Batman #659

[Maestro]

So who got the new issue? I wasn't expecting a lot for a fill-in but this was pretty average. About as average as you can get. I get the feeling I've read this somewhere before. Also, Bats has a really square head throughout the issue

[Guts/Batman]

I got the issue. I liked it. I liked the break from Morrison's craziness. Not sure about this character "Grotesk" yet but I think I can see this story moving in the right direction.

[infoghost]

I enjoyed it, not great, not bad. Solid story.

[TheBatGotHim]

I liked this issue. I thought the art was pretty good as well. :)

[Gaspard]

Not bad at all. I just hate snow.

[Joe Acro]

It's a good enough story, I suppose. The action sequences could've used a little work, but overall the story itself was fine. It's nice to see Batman doing some hard detective work.

[Auric]

Wasn't impressed with this issue. It was very mediocre.

I wish they had done the Joker story as advertised in the previous issue.

[Fatguy]

I liked it, as I expected to. I have a HUGE amount of respect for Ostrander and Mandrake, I wish they would get back on something regular together.

[Sophisticated_Gamer]

I loved this issue, i have just recently got into batman, but damn, this was a good one, I really love the art.

[Sophisticated_Gamer]

Wasn't impressed with this issue. It was very mediocre.

I wish they had done the Joker story as advertised in the previous issue.

Lol, you dummy, it's in the Detective comics, comic book, which is coming out pretty soon. :D

[Fish Sauce]

Lol, you dummy, it's in the Detective comics, comic book, which is coming out pretty soon. :D

It said there was a Grant Morrison Joker story next issue at the end of #658, I assume they've moved it to issue #663 now.

Although I do think you're right about there also being a Detective Joker story soon.

[Keehar]

Lol, you dummy, it's in the Detective comics, comic book, which is coming out pretty soon. :D

No, the previous issue announced a Joker story as the next issue. Go and look.

[SKETCHSANCHEZ]

Wasn't impressed with this issue. It was very mediocre.

I wish they had done the Joker story as advertised in the previous issue.

Thats exactly how I feel.

I kept thinking while reading "been there, done that".

[Guts/Batman]

I'm glad we didn't get the Joker story. I don't want to see Joker for quite awhile...

[Choppa]

This is stupid. Why not pick up one of the many loose threads lying around instead of doing just another regular story.

[OverMaster]

This is stupid. Why not pick up one of the many loose threads lying around instead of doing just another regular story.

Maybe because doing stories just to wrap loose ends from someone else usually results in low quality tales.

Let Morrison and the others to solve their own dangling plot points, but don't force them upon Ostrander.

[Damo]

Maybe because doing stories just to wrap loose ends from someone else usually results in low quality tales.

Let Morrison and the others to solve their own dangling plot points, but don't force them upon Ostrander.


Damn straight.

Incidentally, how did people feel about the use of the Thompkins clinic... but no mention of Leslie?

[Guts/Batman]

Damn straight.

Incidentally, how did people feel about the use of the Thompkins clinic... but no mention of Leslie?

I didn't mind it. I knew why she wasn't there. This is how continuity works best.

[sgt pepper]

There's nothing wrong with this issue. It reads like an old school story from when comics really were for kids. They were also often not very original and not very sophisticated. I feel like I've already read this story a hundred times before and I didn't enjoy it much the first time.

[TheTen-EyedMan]

I could live with Ostrander and Mandrake on Batman.

No retconning of stuff that worked originally and no ridiculously stupid Manbat Ninjas. Just normal, well plotted stories without earthshattering consequences.

Why can't D.C. give us that?

Why does every story have to be an event?

[90'sCartoonMan]

Incidentally, how did people feel about the use of the Thompkins clinic... but no mention of Leslie?

Well, I'm glad she didn't just pop back with no explanation, but I'm still fumed about the whole thing. Eventually they have to redeem Leslie's character somehow.

Not a bad issue, I'm hoping for more of a punch later on (it seems they're drawing parallels between Wayne/Grotesk and Bruce/Batman, we'll see how that plays out).

[Guts/Batman]

Well, I'm glad she didn't just pop back with no explanation, but I'm still fumed about the whole thing. Eventually they have to redeem Leslie's character somehow.

When her character becomes important she will be back. And now that we have a more human Batman, her character essentially the one person not named Alfred that is able to keep him grounded in humanity, it's not important.

With the build up of Alfred as this near top level physician, it makes her character redundant.

[Starba]

I personally thought that parts of this issue were nigh on unbearable.

OMG HE'S BLACK! DID YOU NOTICE THAT HE'S BLACK??? WE'LL MAKE SURE TO POINT IT OUT IN HIS VERY FIRST CONVERSATION SO THAT YOU GET THE HINT! BUT WE'LL PUT A CLEVER SPIN ON IT SO THAT IT LOOKS LIKE WE'RE TRYING TO SEND A MESSAGE ABOUT TOLERANCE OR SOMETHING!!!

Gah! I am SOOOO tired of this attitude in comics! Not to mention it's a frickin' waste of space. It was a waste of good characterization time when Andreyko did it to minorities, too, in an otherwise stellar Manhunter. Why??? We'll accept these characters for who they are. Really. You don't have to alienate them from the get-go!

That wasn't the only sour point for me in this book, though. It seemed like it wanted to be an episode of Batman: The Animated Series, but it only succeeded in being a bad, thoroughly standardized episode without any of the Timmverse charm. The cute little wrap-it up joke at the end was the straw that broke the camel's back.

I hear Ostrander wrote a great Suicide Squad. Maybe I'll check that out, but I can live without his Batman.

[SpecialAgentPunk]

I personally thought that parts of this issue were nigh on unbearable.

OMG HE'S BLACK! DID YOU NOTICE THAT HE'S BLACK??? WE'LL MAKE SURE TO POINT IT OUT IN HIS VERY FIRST CONVERSATION SO THAT YOU GET THE HINT! BUT WE'LL PUT A CLEVER SPIN ON IT SO THAT IT LOOKS LIKE WE'RE TRYING TO SEND A MESSAGE ABOUT TOLERANCE OR SOMETHING!!!

Gah! I am SOOOO tired of this attitude in comics! Not to mention it's a frickin' waste of space.

I don't think it was that strong, though it was definitely there. I'm not familiar with the writer or artist, but the story has a very weak, derived start. Of course serial killers are all old news and that doesn't mean people should just forget about them, but everything seemed like Seven or even Saw, in the bad, ripped-off way.

Story begins to progress towards the end, though if you're deciding whether to buy this issue, skip it. Not completely disappointing, but definitely not worth the money.