It has now been exactly one year since the post-Battle for the Cowl relaunch of the Batman titles under the Batman: Reborn banner. Books were cancelled, new books were launched, and previously existing books were dramatically changed in the aftermath of Batman R.I.P. Follow the jump for my personal opinions on the best and worst title of the new status quo, and be sure to share your own rankings.
Obviously this is no surprise from me. I grew up a Batman fan and was brought back into comics by reading Grant Morrison, so this has always been at the top of my pull every week it has come out. The twists and turns of Morrison’s continued work on Batman has been an absolute treat for yours truly, but I can see why some might not be interested. Combine Morrison’s writing with two astounding artists (and two not-bad artists), and I really can’t give this any other spot but #1. I would certainly say that there are some comics out there that are as good or better (The Unwritten being the latter), but none of them have really caused me to go back and scrutinize older issues to work out the current mystery as thoroughly as Morrison has in this one.
#2 – Detective Comics
Had Greg Rucka and J.H. Williams III stayed on this title the whole way through, Detective Comics could have posed some tough competition for the number one spot. Not only was the main feature starring Batwoman one of the best things DC published at the time, The Question co-feature was easily the best of the co-features (though I may just be saying this because I love Renee Montoya’s character). Rucka and Williams are almost always impressive in their respective tasks of writing and art, but their separate talents were amplified even more by their incredible synchronization within the pages of Detective Comics. After losing Williams for the also-talented Jock, Rucka soon followed suit, leaving relative newcomer David Hine to continue his own Arkham story through the pages of Detective. While Hine’s saga has certainly been interesting, it’s hard to follow a name like Rucka.
#3 – Red Robin
This was one title that took a lot of people by surprise, myself included. Having been familiar with Christopher Yost through his work on Marvel’s various X-titles, I figured I would check this new book out, and I was hooked immediately following. As Yost has written very little for DC, this was my first exposure to him playing on the other side of the fence, and I was more than pleased. Yost captured the voice of each of the characters he used perfectly, which is quite impressive considering he hadn’t worked with any of them before (at least, as far as I can tell). Under Yost’s writing Red Robin was easily one of the best titles for good ol’ superheroic action, and when the incredible Marcus To joined him on pencils the series only got better. Unfortunately, this week marks the first issue without Yost, who has been replaced by Fabian Nicieza. I haven’t been a fan of Nicieza’s most recent DC work, but I’ll stick around temporarily for the outstanding pencils of To.
#4 – Streets of Gotham
Don’t take my previous harsh review of Streets of Gotham the wrong way, because I love Paul Dini. His work on Batman: The Animated Series and (years later) Detective Comics showed off his ability to reinterpret characters in fun and interesting ways. Within Streets of Gotham I found all the great content I had come to know and love from Dini, and my enjoyment was further enhanced by the stellar artwork of Detective Comics-collaborator Dustin Nguyen. This past year the book gave us an interesting look into the minds of Tommy Elliot, a.k.a. Hush, Firefly and the deadly Zsasz. Now, if you read my review of the last issue, you probably know my only big complaint with this book: fill-in writers. Don’t get me wrong, Yost’s two-parter was great, but M.P. Benson’s unsolicited two-parter in the middle of the Zsasz story was…well, not very good. I want to keep reading this book, especially for Dini’s sequel to Heart of Hush, but I’m a bit wary to put it on pull when I might end up buying something I don’t want unintentionally. If Streets didn’t have this problem, it may have beaten out Red Robin for #3, but as is I’m going to have to leave it here.
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#5 – Gotham City Sirens
Is this an outstanding book? Well, I wouldn’t say that. Is it fun as all get out? Hell yes it is. I feel that, as a rule of thumb, the ever expanding Batman family should have one book (and only one) that’s more lighthearted and fun to read, and Sirens is a great example of how such a book should be done. Also written by Dini, who is no stranger to strong humor, the book has the feel of those not-quite-as-grim Animated Series episodes, keeping its lightness while still causing the reader to be interested in the characters. Plus, it has frequent guest appearances from the Riddler, whom no one writes better than Dini (in my opinion). What’s not to love?
#6 – Batman
Just out of curiosity, I picked up every first issue under the Batman: Reborn banner, including the first issue of Batman by Judd Winick, a writer whom I normally approach with caution. That first issue (#687), however, gave me higher hopes, as it easily balanced out the rather ho-hum Battle for the Cowl. Unfortunately my interest was not rewarded, as the rest of Winick’s arc was painfully dull. Following him was Tony Daniel, who continued to leave me irrevocably without interest. I wouldn’t say Daniel’s writing is horribly bad, per se, I just can never read it and feel the slightest bit piqued. I cared far more about the Black Mask mystery within the pages of other books, which is a shame considering Daniel was the guy who created the new Black Mask and was telling his story! I feel Dini should have just been transferred to this book whilst Winnick and Daniel could have been put on a brand new ongoing…to quickly be canceled.
#7 – Batgirl
I’ll admit: I’m a bit biased when it comes to this book. I vehemently dislike Stephanie Brown, and once I heard she was the new Batgirl I was a sad panda (and I’m not a Cassandra Cain fanboy at all). Bryan Miller’s method of making Stephanie appear more competent seems to rely on making veteran characters such as Dick Grayson (you know, Batman) appear completely inept. I understand that the book fulfills the niche needs of 1. being a female-centered book and 2. being more lighthearted than other Bat-titles, but Sirens fits both of those as well and is much better in my opinion (though Sirens definitely has a good deal of cheesecake). If you were glad that Stephanie was totally not dead as a result of War Crimes, then you’ll probably like this. Me? I’m staying away.
As I said (multiple times) within this article, these are just my opinions. Overall, I feel Reborn did a great job of revitalizing the Bat-books, though some books have had more success than others. Be sure to leave your personal rankings of the new ongoings in the comments. See you next year, same bat-time, same bat-channel!
