ARC from Netgalley.
	Detective Comics, which had a fairly good run in New 52, comes back in force (in its original numbering!) with this book that focuses on some of the other "Bat-Family" heroes. 
Batman has created a team to help him stay on top of crime in Gotham. Led by Batwoman, seconded by Red Robin, and filled out with Spoiler, Orphan, and Clayface (who is trying the "hero life" out), this team is called into action when Batman is seemingly defeated by a mysterious military force of Batmen. The Batmen are led by Colonel Jake Kane, Bruce's uncle and Kate's father. Years ago, after the events of "Zero Year", the government came to him and started him down the path to analyze Batman and be able to replicate him, but on a military scale. All of the skill, but with military precision and teamwork. Drones and cameras have been watching Batman since then.
The new team works well together, but this book shines around Batwoman and Red Robin. Obviously, with the Colonel being part of it, quite a bit of Kate's backstory is here. (Her comic run was excellent, and I am glad to hear that she's getting her own book again!) She really does step up and is a great leader. 
Red Robin's tech skills help them immensely, but the ending, where he single-handedly takes on the drone swarm by himself? Such a chaotic and sad moment, but I'm glad it got handled by the end. Where is he?
Looking forward to seeing how this all develops as we steadily head toward issue 1000.
High recommend.

A fun read. If you're interested in more of the Gotham world than just Batman then these is the read for you. Batman teams up with Batwoman, Red Robin, Spoiler, Cassandra Cain (Orphan), and Clayface. An emotional read, and they leave you with a cliffhanger making you want to pick up the next volume asap.

I was really really excited when I got approved for these. I'm a diehard Marvel fan but my friend who is a diehard Batman fan convinced me I should give Rebirth a chance. The sad part is, most of them have fallen short, or seem clearly marketed to people who know about Batman or Superman or whomever. I'll keep trying though!

It has been a very long time since I have read Detective comics. This book was always the grittier Batman series with more violence and darker themes but that changed a long time ago. I didn't read when Batwoman was the lead in this series and I do regret that. I loved her story in in 52 or Countdown to 52, I can't remember which one it was it has been that long. I have always been really curious about this character but never took the time to catch up with her story so I was glad to see her in this Rebirth volume. 

Batman has noticed that these drones are keeping tabs on all these different heroes in Gotham and he needs to find out why. In order to do this Batman gathers the people who are being monitored and it makes for one surprising team. Of course Batman, Batwoman, and Red Robin are not a surprising team nor is having Spoiler and Cassandra Cain on the team. What is weird is having Clayface as part of a superhero team.

I love that Clayface is part of the team. I love how DC Comics is giving some of their long time rouges a chance to change who they are and help people. Captian Cold has joined the Justice League from time to time and even now Killer Frost might be joining the Justice League too. Giving Clayface the chance to be something other than the monster he is stuck being was really interesting. Besides, Batman is going to need all the help he can get. These heroes are being monitored because an entire army of Batmen are being trained to be unleashed on not just Gotham but the world.

These military Batmen are wrapped up in an idea about the League of Shadows which is a farce Ra's Al Ghul used to make himself more powerful and feared. This secret military faction is all about stopping the terrorists before they strike and they have latched onto an idea that is false. This book has some political undertones but not enough to upset one side of the argument or the other. It touched on the idea of how dangerous it is to assume one type of person is a terrorist before you read the whole situation. Batman has to rise above his own pride to try and fix this on his own and realy on his team to not only save the day but save him also.

I loved this story and the emotions run really high in this book. This grabs you from the very beginning and never lests go. I mean never lets go because I am already itching to read vol 2 because the cliffhanger at the end of this book is tough to forget. I give this book 5 out of 5 stars. Rebirth has delivered on every story I have read and I am massively impressed.

From what little I know about DC Comics I believe their “Detective Comics” series is the longest series in comic book history and that’s largely due to the character Batman.  This is volume one of Detective Comics as part of DC Comics’ relaunched called “Rebirth” that started in 2016.  I’m still quite the rookie when it comes to Batman and this is the first Batman I read in the Detective Comics series and thus far I’m enjoying it.
I notice for this particular volume the theme of the importance of team and teamwork.  Often it seems Batman likes being on his own when he goes on his mission.  Yet there is this paradox with Batman in that while he’s often alone and can be somewhat of a lone ranger when he’s out fighting crime.  This is the case despite the irony that Batman does has friends and a “Bat” family.  Think of Robin.  Or Batgirl.  Or his loyal butler Alfred.  For our immediate story there’s a team assembled including characters that are new to me.  Batman assembled this team because he realizes he can’t take on this new threat alone.  The stakes are too high when the government’s secret military branch goes rogue and even have soldiers that are patterned after Batman.  
I also thought this book showed a Batman with a wider range of human emotions than that which are typically found in most Batman’s storyline.  Readers wouldn’t want to miss Batman’s emotion towards the end of the book.  Personally it made Batman more human and believable.
Overall a fun read.  There’s a few twists and turn as the story progresses but it wasn’t necessarily anything legendary or epic.  Without spoiling anything I want to say the book does end in such a way that makes readers curious as to what was going on and what’s going to happen next.   
NOTE: This book was provided to me free by DC Comics and Net Galley without any obligation for a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.

I purchase for an adult graphic novel section at a public library. I adore Batwoman and was glad she got to show off some of her leadership skills in this story, but really, this felt more like a Gotham focused teen titans graphic novel than a Batman story. With 3 out of the 5 in the core group teens, and let's face it Clayface has always been a rather immature character so concerned with superficiality than anything else, it felt like Kate was babysitting and training up a teen defense group rather than a group of mature fighters in Gotham. Also, the main villain was incredibly predictable, ruining any suspense trying to figure out whodunit. The other villain? Another teen. This probably would satisfy a lot of young adult fans, but adult fans will wonder why on earth this is a Batman title when he is barely involved.

The best Batman Family title right now. The Dark Knight partners with Batwoman , red Robin and Clayface . the story is straight forward , non confusing . This story has a good mystery , lots of action and a hell of a cliffhanger. Artwork is gorgeous.

Batman in the New 52 is a character that even though I love him, they went to dark places I did not want to follow and made some changes to characters and villains that I did not care for and even made my stomach turn. I had hope though for the Rebirth changes and hoped it would make it, more fun, and less, icky? That is probably not the best word but going into Batman Vol 1: Rise of the Batmen (Rebirth) I was optimistic and curious to see where they would go. 

First of all I love the inclusion of Batwoman. I am still lukewarm on her as a character but this story was a decent one for her and other members of that Bat-Family, which in here includes SPOILER! Yes Stephanie Brown is back and she is not in over her head as she usually is. I really appreciate them giving her more to do and giving her a role that fits her as a getting and really gives her a chance to shine and in this comic she does that. I also love her costume and the slight changes. It also includes Tim Drake (Red Robin), who works very well off of her and he is very well written (glad its not the Batman Beyond Tim Drake nonsense). 

Of course we also get Cassandra Cain, who I loved in this story. She is a character I am not as familiar with as I wanted to be and after this I definitely want to know more in the all the best ways.

We also get to see villains in this one such as The Joker, Clayface etc and the designs work. (I am glad they've backed off the creepier redesigns of The Joker from the New 52. I know he has his fans but that was not something I enjoyed at all. 

Overall this comic feels like great Batman. If I were to compare it to anything I would say the Chuck Dixon run of Nightwing, both in look and style. It feels a hybrid of old and new Batman comic styles and is very colorful with vivid colors and designs. Movements are depicted very well and the story is awesome. What it does best is how it shows how different each member of the Bat-Family is when it comes to dealing with badguys. Its nice to see Tim Drake, Spoiler, Cassandra Caine, Batman, etc in action and their differences focused on, as they fight together of course. 

This is a great comic, I'd recommend it, especially if you were turned off by the New 52. Rise of the Batmen is well worth your time and will make you a fan again!

If you were only to read one of the storyline in DC’s Rebirth, this is the one.

Batman: Detective Comics made complete sense from the very first page. I never got confused as to what was going on, or the motivations of the characters within it. In Volume 1, we follow Batman, Batwoman, Spoiler, Red Robin, Clayface and Orphan.

The storyline was straight forwards but precise. Batman spots drones all around Gotham and recruits a team to help him. What follows, is an mystery that constantly changes when they find out new information. I would almost call it a suspense / mystery comic book because the focus in this was on the mystery of who developed these drones and less on the fighting.

The art style suited the tone of what was happening very well. I was constantly amazed by how no detail was spared. I never got distracted by bits of each panel that were not crucial to what was going on and when I got a good look at them, they just enriched the story even more.

Honesty, for me, words cannot even begin to describe how much I loved this first volume. It is, in my mind, exactly what a modern-day comic book series would be like. We encounter the heroes facing impossible choices that will hurt someone whichever they choose; and more importantly we see the humanity in these characters.

A very good start to this story that most will enjoy and I cannot wait to see how it continues.

The bat family is back! And I love it!

Batman Detective Comics collects issues 934-940 and creates a new bat family team.  A more modern one.  The players are Batman, Batwoman, Spoiler, Orphan, Clayface and Red Robin.  

Batman has discovered drones surveilling vigilantes in Gotham and recruits Batwoman to lead a team to track the baddie down.  And thus the team is born.  Of course there is some cliche backstabbing that takes place, but I’m going to ignore the repetition in comics because I liked the story so much.

I’m not going to give any spoilers but the ending was amazing!  The last two issues had me on the edge of my seat and I want to go out and buy the back issues IMMEDIATELY.

Now to go more into detail on the team.  The members were a mix of familiar and unfamiliar but I enjoyed all of them!  Which is rare for me.  There is usually a weak link, but I’m positive a later storyline will return to those they didn’t have time to spend on during this arc.

Batwoman is one of my favorite characters and I was happy to see her in a leadership role. I enjoyed her dynamic with Batman.  I missed the run on Batman where it was revealed they were related but the flashbacks that were included were interesting and added a piece I wasn’t expecting from this book.

I was surprised by how much I liked Red Robin.  Tim Drake is a character I’ve only really heard about but haven’t actually read too much first hand.  But I actually really liked him and I thought his relationship with Spoiler was refreshing and added to the depth of both characters.

Even though I will admit it took me a couple issues to be confident enough to not mix Spoiler and Orphan up.

I’m looking forward to hearing more about Orphan and Clayface, they were the two that were left out of this storyline. Of course they were there and played their part but there wasn’t enough time to give those characters any depth.

Overall, this is my favorite Rebirth title I’ve read so far and I’m looking forward to where the next storyline is going.  I’ll be collecting the next arc in individual issues in order to try to catch up.

Finally some good (and more than one scene or panel) Batman/Batwoman interactions. Batman recruits Kate as Batwoman to train some of the younger vigilantes in Gotham. Spoiler, Red Robin, Orphan (which I guess is Cassandra Cain's new hero name), and also Clayface.

But,even as Batwoman goes all boot camp on the vigilantes there are other forces in motion for and against her and her new team.

Then the worm turns again and suddenly it's very personal for Batwoman.

Do I wish that Batwoman had her own named series again? Yes. But that aside I really liked what has been put in motion in this TPB and look forward to more too.

I got this ARC through Netgalley on behalf of DC Entertainment.

This is the first of the new DC Rebirth comics that I’ve read. I don’t know that this is necessarily where I was supposed to start, but oh well. Everything made sense without any prior knowledge of the Rebirth universe.

The art is really interesting and feels well-suited to the Bat Family. I was particularly interested in this comic when I heard about it because Batwoman is one of my favorite comic book characters and she has taken over the main role in Detective Comics. In fact, a lot of characters I love are here. Batwoman, The Spoiler, and Cassandra Cain. Even Renee Montoya shows up for a bit. Batwoman feels well represented, but I don’t think Stephanie and Cassandra have enough background information for a newcomer to feel included.

I worry that Batman has taken a turn. He’s made some odd decisions as of late. The set-up here is next to nonexistent. There seems to be little to no explanation for his motives. The bad guys also don’t seem to have a lot of motivation. The “big twist” was very predictable and seems entirely uncalled for. I did like that we were shown how the Kanes reacted after the death of Martha and Thomas Wayne. I felt that was a nice touch that hadn’t really been covered before.

I really appreciated that DC has reverted back to the original numbering of this issues, as it was before New 52. I thought overall, it was a fun book, even if some parts are a little weak.

4.5 Stars

With Rebirth there comes a lot of responsibility. And James Tynion IV did a wonderful job in turning that responsibility into a great new story arc. The new team Batman puts together includes a lot of awesome people (Batwoman, Spoiler, Red Robin and Orphan) and to my surprise Clay Face. Somehow it works out great. 

With a lot of turning events and tension the story goes along pretty fast paced and doesn’t leave you hanging. (Except at the end of course with a major cliffhanger which I still don’t know how to handle.) 

A father would do anything to keep “his little girl” save, even though she might already be a grown woman and can make choices of her own. The complex story between Kate and her dad ensures an interesting plot. A lot of great fight scenes are involved which are executed perfectly with the beautiful artwork. 

I’ve heard a lot of mixed opinions about this new installment in the Rebirth series, but I for one am really glad to have picked it up because it was such a great read! I’m sure a lot of people would enjoy this, too, if they’d give it a chance. The Batman family is displayed in such a great way in this new story! 

I need to know how the story goes on because that cliffhanger sure wasn’t nice at all. I do not know where the Batman family stands right now or how their future looks like. I’m very excited for the next volume.

Oh Rebirth, Rebirth, Rebirth, why art thou so pants? Fie my disappointment, Detective Comics dost verily sucketh! I don’t know why I’m talking this way. Maybe Rebirth’s broken me brain? I’ll stop now. Verily.
 
Detective Comics Rebirth takes the title back to its original issue numbering, which is pure fan service to the NEEEEERRRRRRDDDSSSS!!!! who care about that sort of thing, as well as further underlining the New 52’s death. The relaunched title does veer away from tradition though in turning Detective Comics from a less superhero-y Batman solo book with an emphasis on sleuthing into a Bat-family team book where Batman is an incidental background character. It’s not a change for the better.
 
Motivation and set-up are poorly written throughout. Batman wants to unite the various Gotham vigilantes into a group – why and why now? And what aren’t they achieving acting alone that they could be achieving as a group? They seem to be a pretty effective crime-fighting force operating independently. There’s no strong case made for the benefit of a team.
 
Batman’s group is: Batwoman (Kate Kane, Bruce’s cousin) as the de facto leader, Red Robin (Tim Drake aka Robin #3 – while he’s ditched the Red Robin outfit and gone back to his classic Robin threads, he’s holding onto the name), Spoiler (Stephanie Brown aka Robin #4), Orphan (Cassandra Cain), and Clayface. Huh. Why Clayface? No idea. Just a totally random, bizarre inclusion that makes no sense. And when did Tim and Stephanie start dating?!
 
I’ma have to go into spoiler territory now (and I don’t mean Stephanie)!

The story is so poorly conceived. Colonel Jake Kane, Kate’s dad, suddenly has a completely different character in this book – he’s basically written as Marvel’s Thunderbolt Ross, “General SirYesSir McArmyMan”. Like Kate, he also admires Bruce’s work as Batman except he’s gone and trained up an army of Batmen! But he also believes – without a shred of evidence – that the League of Shadows exists and is planning something big and terrible in Gotham and that it’s up to him to stop them.

Alright – but why then is he attacking Batman and co.?! They’re on the same side! Besides having a totally different personality now, is he also just utterly insane too?! He’s such a terrible villain with the least convincing motivations.

The only part of the book that gripped me was when Tim decided to take on Colonel Kane’s army of drones single-handed to save his friends and hundreds of innocents. The scene builds up strongly as Tim becomes more tired, more beaten, until he realises he can’t go on – he’s about to die. He says his goodbyes, the drones shoot him, Batman arrives too late, heartbroken once again. It’s powerful stuff, really – a noble, if contrived, death.
 
And then the emotion of Tim’s sacrifice is COMPLETELY UNDERMINED in the next few pages as we find out that actually he didn’t die but was teleported into the cell of some mysterious person’s prison – maybe one of the Watchmen’s, a reference to the ending of DC Universe Rebirth #1? Tynion couldn’t even commit to Tim’s death for a book, it had to be immediately fixed – awful! Why do any of the preceding stuff then?! It’s so shitty.

Tynion is a protégé of Scott Snyder’s who’s adopted some of Snyder’s worst traits like overwriting – the book is full of chatter, most of it worthless and dull - and yet with the abundance of writing the story remains underdeveloped; the sign of a weak writer.
 
Martian Manhunter artist Eddy Barrows continues to produce great art – this book is very good-looking with strong colours, though I hated Batman’s new cape which in some scenes looks feathered for some reason? Bats don’t have feathers! Unless it was webs, but again, what do webs have to do with bats!?
 
Batwoman is essentially the main character so if you’re a big fan of Kate’s you might enjoy this more, but unfortunately I found the newly relaunched Detective Comics to be underwhelming. There were just too many missteps - it lacks a strong villain and setup and could really use more focus on the story it wanted to tell. Ho hum, another low quality volume – the Rebirth standard it seems! I’m baffled as to what readers are responding to with this line.

A great team book surrounding the Bat-Family. Rise of the Batmen offers in-depth character stories that are not always seen in a team book like this one. Tynion makes sure that every character sees the spotlight in a way that challenges them according to their own strengths and weaknesses. Batwoman, in an unexpected but highly logical turn is placed as the leader of Batman's newly assembled team as her military past is highlighted while whipping the young heroes into shape. Tim the ever sacrificing good son, deals with the idea of fully dedicating his life to his surrogate father's eternal war on crime. As always Cassandra Cain has a tendency to steal the show whenever she's on the page. The silent assassin is always charming with her one or two words an issue. All in all the book is a really cool new story that makes perfect sense in the context of the characters' histories.

From the publisher: An elite fighting force modeled after the Dark Knight has invaded the streets of Gotham. Their armor, weaponry and surveillance equipment are based on Batman’s tech and tactics, but they’re far beyond anything he’s ever seen. And while these Batmen’s motives remain a mystery, their targets are all too clear… 

They’re gunning for Gotham’s vigilantes.

Batman knows he can’t face this foe alone, and neither can the crime-fighters caught in the crossfire. So with Batwoman—secretly Bruce Wayne’s cousin, Kate Kane—as his general, he’s organizing the next generation of Gotham heroes into an army.

Tim Drake, a.k.a. Red Robin. Stephanie Brown, a.k.a. Spoiler. Cassandra Cain, a.k.a. the Orphan. And reformed criminal Basil Karlo, a.k.a. Clayface. These are the shock troops in Batman and Batwoman’s war. When they finally see the face of their true enemy, will they stand together…or fall apart?

Find out in BATMAN: DETECTIVE COMICS VOL. 1: RISE OF THE BATMEN, a great jumping-on point for new readers! This masterful high-octane thriller from writer James Tynion IV (BATMAN AND ROBIN ETERNAL) and artists Eddy Barrows (NIGHTWING) and Alvaro Martinez (Ultimate Comics X-Men) explodes from the blockbuster DC Rebirth event! Collects DETECTIVE COMICS #934-940.

Detective Comics Vol. 1: Rise of the Batmen, by James Tynion IV, is the first Rebirth collection of Detective Comics. Unlike a lot of books, Batman didn't change a whole lot due to the New 52, but Rebirth has given the writers, in this case Tynion, a chance to change the direction a bit. In this case, Batman discovers a fleet of small, high-tech drones that have been watching him and other heroes in Gotham. He decides its time to create a "team" and train them. He recruits Batwoman to train the kids; they include Red Robin, Spoiler, Orphan, and Clayface (a nice non-traditional addition). They soon come face to face with a group known as the Colony, a group of paramilitary modeled on Batman himself. What follows should only be read, as there as several pretty large spoilers, and one heck of a thread that should lead to a very interesting future story.

Tynion has done a nice job with the characters of Batman and Batwoman. The interaction between these two (who are cousins) is well done, and it appears their working relationship is maturing. Clayface is becoming a fun character, as well. He brings fresh eyes to the hero game, and gets some great lines. Finally, the growth of Tim Drake, aka Red Robin, is terrific. Its hard to take a nearly perpetual teenager and demonstrate growth, both physically and emotionally, but Tynion has done so with flying colors. Tim's maturation as a hero is a highlight of this collection.

I really liked Detective Comics Vol. 1: Rise of the Batmen. If this book is any indication, James Tynion IV is off and running with a story that could end up rivaling some of Scott Snyder's now classic tales. I can't wait to see where he goes from here. I highly recommend this book for Batman fans. It's also a decent starting point for new readers.

I received a preview copy of this book from DC Comics and Netgalley in exchange for an honest reveiw.

Another Rebirth title that I think has promise, but which didn't quite deliver. I kind of like the idea of a Bat-family team book, and almost everybody is represented here. And I really like most of these characters. Seeing Stephanie back in regular circulation makes me very happy, and Tim is my favorite Robin. Clayface is kind of an odd choice for rehabilitated villain, but on the other hand, I suppose he is the victim of a freak accident. At any rate, the group interacts nicely, and I especially liked that we got to see how the Kane family reacted when the Waynes were murdered. On the other hand, the villains just didn't work for me. Not interesting, and the motives are very thin. I think Tynion can do better with these characters, and I'd like to see that happen.

A compelling start to the Detective Comics Rebirth.  I typically am not a fan of any Batwoman-heavy stories, but this was actually pretty solid.  There was a good emotional core to the story, and interesting twists.
I'm really not sure about adding Clayface to the Bat-family, but I guess we'll see what happens with that in the future.

In which Batman puts a team together in order to defend Gotham from something that's coming that's too big and inexplicable for even him to fight.  But this isn't Justice League of America Rebirth, this is Detective Comics Rebirth (even though there is no Rebirth issue here, and the numbers aren't reverting to #1).  This, in the finish, is a mediocre team that just bickers, and makes themselves inherently dislikeable the first time you see them together.  OK, then, it IS just like the new JLA, but it's not exactly great, whatever it is.  The storyline is the epitome of average, and it eventually stops, and that's about it.  Must do better.