Written by Chip Zdarsky, Stephanie Phillips,
Brandon Thomas, Matthew Rosenberg
Art by Eddy Barrows, Laura Braga,
Max Dunbar, Ryan Benjamin Marcus To
Published by DC Comics
This is a new Batman title that is more in the lines of an anthology book. But that is perfectly fine by me. There are some very good creators in this title.
First and foremost, there is the beginning of a four part Red Hood and Batman story written by none other than the incredible Chip Zdarsky.
We get to see the Red Hood tracking down and beating up a few thugs at the beginning of this issue.
He is looking for information. The information that he receives opens up a can of worms that he wasn’t expecting.
It is a solid start to this story.
From there, Batman hops on the same trail as the Red Hood. You just know that the two of them are going to eventually collide! Especially after that explosive ending of this story that leaves us on a cliffhanger. This story is good and features some great art by Eddy Barrows.
Writer Stephanie Phillips and artist Laura Braga tackle a Harley Quinn story next. It is good and shows a different side to her relationship with Poison Ivy. I loved this story and the art by Braga is pretty damn great. It really does take a few chances but they pay off well.
There is an Outsiders story that was basically one big action sequence. But it’s the first part of a longer story and it is intriguing enough. This one is written by Brandon Thomas and drawn by Max Dunbar. I will be interested to see where this goes from here.
Finally, we get the start of a new Grifter story. Man, DC is really trying to streamline him into their universe. It is well written by Matthew Rosenberg at least. The art by Ryan Benjamin is great too here and it is a much deeper story here than I originally thought it might be. This should be a good read, if this first chapter is any indication.
The whole book is actually very good and each story works. If they can keep the quality high like this, this book may be one of the better releases of the year.
RATING: A
