirl joins the team when they decide to do good rather than evil. The book is entertaining--filled with action, violence and clever one-liners, but how long it will stay entertaining is another matter. Pick it up if you're a girl or if you like hot girls. 

Don't Bother

Detective Comics

I really wanted to like this title. It's a classic, plus it prominently features Batman! But the Dollmaker was the villain of the first story arc, and I couldn't stand it. He was all about capturing people, taking the body parts and putting them back together in unholy combinations. Normally this would sound pretty cool but the execution was all wrong. Then he faced off against the Penguin and boring results ensued. This is all on top of the fact that the Two-Face back up story that carried on for far too long wasn't good and had crummy art (40 page comics like Detective, Action and Justice League have back up stories in addition to the regular comic story line). But there is awesome news. #12 came out at the beginning of August and resolved the end of the current mediocre plot line in a surprisingly cool way, and the back up story began to answer the question "Why did the Joker cut his face off at the beginning?" Detective Comics is definitely on its way up, and even though in the past it's a title that I picked up reluctantly with low hopes, now I am on the edge of my seat waiting for #0 and #13.

tl;dr--START AT #12 AND BE HAPPY 

Batman: The Dark Knight

This one is irredeemable. The first arc was a sad attempt at trying to hype Bane in a book before The Dark Knight Rises hit theaters. It featured several prominent villains getting hold of Bane's Venom toxin and using it to mimic its affects on themselves. One of these villains was Clayface disguised as a jacked and shirtless Joker, a sight that I would have been much more comfortable avoiding. This book also suffers from being too all over the place. It tries to include a romantic relationship for Bruce Wayne but can't focus enough for it to mean anything other than page-filling. The Flash and Poison Ivy show up briefly, but their appearances have little consequence as well. There is a really peculiar Alice in Wonderland themed issue, and as a fan of the Disney movie, I can't say that I particularly enjoyed TDK's rendition. Avoid this book.