If I remember correctly, this trade collection is a little more focused on Tim than the fallout of his death/disappearance a volume or two earlier. I would have liked it a little more if it was the other way around.

Remember a few minutes ago when I mentioned the ever growing Bat-Family? Let's talk about that some more. Detective Comics has become the home for the vast majority of those characters who work as a team to back up Batman and right their own wrongs. When it works, it works nicely. When it doesn't, well, you get this volume. Tim Drake returns, but there's a twist. It's the Tim Drake that has been missing since the early days of Rebirth and a dark twisted version of the Red Robin who is out to stop his future from ever happening. Yup, it's the Tim-inator.

ARC from Netgalley. 3.5 Stars.
Tim Drake, Red Robin himself, is NOT dead. Trapped by Mr. Oz (later revealed as Jor-El both here and in Action Comics), he is providing Oz with Batman intel. Escaping his bonds, Tim tries to escape to get back to the Bat-Family, but is stopped by.... himself. Future Tim has grown up to take the place of Batman once Bruce had died, but also speaks of a future where everything is screwed up because of the actions of Batwoman. This Tim has come back to the past to kill Batwoman and make sure the world doesn't fall into such chaos.
Our Tim wakes in the hospital shortly after and is reunited with Batman and the rest of the Bat-Family. (much joy!). Placing Batwoman in a prison in the Batcave for safe keeping, the rest of the group (which Tim hilariously calls the "Gotham Knights") head out to find future Tim to stop his upcoming reign of destruction.
Batwoman is saved, we enter Bruce's secret subcave housing "Brother Eye", and future Tim, though still claims that life will end up really bad, goes back to his future.

A separate storyline has to deal Spoiler's new relationship with Anarchy and Clayface trying to cure his condition and having backlash from both.

Overall, a solid Volume from Detective Comics. Looking forward to seeing how Tim Drake reapplies himself into the DC universe at large. Recommend.

This volume of Batman: Detective Comics has two story arcs. The first story arc features the return of Tim Drake from his out of time and space prison that Oz had him in. However, a future Tim Drake comes along for the ride on a mission to prevent himself from having to become Batman. The second story arc contains the seeds that may sprout into the future that Tim Drake/Batman feared. Plenty of action along with cool artwork to entertain the senses.

Batman: Detective Comics, Vol. 5: A Lonely Place of Living by James Tynion IV is perhaps one of the best examples of why Tim Drake is a poor excuse to be Robin. Bitter, alienated and thinking his intelligence and hypocritical high moral ground somehow makes him better than the rest of the Batman family comes to bear here in full glory as the future Tim shows us Drake's true colors.

After sacrificing himself to save Gotham which of course did not happen, Drake finds himself trapped in an inescapable prison where he is freed by none other than OZ (Superman's father who did not die with Krypton after all) and returns to Gotham. But in the future where another Batman is in charge. A Batman who kills and whose bitterness is centered on an event in the past that changed the Batman family forever. This Batman believes he needs to go back to the past and kill the person he holds responsible for his actions today. This Batman is none other than Tim Drake.

What follows is a fairly convoluted reasoning to commit murder. The old, if I kill Hitler as a child I am saving millions of lives mindset. Drake sells it well, at least to himself. What follows is a trip back to the past to face off against the Batman family by a member who knows them very well. In the end, Tim Drake is back home, with the Batman family, but he can never be the same. He has looked into the abyss and it has looked right back.

Okay maybe I am being too harsh but seriously, Tim Drake sucks. Even Jason Todd is a better Robin than Drake. By the way DC, you had a terrific opportunity to work on the Jason Todd character when you brought him back and to date you have sucked at it. He was a better bad guy than what he is right now.

Perhaps its that the regular Batman series with the upcoming Bat/Cat wedding is so much better than Detective Comics right now. Detective Comics under Tynion seems to focus heavily on the sidekicks but seems to forget...they're sidekicks for a reason.

A Lonely Place of Living sets up future storylines I am sure but I cannot say I am thrilled with the direction this one is going.

Tynion has really found his stride with this Gotham Knights team. The main story reveals who Brother Oz is so read {book:Action Comics: Superman-The Oz Effect|36519526] first if you don't want that spoiled. Tim Drake finally escapes and returns to Gotham in a wonderful story where he must confront himself. I won't go into any more details so as to not spoil anything. The final two issues update us on Spoiler and to be honest, Spoiled Brat would be a better name for her. She could drop off the face of the earth at this point and I wouldn't care. The Clayface part of the story is much more interesting. I really like how Tynion has taken what had become a one note villain and given him this redemption story line.

Eddy Barrows and Alvaro Martinez, partculary, make the book look great. I do, however, wish they'd lay off the two page spreads. The layouts they use are really hard for my eye to follow and I constantly found myself reading them as single pages before realizing they were double pages.

This is volume five of Batman’s Detective Comics. The volume collects Detective Comics issues # 963-968 and DETECTIVE COMICS ANNUAL #1.
The bulk of this volume is the multiple chapter story “A Lonely Place of Living.” This story started off with Timothy Jackson Drake being alive contrary to what many have thought in previous Batman stories. Timothy is held in an isolated placed where some mysterious and hidden individual asked him question about his past and how he eventually became Robin. Whom the mysterious interrogator was turned out to be quite a surprise for Drake. Drake was able to send out a message to get help only for the alleged Batman that showed up turning out to be the Drake of tomorrow. Again this was a total surprise for Drake especially since the Drake of tomorrow is more cynical but also more better in his intelligence and combat ability. As the story progress the Drake of today along with other team members helping Batman has to fight off the Drake of the future from hurting one of their own. But the fight feature great dialogues that raises the issues of the whole Batman and caped crusaders’ enterprise. Very well written! The story also leaves readers wondering of what happened in the future that would result in such a cynical Drake. It left me as the reader with a lot of questions though it was a compelling storyline that made me want to know more and anticipate future issues and volume that would answer my questions. But then the volume transition to other stories that did not seem to be related to the rest of the volume that was rather anticlimactic and leaves fan rather confused. I think it was a rather big letdown and volume five should have ended with the story of “A Lonely Place of Living” instead of smaller stories that felt more like fillers.
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.

The art is lovely in this comic and the character creation/worldbuilding were done in such a way that I couldn't stop reading this comic. The theme of family is what caught my interest most since most of the time Batman is seen as to put his family to the side to protect them and such. It's well-written comic that builds up the potential for future great stories in this storyline. I can't wait to read more Batman comics as good as this one!

I didn't think I would enjoy time travel in a Batman book so much! That's going around a lot in the DC books, I guess, still playing with the events of Rebirth and their effect on the timeline. But seeing the return of Tim Drake and his battle against a foe who hits a bit too close to home... great stuff! Really enjoyed the way this book featured the third Robin and what sets him apart from the rest of the team. And the way he came back almost made up for the time he was missing.

Batman: Detective Comics Vol. 5: A Lonely Place of Living is better stated as a homage rather than a sequel to the earlier "A Lonely Place of Dying." The most distinct Dying material is in Living's beginning, essentially a line-by-line flashback to Dying that, most specifically, reestablishes Dying as something that happened, overwriting Red Robin Tim Drake's New 52 origin just as the New 52 origin overwrote Dying. After that, Living's exploration of Dying is primarily in theme, focusing on young Tim's own directive in Dying that Batman must have partners, and questioning what it meant for Tim himself to be the one to bring that idea to Batman and Nightwing.

One of Tynion's smartest explorations of Dying is in the title of this new story, addressing the decades-old incongruity that a story about Batman gaining a new Robin had "dying" in the title, making it sound more like a story of loss than renewal. Under Tynion's pen, "A Lonely Place of Living" seems a more apt title for the saga, since the point the present Tim makes is that loneliness is a choice, and in essence the choice Tim made for Batman all those years ago was not to be lonely and die, but rather to be lonely and live, joined then by Tim and now by the newly-dubbed "Gotham Knights" team that Tim created as a greater extension of the service he originally provided for Batman.

Batman: Detective Comics — Vol. 5 A Lonely Place of Living
Writers: James Tynion IV and Christopher Sebela
Pencillers: Eddy Barrows, Alvaro Martinez, Carmen Carnero
Inkers: Eber Ferreira, Raul Fernandez, Carmen Carnero
Colorists: Adriano Lucas, Tomeu Morey, Ulises Arreola, Kelly Fitzpatrick, Jean-Francois Beaulieu
Letterer: Sal Cipriano
Publisher: DC Comics

A review by Cory Webber.

Batman: Detective Comics — Vol. 5: A Lonely Place of Living answers the question “Where in the world is Tim Drake?” Red Robin faces a crossroads: escape the most devious prison ever devised, or find himself abandoned beyond time and space for all eternity! Not much of a choice, right? But when he finds out who is locked in there with him, Tim’s world will change in ways he never imagined! Collects DETECTIVE COMICS #963-968.

James Tynion IV has been stringing one wonderful story after another in Detective Comics, and this volume is no exception. It offers a plausible explanation as to Tim Drake’s whereabout aftwr we thought he died, almost a year ago, way back in #940. Be warned, though, that the identity of Mr. Oz is revealed here. If you want a more satisfying reveal, read about in Superman: Action Comics —The Oz Effect Deluxe Edition. Not sure you want to? Go ahead and check out my review first.

A Lonely Place of Living cleverly refers to Tim Drake’s first appearance in the story A Lonely Place of Dying. Mr. Oz, in the first chapter, talks with Drake and rehashes his first appearance and eventual lead up to becoming the next Robin. His astute analysis nicely paints the picture as to why he is my, and many people’s, favorite Robin — he did it because he wanted to make the world a better place, and not because he was led to it by some sort of traumatic experience.

Tynion does some solid character work by means that I don’t want to explore for spoiler’s sake. However, I can talk about how well the story is written overall. This book moves at an exceptional pace. Tynion has included a wonderful, diverse cast of characters. They each play their role perfectly, and I could not have picked a better lineup. He does a phenomenal job of writing distinct voices for each characters, and there are a lot of characters in this one. Now, there are a couple reveals that were pleasant surprises, especially the identity of Drake’s cell mate; a reveal that creates an imminent and long lasting effect that will surely be felt for a while.

The art in this book is pretty consistent in spite of the rotating artists. The pencils, inks and colors, regardless of the creative team, all gelled together well. The action is dynamic and well-plotted, particularly a scene involving older-model Batplanes. Plus, each member of the team gets their moment to shine, including some special guests of the bat family. Again, Tynion’s ability to write each character so well, in such limited time, is uncanny. I rather enjoyed the banter amongst all the past Robins.

Verdict:
Buy it! Especially if for you are a fan of Tim Drake. Tynion IV continues to deliver great stories for this series with the promise of something bigger building for upcoming volumes.

The big thing in this TPB was what was spoiled on the back matter, Tim is back. So after we get some background story on how Tim in DC Rebirth became Robin, we then meet an older Batman who is also Tim (we also get a past/future scene with Commissioner Montoya. Yay!)

Anyway, Future Tim wants to change the future by killing one specific person, and the rest of the Bat family sets out to stop him (I'm not happy about his target either. Really DC? I thought you'd be better than that?)

There was also an interesting story about Basil and Victoria trying to find a cure for Clayface's affliction. And an Anarchy/Spoiler story too.

I will say that now that I know more of Oz's story parts of this story were a little weird (and, if you don't know Oz's secret, by the end of this TPB you will). Also, some of the full page panels, where to go next to follow the conversation were a little confusing too.

Overall it was a fun read though.

I received this book via Netgalley thanks to DC Entertainment.

'Batman: Detective Comics, Vol. 5: A Lonely Place of Living' by James Tynion IV is a series of three stories with some interconnection. The theme seems to be how alone you can be, even on a team as amazing as this one.

Tim Drake has been missing and presumed dead. In this volume's main story, we find out what happened in a storyline that spans back and forth through time. Spoiler finds herself intrigued by an idea from Anarky that would build a new type of city underground. Meanwhile, Clayface deals with the monster that he is while trying to find a cure that would return him to being Basil Carlo all the time.

I really enjoyed all three of these stories. This Batman series has a bunch of diverse characters and they are all treated really well. I like the writing that James Tynion IV has done on this series, and I'll be sad to see him go. The art was consistently pretty good too.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from DC Entertainment and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

Grrr. This is nigh-on unreadable, for several reasons. One, it starts with multiple characters, all different Robins and different people that got to be Robin or will be Robin, or whatever, in multiple different worlds and all that dross. Two, it tries to weave in a Big Reveal type event from other titles, and it doesn't work in the order you get to read them in trades. Three, as a netgalley you're stumped when half the pages are double-page spreads but the artwork doesn't let you know that, so you're reading half the panels out of order. But it's just plain bad, whatever the excuse – one of the oh-so-common "why should we worry, this isn't real" stories. When it does get to concern real people it's still very meh and disposable, and it's backed up by two completely uninteresting one-shots that only go to show how soapy this title is becoming. A frustration of a book, and no mistake.

Batman: Detective Comics Vol 5: A Lonely Place of Living (Rebirth) mines the history of the Robins instead of including a straight-out mystery like the other volumes in this series.

Be prepared for Red Robin (Tim Drake) from two timelines and universes. The older Red Robin has come back to prevent damage done by Batwoman between the two timelines by killing her (shades of The Terminator). Nightwing (Dick the original Robin) also appears. To make matters more confusing, once arriving back in time older Red Robin dons his Batman costume so there are two Batmans with luckily slightly different costumes (check out the belt colors and slight differences in the bat chest emblem). Many DC heroes arrive to fight against older Tim. This arc is 2/3 of the book. The ending was anticlimactic and not a surprise if you have read Zero Hour or some of the websites about the DC multiverse.

The remaining third is set in Monstertown with Clayface, Anarky and Spoiler playing major roles. This volume collects Detective Comics #963-68.

Recommended for hard-core fans but those new to the DC universe or only familiar with the films may be completely lost. Also having heroes fighting heroes through most of the book might be disturbing for some younger fans. Since I missed the mystery but the art was great, I give this 3.5 stars (rounded up to 4).

Thanks to the publisher, DC Comics, and NetGalley for an advanced copy.

From the publisher: The Dark Knight's team of Gotham City vigilantes--including Batwoman, Clayface and Azrael--continue to protect their home in BATMAN: DETECTIVE COMICS VOL. 5!

Having exiled herself from Batman's world, former ally Spoiler has nearly destroyed herself trying to expose the corruption of Gotham City's vigilantes. Fortunately for her, help has arrived...but unfortunately for the city, it's in the form of the mysterious Anarky! Is he truly on the side of the people, or is he a dangerous lunatic?

From writer James Tynion IV (BATMAN/TMNT) and the spectacular art team including Alvaro Martinez (BATMAN ETERNAL) comes the newest volume of DETECTIVE COMICS! Collects DETECTIVE COMICS #963-968 and DETECTIVE COMICS ANNUAL #1.

Batman: Detective Comics Vol.5: A Lonely Place of Living by James Tynion IV is the book that brings Tim Drake back into the DC Universe. The title of the main story arc is a play off of the (in)famous A Lonely Place of Dying storyline line from the late 80's in which readers were to call in and decide whether or not the second Robin, Jason Todd, was killed by the Joker. Long story short, Todd didn't make it. So with a Robin-centric story, Tynion continues his run on Detective Comics featuring the Bat-team of heroes, including Batwoman, Clayface, Orphan, and Azrael, a team that was put in place by Tim Drake before his "death". In the wake of Tim's death, Batman resolves to search for Tim, believing him to still be alive, or at least able to be resurrected (Batman had an interesting experience along this line with his son Damien, the current Robin).

The main story has Tim confronted by a mysterious figure, who may or may not be responsible for taking him away. He eventually runs into a future version of himself who has become Batman in his timeline. The older Tim wants to change time to keep himself from becoming this more vicious version of Batman, while the younger Tim (Red Robin) wants to do what is right. Red Robin and Tim/Batman escape to Red Robin's time, where Red Robin teams up with the Bat-family, who he refers to as the Gotham Knights, in order to stop Tim/Batman. Looming over all of this is who or what abducted Tim in the first place.

A follow-up story focuses on Stephanie Brown, aka Spoiler, Tim's former girlfriend and former Gotham Knight. She has been approached by Anarky, who has created a utopia of sorts in Monstertown. Clayface also has a story, as he struggles with both how he looks and who he used to be, and whether he has any hope for redemption.

Both of these stories were okay. Tim's battle with the future Tim wasn't really that captivating to me, and there wasn't a lot of characterization. I'm not totally sure where Tynion is taking us, although its nice to have Tim back. There are also some seeds for future stories that hint at problems with some of the Bat-family of characters. Spoiler's story had a bit more characterization, but was really uneventful, all told. It will be interesting to see how Tim's return affects the personal journey she has been on since he "died", and hopefully will see that in the next volume. The most impactful story was Clayface's, as he searches for both a cure to his condition, and absolution for his past actions. Basil Karlo is a man in need of redemption, both physically and spiritually. His conversation with Mudface, a former movie colleague (and possible love interest), is especially telling and may have long term repercussions for Clayface in Detective Comics. This is a story line that I think could use some focus in upcoming issues.

I thought Detective Comics Vol. 5: A Lonely Place of Living by James Tynion IV was just okay. It brought Tim back and possibly set up some future events, but it wasn't really that engaging, especially compared to recent outings. I would recommend this volume to fans of Tim Drake or Batman completists, but its not the best standalone story to jump in with.

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

This DC Marvel Universe installation combines the deep thoughts/fears/inner turmoils of the Batman and Robin characters, the choices they made that make them into what they are today. It also includes characters from Monster City who also have their share of internal struggles. The book is definitely cerebral, relying more on the intellectual aspects of crime rather than the action sequences. As always, the artwork is superb, but this aids us in helping us to sympathize with the characters, hoping their outcome is a successful one.

I've always loved Batman but I also have a special place in my heart for mysteries and detective stories. While this one wasn't much of a mystery, I still really like this series. This installment is no exception. There is tons of action and plenty of plot twists for those of us who really enjoy mysteries. The artwork and writing were both amazing. The only downside is that the stories didn't really flow from one to the next but that's not really uncommon and not overly bothersome. The only thing that would make this more for older kids or teens is the violence. There's quite a bit of it but it's not gory, only blood really. It's just prevalent and heroes were sometimes pitted against heroes which might disturb younger kids. I really enjoyed the read though and I look forward to the next installment.

I would like to thank the publisher, author, and Netgalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was a bit of a disappointing read in that it was really difficult to follow what is going on. It relied on a knowledge of things happening in other comic lines, which is frustrating since I have read all of the Detective Comics collections since Rebirth started. The art and everything was fine, I just had a hard time knowing what was going on.

A Lonely Place of Living starts with a bang, focusing the majority of the novel on Timothy Drake, Robin and future Batman. Future Batman/Drake travels back in time so he never becomes Batman by destroying the hero he blames for it all. Visually told with beautiful colors and splendid drawing, the story peaks with a showdown between current Batman and his allies and future Batman. The last chapters of the volume end with Anarky's plan for a Utopia in Monstertown and Basil trying to control his Clayface persona. The story draws the reader in and pleases with action and drama for a fast-paced, addicting read. Great story telling and good artwork make this an excellent addition to the Batman fans' library. My voluntary, unbiased review is based upon a review copy from Netgalley.