Some Bat Books in the NEW 52

The Dark Knight has a long and storied career in the history of comics. He's had numerous partners, faced thousands of villains and had a romance or two. He's been very much alive, kind of dead and thrown through adventures in the past, the present and the future, not to mention on different Earths and in different timelines. DC has now seen its' way to drop the legendary Batman into the world of the NEW 52. So here's some reviews of Bruce Wayne and some of his cohorts.

BATMAN #1 begins with Batman teaming up with the Joker, of all people, to combat a riot at Arkham Asylum. GREAT, GREAT splash page hits you right in the face featuring some of Bats' greatest villains. In actuality, it's former faithful ward Dick Grayson wearing an E.M.P. mask to turn him into the maniacal clown. Seems that someone inside Arkham has been playing outside of the rules and our dynamic detectives have been doing their own investigation.
 
Later we see the family Batman getting dressed up to go out to a Wayne Foundation black tie affair. Here they all are: Bruce, Dick, former Robin Tim Drake and current Robin and Bruce's son Damian. Bruce makes a lengthy speech and shows the crowd what the future Gotham will look like.Soon Batman is called away to join Harvey Bullock at a murder scene. Seems a John Doe has been turned into a human pin cushion by hitting him with throwing knives.On the wall of this dingy room is a message painted in linseed oil. When lit up, it blazes the phrase: BRUCE WAYNE WILL DIE TOMORROW. A little NA under the victim's fingernails comes back as a match to...Dick Grayson.
 
Nice little cliffhanger here. All in all, not much has changed in the world of Batman. This NEW 52 version is a little younger, but most of the continuity remains the same. Scott Snyder's story is nicely done, with no major plot drops except how Dick Grayson is involved in the murder of someone. Greg Capullo's art: hey-it's Greg Capullo. It's great.
 

Yeah, this cornerstone of the DC Universe continues to entertain. Be interesting to see how the Dark Knight Detective figures this one out.
 
BTW: the mysterious hooded woman appears in the first panel of the first page, huddled around some homeless folks who are hovering around a burning trash can.
 
BATMAN AND ROBIN, until this new continuity, was the team of Dick Grayson and Damian Wayne. But now that Dick is Nightwing again(that review is also included in this post.), it's father and son now. The book begins with an ally of "The Bat" being killed by a mysterious assailant. Next, it's a lengthy father and son chat on the anniversary of Bruce's parent's wedding anniversary. They head to Gotham University where three guys by the name of Robbie, Reggie and Ronnie are trying to drain irradiated fuel at the Research Reactor. The Dynamic Duo break it up but Robin has a few different ideas of justice and his actions save the day but lead to the death of the trio.

Back in Moscow, the mysterious assailant from the beginning of the tale shows up again, dropping his captors into what could be a vat of acid. Next on his/her list: The Bat and his son.
 

Cool and creepy is the best way to describe this one. The bantering between Bruce and Damian is fun and works much better than the Dick/Damian pairing. The idea of this being father and son just makes it work that much better. Nice story from Peter J. Tomasi and equally detailed artwork from Patrick Gleason. This book is a keeper. It's fun, funny and I really like the mysterious villain plotline.
 
BTW: the mysterious hooded woman appears along poolside at Gotham University.
 
BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT is David Finch and Paul Jenkins place in the Bat Universe. Following the previous incarnation, they hit the ground running. Literally as the plot moves at the speed of light. In a nutshell, Bruce gets quizzed at a fund raiser by a Gotham Police Internal Affairs Officer who seems to think that Wayne is funding a certain bat wearing vigilante. In short order, we get exposed to a very violent and bloody breakout at Arkham Asylum and Bats runs into a highly mutated Two-Face. That's it...
 

Finch' artwork is beautiful, but the story is a little lacking in the plot department. In fact, it's almost non-existent. You've seen how short my synopsis is. Well, with the exception of meeting the woman hosting the fundraiser and a little small talk between them, that's all there is. I'll see how issue #2 is but, without a payoff soon, I'll be dropping this title. Give me some meat, guys! Please!
 
BTW: the mysterious hooded woman appears at the front gates of Arkham Asylum during the breakout.
 
One of Batman's former partners was Jason Todd. Hey was a punk, the readers voted to kill him and the Joker did. Unfortunately, he didn't do a very good job, as Jason Todd came back to life with the help of a Lazarus Pit. Now he's a vigilante with his own way of doing things. And he's getting help in the form of the partner formerly known as Speedy and Starfire: the former Teen Titan. But these three aren't much like you remember them. This is RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS.
 
Roy Harper is stuck in Qurac where he showed up to help the people overthrow their dictator. Red Hood is masquerading as a priest and manages to bust Roy out. Not without some help, as Starfire shows up to take down the tanks barring their full escape. And she apparently has "been" with Jason, if you get that drift.
 
Some time later, three weeks to be exact, the trio are relaxing on St. Martinique. Jason gets visited by Essence who informs him of an appearance by The Untitled, which leads Jason to a new mission. While this is going on, Starfire asks Roy if he wants to have sex with her. What? Really? Okay...check the cover...nope: it's not Teen+. Wow...okay, anyway, Roy obliges as he learns that "love has nothing to do with" making love to her. Jason ends up in the Well of the All Caste in the Himalayas and in a world of trouble.
 
Okay, we have a Scott Lobdell book with some action, some innuendos and a whole bunch of mature themes. I like it! No really: if I wanted cheap titillation, I could buy an Avatar title. No, this is a fun little ride with. And Kenneth Rocafort's art is neither grating or great and reminds me of early Whilce Portacio...although the pin-up of Starfire in the tropics is pretty amazing stuff! 
 

There are worse books out in the NEW 52 than this one. I'll give it a few and see where it goes from here.
 
BTW: the mysterious hooded woman appears in the top panel of the scene in Chicago, where someone realizes a Tamaranean has appeared on Earth.
 
And then there's the original Boy Wonder, back in his NIGHTWING persona, although his costume is pretty ugly. Give us back the classic costume instead of this slightly bastardized Robin look.Anyway, our boy Dick Grayson discovers that Haly Circus is in town and of course he wants to check in on old friends. And it's not long before he's renewed old friendships, including one of the female persuasion. he even takes a turn on the trapeze and purposely screws up. hey-the guy has a cover to keep. Then we get some claw bearing costumed Wolverine wanna-be trying to kill Grayson, who he claims to the "fiercest killer" in Gotham. Really? News to me and apparently Nightwing, who looks to be on the receiving end of those claws.
 

Quick little tale with a lot of potential. Putting Grayson back to his roots is a cool concept and could be a load of fun. Let's see where issue #2 goes. Kyle Higgins crafts a nice tale here and Eddy Barrows artwork is nice in an Alan Davis sort of style. It reads well, looks great and could really be a fun ride. But lose the ugly costume!
 
BTW: the mysterious hooded woman appears on page 12, in the stands at Haly's Circus.