My first thought seeing this cover was, um, has this always been Duke's hero name? Well, according to this TPB it hasn't been, so, phew, I'm glad I didn't miss something big like that.

We start with his start with Batman and the Cursed Wheel training. But, soon that gives way to the main story. About teens who are becoming met (Duke is too apparently). And who/what etc. is making them/controlling them.

We also meet a Detective (or perhaps I've forgotten meeting her before) Aisi. And we definitely learn more about her. I liked her and would love to see more of her too. The same goes for Duke as The Signal too.

I wasn't sure that the Batman titles could actually do something different, but, I actually think they have here. I liked it a lot.

I received this book via Netgalley thanks to DC Entertainment.

🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃
Batman and The Signal

Batman & The Signal tells the story of Duke Thomas aka The Signal; Batman's newest recruit. The Signal is now basically a day-time Batman, and was formerly a new Robin.

I really enjoyed this graphic novel! It is very fresh, fun, exciting, and gives us a new super hero that is opposite of Batman's night-time crusading.

Duke Thomas is a very cool new hero that kids (especially of minority) could look up to and be obsessed with. He has a cool suit and awesome powers.

Besides having great dialogue and an epic story, the art is fantastic and eye-catching. Really digging Batman's new look and The Signal's, too.

I recommend!

Batman and the Signal was a little too focused on the Signal’s feelings and history to feel like a fully fleshed out plot.

Duke Thomas, formerly a Robin, is now the Signal, a daytime crimefighter in Gotham. In addition, Duke is one of the increasingly common metahumans, those whose superpowers are in their genes set off by a triggering event.

The brighter colors and clearer pictures are a nice change that emphasizes that Batman and the Signal is set in the daylight. Duke as the Signal has self doubts and confusion about his power and role as a Gotham protector. However, the underlying mystery of what or who is activating the metahumans is the star here.

By the end, I was exhausted by the sheer volume of teenage angst. It felt like I was reading a young adult book. While the art was beautiful, the story just didn’t pop for me. 3 stars.

Thanks to DC Comics and NetGalley for an advanced copy.

Interesting direction they are going with for Duke Thomas' story. Separate but still part of the Bat family unlike Batwing & Batwoman. I little confusing at times with the metahuman development but interesting. Overall, good book.

This was one that I requested just because I tend to love anything Batman related, and this one definitely didn't disappoint. I really enjoyed the characters in this one and the development of Duke's character.

I loved the idea of there being these "daytime" villains that needed to be stopped, but Batman can't exactly defend things all the time, so that's where Duke has to step in.

I'm actually super excited to see where this goes and I'm thankful for the opportunity to pick it up from the beginning.

Not bad, but I want to see more, to know more about Duke and what's going on with him. He supposedly has some sort of meta-human abilities, but what the heck are they? They never make an appearance in this volume that I can see. Duke Thomas, The Signal, is the latest in a fairly long line of sidekicks to Batman and this is the first volume that shows him striking out on his own. There's a bunch of backup stories from Snyder's All-Star Batman, as well as a 3-issue series focused on Duke. But it isn't really enough. We don't know a whole lot more about Duke at the end than we did at the beginning, other than that he's going to be Gotham's "day" hero (the day/night thing isn't a bad idea, but it's barely developed). Unless there's going to be a Signal series or something (and I'd be really surprised if one materializes), this seems like a bit of a lost opportunity to really develop a character that could have lasting impact on the DC universe. Great artwork from Cully Hamner and Declan Shalvey. Less so from Francesco Francavilla. Snyder shows again that he understands Batman about as well as anyone. Here's hoping we see more of Duke Thomas in future projects.

Batman works by night but protects it during the day. He needs not a sidekick but a new superhero. He starts with mentoring this person. Who is he? The Signal and fighting crime in Gotham city is not easy but when you have two heroes fighting against the villains, it is easier. Families are involved which makes it complicated. The story rocks and the graphics are amazing. It's a great graphic novel to add to your collection. I received this book from Net Galley and DC Entertainment for a honest review and no compensation otherwise.

This graphic novel collects the key issues that explain the rise and development of Duke from Robin to The Signal. It is a thrilling chapter in the saga of Batman and his relationship with the Bat family and Gotham City. The three issue miniseries about Gotham by daylight is inventive, fun, and intriguing as the story builds a new dimension to Batm.an.

It's time to meet Gotham's day shift. Batman & the Signal introduces a young new super-hero, the Signal. Trained by Batman, the Signal is well on his way to being a great detective who wants to stand on his own two feet. No side-kick roll for him, the Signal even has his own lair. A meta-human with powers, the Signal patrols the Narrows during the day trying to solve the case that he seems to be the center of. With a new cool villain and an interesting new police ally, the Signal is unique and gripping new super-hero with a well written story. Snyder's story telling is a top notch detective story with plenty of action that is both suspenseful and engrossing and completely entertaining. While not my favorite embodiment of Batman, the art is nicely drawn and beautifully colored. The Signal contains the potential to be a new favorite and is a must read for Batman fans. My voluntary, unbiased review is based upon a review copy from Netgalley.

Decent but not amazing. I like that all of the buildup around who Duke will be as a member of the Bat-team finally paid off in an interesting way-- him basically being the day shift in Gotham. That said, the specifics of this book-- re-publishing a previous arc and then his combat with Central-- wasn't that interesting. Central wasn't that worthwhile of a villain. I do enjoy the way that the story set up more of Duke's specific support system.

I was first introduced to Duke Thomas in We Are Robin, a story that I absolutely loved and enjoyed, and I have been waiting to see more of Duke ever since. So, ta-da I got my wish. If you hadn’t read the We Are Robin or Robin War stories no big deal, you get enough info dropped throughout the story to piece it all together yourself.

Bruce offers Duke a chance to be a Robin and takes to training him to find out just what kind of Robin he will be. The answer, a different kind of Robin then I’m used to seeing. Duke wants to be a daytime bat family member, and a very interesting crew builds around him to support his mission as he takes to the day shift and leaves the night to the other bats. There is a break where the story split into what I’m assuming was an event storyline and isn’t included here, and picks up again where that story left off at. Context tells me you probably didn’t miss out on much but my readers OCD demands that I’ll probably end up finding a copy of Dark Knights: Metal. I enjoyed this story, I liked seeing Bruce being a mentor, I loved seeing Duke finding his place and becoming a Robin that was him, so not a Robin, but Signal.

I hope to see more of him in the future.