joshgauthier's review against another edition
4.0
After King's quieter thematic and character work, Tynion kicks things off with a bang. Holding to direct continuity, Bruce Wayne is reckoning with his approach to helping Gotham, wondering if there might be a better way to build a future. But when a figure of rumors and myth emerges from the shadows with a plan to target the city, old players will be brought back onto the board.
It's the scheme they had believed dead, now playing out with a trail of blood and bodies in its wake. Lovers, allies, and enemies must pick sides as Dark Designs years in the making push everyone to the limits of their abilities and beyond. Batman has scarcely had time to recover from the cost of his last fight as this new enemy works to dismantle Batman and Gotham piece by piece. The wounded Dark Knight may not be up to the task, and that's before even darker secrets come to light.
With action-packed writing and bold art, Tynion, March, and the rest of the team kick off a bold new chapter of the Batman saga.
It's the scheme they had believed dead, now playing out with a trail of blood and bodies in its wake. Lovers, allies, and enemies must pick sides as Dark Designs years in the making push everyone to the limits of their abilities and beyond. Batman has scarcely had time to recover from the cost of his last fight as this new enemy works to dismantle Batman and Gotham piece by piece. The wounded Dark Knight may not be up to the task, and that's before even darker secrets come to light.
With action-packed writing and bold art, Tynion, March, and the rest of the team kick off a bold new chapter of the Batman saga.
jnaishyyy's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
lspishock's review against another edition
4.0
Reminds me a bit of “Hush” but weaker. There was still enough to be enjoyed though and I look forward to seeing what Tynion brings next to the characters.
ghill22's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
sajie87's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
kinghygelac's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
tearbear20's review against another edition
4.0
Assassins, Gotham, and Clowns! Oh my! This was such a great lead up to the Joker war! Gosh darn it I hate the Joker so much!
roseblight's review against another edition
3.0
Normally love Tynion but this first trade just didn't do it for me, especially after the incredible finale of King's run. In all honesty, the best part of this was a backup written by Dan Watters with artwork by John Paul Leon. I would read a Bat-Book written by Watters in a heartbeat.
anarglitch's review against another edition
4.0
It's hard to write well for long-running comics. It's Batman, you know, every story's been done, multiple times, in 50 alternate universes. That's why it's so exciting to see a writer actually pulling it off. Trying to go easy on the spoilers - this arc wears its themes on its sleeve (which helps it feel tight and consistent throughout), the premise for the villain is clever and feels new (not gonna say "is" 'cause I haven't read all of batman), Bruce is treated as an actual human being with emotions and goals outside of the mask, the new characters are fun and the old ones are used well (90% of the time). Oh, and the art is amazing. Jimenez is a god, duh. I don't think I'd ever read anything by Tynion, but I plan to fix that mistake soon. Really the only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is that the arc is ultimately a buildup to the next, and that makes the ending suffer a little, imo.
*Alright, now with spoilers*:
The second theme here is "escalation". Remember that Dark Knight line about how "we start carrying semi-automatics, they buy automatics" and so on? Yeah, here we have a Batman that has been through god knows how many years of that, and regrets it deeply. Here we have flashbacks to show how much the villains have changed, from young slick hotshots in flashy costumes ruling the underworld to the deformed monstrous caricatures most of them have become ('cept Selina, who must have the best skincare routine in Gotham). The point is clear, this escalation is unsustainable, and it won't stop until it swallows everything.
You might've noticed these themes are connected. The escalation happens because of competing designs. Reality isn't a singular vision, it's the messy result of multiple forces, each trying to enact their own.
Cue The Designer, a villain I can only describe as James Moriarty dressed like an 18th century version of Tomodachi from 20th Century Boys. Years ago, he sat with the first icons in bat's rogues gallery and tried to help each villain escalate their designs and become evolved versions of themselves before batman could ever hope to catch up. That way they could *win*. After sitting with the Joker, however, he realizes the Joker doesn't wanna win: He wants the escalation to continue forever (Which, by the way, is one of my favorite readings on his character).
This volume exists to introduce these themes - competing designs and escalation. These themes extend into the Joker War (the following arc) and haven't yet been concluded, so it'd be unfair to demand answers, but it was a really interesting way to introduce them. The concept of the designer is my favorite bit in this whole thing, not gonna lie.
The ending is what's a little disappointing for me. We found out that, while there really was an original designer, the one who had "returned" was really just the joker using him as a remote-control corpse or something. I can only hope the real designer comes back eventually. Again, the story is a lead-up to Joker War, and it does make thematic sense when you realize the intention was to contrast the designer with the joker all along: Both were the arch-nemeses of the greatest detective of their time, and - I'm pretty embarrassed of how long it took me to make that connection, honestly - both have names of adjectives derived from verbs: A design versus a joke. One has a goal to achieve, the other just wants to have fun. The latter doesn't want the joke to end - he's the joker, after all, not the-- oh.
Oh, I get it.
Right, Punchline. The newest girl to make the mistake of following the joker. First off, perfect name. She's been getting a lot of love and a lot of hate. Of course she is. She's portrayed as the 2019/2020 joker fan, romanticizing a self-serving serial killer as a symbol of revolution against an unjust society. But the comic doesn't make fun of her, the core of her ideology - that society is messed up and something must be done about it - is real, it's just being projected onto an abusive manipulator.
IMO, she was the missing piece. The fan romanticization of Harley and Joker was a product of the Bonnie & Clyde fantasy, the criminal with the heart of gold. A PSA for everyone who thought that was cute and used it to justify abuse. But times changed, and the image of Joker has recently become associated with social criticism. And there's a right way to do it, he's a product of his society, of course, but that doesn't mean validation. She uses it to justify his senseless violence, stuffing his actions with grand statements like a shooter's manifesto. Joke's on her, of course. He doesn't believe any of it. He's just setting up the chaos, she's the one giving it a punchline.
Ultimately, she sees the joker as a designer.
See what I mean about thematic consistency? Even if there are some surface-level story beats I don't love, this is still so disarmingly thoughtful.
If you're the type to overthink shit for days, give this a read. You'll like it.
*Alright, now with spoilers*:
Spoiler
The word of the day is "design". Specifically, how your design for yourself and for your community are inherently connected, maybe even the same. Bruce has a vision for the future, for himself, for Batman, for Gotham; these are all codependent to a point they might as well be the one. They can't exist without each other. His villains also have their designs - for their heists and games, which would also require that they change themselves to become the people capable of accomplishing them, and change the city as a result. Once again, your vision for who you wanna be, what you wanna do and where you wanna live can't be separated.The second theme here is "escalation". Remember that Dark Knight line about how "we start carrying semi-automatics, they buy automatics" and so on? Yeah, here we have a Batman that has been through god knows how many years of that, and regrets it deeply. Here we have flashbacks to show how much the villains have changed, from young slick hotshots in flashy costumes ruling the underworld to the deformed monstrous caricatures most of them have become ('cept Selina, who must have the best skincare routine in Gotham). The point is clear, this escalation is unsustainable, and it won't stop until it swallows everything.
You might've noticed these themes are connected. The escalation happens because of competing designs. Reality isn't a singular vision, it's the messy result of multiple forces, each trying to enact their own.
Cue The Designer, a villain I can only describe as James Moriarty dressed like an 18th century version of Tomodachi from 20th Century Boys. Years ago, he sat with the first icons in bat's rogues gallery and tried to help each villain escalate their designs and become evolved versions of themselves before batman could ever hope to catch up. That way they could *win*. After sitting with the Joker, however, he realizes the Joker doesn't wanna win: He wants the escalation to continue forever (Which, by the way, is one of my favorite readings on his character).
This volume exists to introduce these themes - competing designs and escalation. These themes extend into the Joker War (the following arc) and haven't yet been concluded, so it'd be unfair to demand answers, but it was a really interesting way to introduce them. The concept of the designer is my favorite bit in this whole thing, not gonna lie.
The ending is what's a little disappointing for me. We found out that, while there really was an original designer, the one who had "returned" was really just the joker using him as a remote-control corpse or something. I can only hope the real designer comes back eventually. Again, the story is a lead-up to Joker War, and it does make thematic sense when you realize the intention was to contrast the designer with the joker all along: Both were the arch-nemeses of the greatest detective of their time, and - I'm pretty embarrassed of how long it took me to make that connection, honestly - both have names of adjectives derived from verbs: A design versus a joke. One has a goal to achieve, the other just wants to have fun. The latter doesn't want the joke to end - he's the joker, after all, not the-- oh.
Oh, I get it.
Right, Punchline. The newest girl to make the mistake of following the joker. First off, perfect name. She's been getting a lot of love and a lot of hate. Of course she is. She's portrayed as the 2019/2020 joker fan, romanticizing a self-serving serial killer as a symbol of revolution against an unjust society. But the comic doesn't make fun of her, the core of her ideology - that society is messed up and something must be done about it - is real, it's just being projected onto an abusive manipulator.
IMO, she was the missing piece. The fan romanticization of Harley and Joker was a product of the Bonnie & Clyde fantasy, the criminal with the heart of gold. A PSA for everyone who thought that was cute and used it to justify abuse. But times changed, and the image of Joker has recently become associated with social criticism. And there's a right way to do it, he's a product of his society, of course, but that doesn't mean validation. She uses it to justify his senseless violence, stuffing his actions with grand statements like a shooter's manifesto. Joke's on her, of course. He doesn't believe any of it. He's just setting up the chaos, she's the one giving it a punchline.
Ultimately, she sees the joker as a designer.
See what I mean about thematic consistency? Even if there are some surface-level story beats I don't love, this is still so disarmingly thoughtful.
If you're the type to overthink shit for days, give this a read. You'll like it.