Batman Vol. 1: I Am Gotham (Rebirth)

This was probably my first complete Batman story read, and it was great. I didn't find anything to complain about. Wow. I've never had a comic impact my emotions in such a way. Touching and terrifying and badass.

On one hand, the new Batman title should not have to be judged against the prior, universally beloved duo of Snyder and Capullo. However, as Rebirth is not a strict reboot per-se, King and Finch have been passed the torch of the former team, and are handling storylines Snyder set up. So, while I will try to avoid comparison, some may pop up here and there.The writing is more than adequate. King writes Batman both as familiar and as something different. This book reads like a Batman comic. It's dark, has hints of mystery, explosive action, and yet keeps itself grounded enough to feel somewhat plausible (in terms of prior Batman adventures, of course). King doesn't make Batman do or say anything that felt totally unnatural to the character. Despite the nature of Gotham itself as somewhat of a dark, dirty city, the story is not overbearingly grim or opaque. There is a bit of levity, sarcasm, and heart inserted throughout the entire arc. King drops several hints to old Batman mythos that are unquestionably a wink to the audience, but not in a pandering way. King definitely focuses on Duke Thomas more than any other secondary Bat-Family member, but not in a tiring, unnecessary way as I found Snyder doing with Harper Row. 'Mr. Thomas' is a welcome addition to the Batman mythos, combing elements of the Pre-New 52! Oracle and the archetypical Robin. However, He's something else entirely, which he was meant to be in the first place. Snyder may have laid the groundwork, but King has brought this concept to fruition.The art is, similarly, excellent. Admittedly, I've never been a huge David Finch fan, and so I was a bit disappointed when he was announced as the new lead Bat-artist. Mikel Janin was the inaugural artist, and without repeating too much from the Epilogue review, his work is outstanding, and I was hungry for more afterwards. Unfortunately, that was his sole performance in this volume, which was most disappointing. I was pleasantly surprised with Finch's work. He's very talented, and I've never questioned that. It is his overly muscular and nigh-pornography depicted women in the past that kind off bugged me. However, he seems to have toned down a bit, and captures the Dark Knight's essence. Ivan Reis pencils the final issue, and I can throw no rocks at his work.To conclude, this is a fine collection. I held off on the 5-stars for a couple reasons, which all added up to a 1-star demotion. The timeline is a bit confusing here. The main antagonists/new protagonists, Gotham Boy and Girl, are inspired by Batman, shown in his Rebirth costume, then a few years later return to fight alongside Batman, still in his Rebirth suit. This is a minute and frankly nerdy grumble, but simple continuity checks can be distracting to the reader. It's not significant to the story, but it did pull me out of it, especially since the prior New 52 suit is seen, showing prior continuity is not being ignored. For some reason, the art is not doing it for me the same as Capullo's. It's not a case of missing the talent and not wanting to move on, it's hard to explain, but there's a je-ne-sais-quoi effect in Capullo's Dark Knight that Finch's is missing. Still, his pencils are excellent, and his work is consistent throughout the entire volume. This is an easy recommendation.

What a great story. Tom King is a brilliant writer and he understands batman's crusade. This story dwells on Batman's Psychology and methods. Batman wanted to have a hero to replace him that could not get hurt, he thought about this for a while. His thoughts became real with Gotham and Gotham Girl. He felt safe but nothing lasts in Gotham. Batman and some great guest stars will have their hands full. I guarantee you will love this story if you love Batman.

While I typically only read self contained comic stories, this first volume of Batman changed that. DC's Rebirth initiative stirred up a lot of excitement in the comics industry, and it because of this Geoff Johns lead reboot of sorts that I decided to pick this up. This title helmed by writer Tom King is a great introduction to the character of Batman. In this volume King gives readers a look into the psyche of Bruce Wayne, and is a love letter to the character in general. It has some brilliant homages, and introduces some interesting new characters. It goes into why Bruce does what he does, and explore what it means to be powerless in a super powered world. King introduces some new members to the Bat-family, and ends this first arch on a bit of a cliffhanger and I can't wait to read more.

Haven’t read or even know about this run. Have read some other Tom Kings books and have really enjoyed them tremendously. David Finich on art figured what do I have to lose. Over all the first volume was fun and bombastic Batman fun.

Tom King's run of Batman (as part of the Rebirth DC reboot) is already turning into one of the most notable Batman arcs in the character's history. King is a skilled writer who excels at focusing on the emotional center of his characters. Whereas Grant Morrison's Batman was an academic endeavor, more about obscure references and literary puzzles, and Snyder's was often about spectacle and action, King's take on Batman is much more of a character study of why, how, and to what extent Batman suffers.I say all of that as a preface, however, because this first volume is not a great start to King's work, or even representative of the rest of the run. Here, King takes a bit of time to reintroduce Batman, Gotham, and some of his villains (with an interesting new take on Calendar Man for example). But the story really kicks off when Batman attempts to save a crashing plane and, fully expecting to die in the attempt, is rescued by two superheroes, Gotham and Gotham Girl. The volume is in many ways about Batman having hope for a release from his existence, whether that be through death, or through a successor like Gotham and Gotham Girl, and at the same time, how Batman knows he can never truly have that release. All promising ideas but, unfortunately, the last third of the volume feels rushed, with a lot of development and action that either happens off-panel or is revealed in expository dialogue. As a result, there's a final conflict that feels unearned and resolves itself all too quickly.All in all, this is a so-so start, to a run that improves with later volumes. At the time of writing this review there are 9 volumes of Tom King's run on Batman available. I say that because I strongly believe that written work, especially by Tom King, is sometimes difficult to review without knowing the full story and ending. Sometimes, what seems like a rough volume or intro may be recontextualized depending on how the story develops, and I've already adjusted some of my opinions of certain volumes in this run based on later developments. So I may very well come back and change my review of this volume if certain subplots and themes that are planted here are revisited and fleshed out later in the run. But for now, standing on its own, this is just an okay TPB.