A good start to the Rebirth line for Batman, and I liked the inclusion of Clayface, but I'm mixed on how the solo Batfamily series comes together here.

So this is functionally the sequel to B&R: Eternal, grabbing most of the characters from that book plus Batwoman and Basil Karlo the Clayface. This time around the Elder Kane has decided this vigilante business is all too much for him or the marine corps buddies to deal with anymore so they take all their fancy toys and training and whatever gumption he instilled in Kate to end Gotham's madness. Gotham's madness being various and unendable we get to watch the sidekicks suit up and wreck their shit and the some familial pathos.

Verdict: Classic. Tynion Plots tight and hits characterization oh so very well.

I wasn't a big fan of this. I skimmed read a lot of it. It just didn't keep my attention like it should of.

A solid trade that any fan of DC Comics can pick up and enjoy. Rebirth continues to be just that for DC and a breath of fresh air for the superhero genre.

A new direction for the Dark Knight 
following the Rebirth
reset to the DC Universe.
Detective Comics have always been 
more down to Earth stories.
As the tittle suggests it's 
Batman exercising his skills as a great detective
and investigator.
Cunning tales by one of the best writers 
today, Tynion brings new life to 
one of the oldest comics extant today.

I love all of the rebirth books. It gives me a great starting point to get to know characters all within one canon world/universe.

Another good Rebirth book. This shocked me and kept me reading. Villain turned hero? Batwoman returns and she still kicks ass!

My second foray into Rebirth. Yeah...the stories aren't very good. The artwork is very nice, but the stories and characters didn't do much for me. The story was a generic liar revealed plot and I found most of the characters kinda meh. It's funny, the one I wanted to know more about was Clayface, who apparently fans hate. I thought he was the most interesting character in the beginning. A pretty boy actor turned big blob of crap? Sounds good to me. And his "introduction" scene in the first book, the pathos! But then he just turned into the big, dumb comic relief. WTH? It seemed like a totally different character. What a shame. 
Also, the "Belfry"...seriously? So...the Bats in the Belfry now? Seriously, DC? 

**I received this copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**

James Tynion's Batman: Detective Comics Vol. 1: Rise of the Batmen is startlingly good, in many ways a faithful bridging of DC Comics's pre-Flashpoint and Rebirth continuities, but one that's not beholden to the past. Artist Eddy Barrows is doing the work of his career, adeptly illustrating all of his pages and offering some fantastically complex two-page spreads, upheld later in the book by Alvaro Martinez.

After Titans Rebirth my absolute favourite. Now, I can be a bit biased here. How could I not? It has Tim Drake, Cassandra Cain and Stephanie Brown. Put those three together and I’ll read it. 

The plot is great, we have a new villain no one is sure who actually is or what do they want. We got family members against family members. It got action and the drawing of it, it’s amazing. It is worth buying for Cassandra’s fighting pages alone. 
I absolutely adored reading this, can’t wait to see what they have in store for vol2.

I finished this last night but was too tired to write the review then. (Sorry.)

I actually had an issue with my copy of the file that I received (via NetGalley) which left me with a chunk missing from the start. Obviously, this was quite annoying and prevented me from being able to really enjoy the full story. I liked it nonetheless, and will still be reviewing what I was able to read.

I'm not going to tell you the whole plot and spoil it for anyone, but the basic gist of this is Batman and his recruits putting up a fight against "The Colony". There's action and shock and relationships - everything you could want in a volume of comics.

The ending was just... damn. Tim?!?!?!?! I loved the ending. And hated it. 

I'm going to give 4 stars to this edition of comics, mostly because I can't give any higher without having read the start. The ending is definitely what got me.

Batman: Detective Comics, Volume 1: Rise of the Batmen is a refreshing surprise in the post Snyder era of Batman stories. Overall I have had mixed feelings about the DC Rebirth and like many, loved the Scott Snyder Batman tales that with time, may prove to be the best ever done. Yes that is very high praise and meant to be so. So rebooting a line that needs no reboot, that for me is risky business. But with this first storyline for Detective Comics, DC may just have knocked this one out of the park. 

A mysterious army begins to infiltrate Gotham and Batman decides that what is needed to protect his city is not just a sidekick, but instead a team. He approaches Batwoman as team leader and recruits Red Robin, Spoiler, Cassandra Cain and Clayface to form a team. But before they can prepare themselves, they find themselves under attack from an army that is taking down its enemies with military precision.

When the unthinkable, Batman is taken hostage, the team must step up and quickly if they have any hope of saving the Caped Crusader. But what they soon find is that they are battling against an army that is as well trained and equipped as they are. Friends become adversaries and for one, the ultimate sacrifice may be called for.

James Tynion, creative genius or madman if you prefer, behind the Batman/TMNT crossover, takes the helm in this one and delivers a well told and fleshed out tale of family dysfunction and the need for acceptance in the dark streets of Gotham. Each member of the team brings their own abilities and genius, but also their baggage. Batwoman, Red Robin, Spoiler, Cassandra and Clayface have never been truly accepted in the Batman Universe and never established as part of the Batman family. They are, no pun on Batwoman, the red headed step children in comparison to Dick and Damien and Batgirl. Even behind Jason Todd. Tynion brings his crew together and with Batwoman at the helm, because Batman actually appears very little in this book, the team gels and is actually very good. 

As a fan of Batwoman and Cassandra Cain it good to see them move into the limelight a little more than we get to see in the Batman books. They are strong characters who, if they did not exist in the shadow of the Caped Crusader, would probably have been more popular. This is a gritty book, as Batman books should be. 

It will be fun to see where this series goes and how deeply Tynion is willing to explore the individual characters.

A good read.

*4 and a half stars*

Great book. I really like the line-up of this team. It feels like a Bat family Justice league to me. The story is good, I wasn't blown away by the villains. The art was solid throughout the entire arc, the colors were great and rich. Definitely worth checking out if you're a Batman fan.

Hmm, I guess Detective Comics has basically become the Outsiders now, just with Bat vigilantes.  Batman discovers someone is watching Batwoman, Red Robin, Spoiler, Orphan, and Clayface and decides to turn them into a team to protect themselves.  Yeah, a bit of a flimsy premise, but just get past it, because the book is good.  Eddy Burrows and Alvaro Martinez provide fantastic artwork.  I love how dynamic it is and we constantly see Bat vigilantes zipping and tumbling through the Gotham skyline. 

<spoiler>The idea that the government realizes how much of a badass Batman is and decides to mimic him is genius and something actually original to bring to Batman.  Having Colonel Kane in charge of this group makes sense, but he ventures into Col. Kurtz territory by the end of the book.  It's dumb that he would for no reason think the League of Shadows was in Gotham and hiding as regular citizens, so let's go kill American citizens.</spoiler>

My favorite moment in the book was when Spoiler makes fun of Red Robin's old costume.  That Brett Booth designed costume was ridiculous, with actual bird wings as the cape.

Batman, having taken Duke Thomas under his batwing, wants the Kate Kane version of Batwoman to help him train a new generation of batheroes. Batman unmasks himself to use the “cousin help a cousin out” approach on Kate. She agrees and they decide to recruit The Spoiler (Cluemaster’s daughter), Red Robin (Tim Drake version), the Orphan (the current Casandra Cain’s current masked identity), and, um, Clayface? Yes, Clayface is now one of the good guys. At least he doesn’t need a costume.

Red Robin is distracted by all the choices he needs to make. Should he join a super-genius graduate program? Should he help Batman make Gotham safe? Should he have sex with his girlfriend? Well, that’s a no-brainer.

But the bigger issue involves a semi-rogue military group called the Colony that has modeled itself after Batman even as it tries to nullify Batman. The Colony has its sights set on what it believes to be the bigger picture. And as always, when the military stops answering to civilian authority, things to sideways. That leads to some serious family drama for Kate.

Fortunately, Batman and Batwoman have a little army of their own to counter the Colony. Okay, half a dozen superheroes is kind of a small army, but they rock.

And so does the story. It builds slowly and it ends up being dramatic without being melodramatic -- something DC rarely managed to achieve during the disastrously overwrought New 52 era. Where before everything was over-the-top, this story is underplayed until it reaches a powerful, unexpected ending. Or rather, a penultimate climax, because the last scene sort of undoes some of the power, but I still love the characterizations and the care that went into the storytelling here. I’m giving it 4 1/2 stars.

Batman's closet is getting cleaned out for this volume. Bawoman, Spoiler, Red Robin, Orphan, and Clayface team up to oppose a secret US anti-terrorist organization that has gone off the rails and is threatening Gotham City. Lots of action, nasty reveals, and a very twisty ending. It will be interesting to see where this volume will go next!

So with Rebirth they have turned Detective into the Batman Family book.  The basic setup is simple: Batman decides to train up some of the various Bat-related characters & talks Batwoman into doing the work. (yeah, I know).
Hey, I’m all about Batwoman & I like Tim Drake & the other cast of characters. (Quick aside: what happened to Clayface? When did he start looking like this? WTF?)
Overall I liked the book, but like some of the other Rebirth titles I just felt like I had read it before. Didn’t (character dedacted) already (redacted)?
And again I found the art to be competent, but not exceptional. It gets the job done, but I miss the great art from earlier Batwoman runs.

absolutely fantastic book. I am a huge Batfan, this gives a great Batman team up that I like far better than his interactions with the Justice League.