I’m coming into this with very little knowledge of any recent Batman plot points, characters, and story arcs so perhaps my view is naive - but I thought this was excellent!

I was somewhat familiar with the whole Court of Owls premise from the TV show Gotham, but I think it’s all done much better here. It’s unsettling to see how badly Batman is roughed up (physically and mentally) by them in their underground layer, and the fact that it’s only going to get worse is blowing my mind. What a great cliffhanger ending for this first volume!

The art is also detailed and brutal, and does some fun things with layouts and panel formats. I tore through these first few issues in a single sitting, and I’m already reserving the next few from the library. Great stuff! ( )

The artwork was great in this, and I liked the interaction between Bruce and Dick. Plus, is it weird if I say that comic book Bruce Wayne is divinely handsome? Of course it is. Forget I said it.
But the court of owls was a little too mwa-ha-ha-ha-ha for me, so I'm undecided about continuing this arc. ( )

Enjoyed except when Batman punched Robin. That pissed me off. ( )

This Batman tale brings a new enemy to the picture, one that's mysterious and dark, as well as threatening even to the caped crusader, which makes for a thrilling story with a bunch of bloody and dirty action. ( )

Great start to the new comic, but the story arc isn't finished in this volume. ( )