The speculation has been rampant about just how rebooty the DC Reboot is, but since DC is claiming it’s not a reboot and are trying to get us all to say The New 52, let’s just say it’s not all that rebooty. It’s pretty inconsistent – especially since they’ve also just announced Huntress #1 and Penguin: Pain and Prejudice #1, so maybe that brings them up to Even More 54?
Anyway, Barbara Gordon is Batgirl again, but we can say so long to our quiet hope that Harvey Dent would be de-Two-Faced and brought back into Gotham City politics in a cool way – apparently, he’s just going to be a scarred-up ‘roid-monger. How interesting. At leat the Huntress seems to have lost her lame exposed-belly look. Here’s a look at The New 52 #2s for the Bat-family.
DETECTIVE COMICS #2 (Writer: Tony S. Daniel, Art: Tony S. Daniel and Ryan Winn)
Batman takes on a new serial killer called the Gotham Ripper while Bruce Wayne tries to get cozy with a TV journalist named Charlotte Rivers. Really, Bruce? A TV journalist? That’s almost an oxymoron these days.
BATMAN #2 (Writer: Scott Snyder, Art: Greg Capullo and Jonathan Glapion)
Batman is hunting down a new killer who sports an owl-skull mask who has it in for Bruce Wayne.
BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT #2 (Writers: David Finch, Paul Jenkins, Art: David Finch, Richard Friend, Jay Fabok)
Arkham Asylum inmates get juiced up and run roughshod over the Caped Crusader and his entire Bat-family.
BATMAN AND ROBIN #2 (Writer: Peter J. Tomasi, Art: Patrick Gleason and Mick Gray)
Bruce Wayne worries about his son’s tendencies towards excessive violence, while dealing with a mysterious new man named NoBody. Also, this cover looks like Frank Miller’s All-Star Batman redux. Somehow, we might not mind if Batman calls that little snot Damien dense and retarded.
BATGIRL #2 (Writer: Gail Simone, Art: Ardian Syaf, Vicente Cifuentes – Cover: Adam Hughes)
A showdown with a nightmare-inducing bad guy by the name of Mirror makes Barbara Gordon question whether or not she should even be wearing the cape and cowl at all. Maybe that’ll allay some of the concerns about losing Oracle for yet another vigilante.
BATWOMAN #2 (Writer: J.H. Williams III, W. Haden Blackman, Art: J.H. Williams III)
Kate Kane has a new relationship, a government agency on her back and a child-stalking creep to catch.
BATWING #2 (Writer: Judd Winick, Art: Ben Oliver)
Batman Incorporated is somehow still around, and the franchise in Africa is active, trying to stop a murderer by the name of Massacre.
NIGHTWING #2 (Writer: Kyle Higgins, Art: Eddy Barrows and JP Mayer)
An assassin targets Dick Grayson, putting Nightwing on his trail, although he becomes torn between the worlds of his old circus performer life and his current superheroics when Haley’s Circus is in town.
CATWOMAN #2 (Writer: Judd Winick, Art: Guillem March)
Selina Kyle is back in her old standard mold of being a thrill-seeking criminal all hot for Batman. Apparently, Batman is also hot for her. Thanks, major feature films which require comic books to shove characters back into their original schticks despite any and all character development even if it’s from industry all-stars like Ed Brubaker!
BIRDS OF PREY #2 (Writer: Duane Swierczynski, Art: Jesus Saiz)
Black Canary and Starling are up against drug-runners, terrorists and high-tech stealthy killers, and their only backup is a broken samurai who talks to her dead husband in a sword.
RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS #2 (Writer: Scott Lobdell, Art: Kenneth Rocafort, Blond)
Jason Todd is off on a hunt for an ancient assassin who has slaughtered some of his old teachers, and Roy Harper and Starfire are tagging along whether he likes it or not.
