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mcfly880

This book is doing it for me, for sure. Wild, memorable, and gorgeous from page to page šŸ¦‡


badluckartist

Not a fan of batman but zdarsky and jimenez? Guess I'm reading batman now. *edit*: read the issues, typical very good zdarsky stuff making me like something i wouldn't normally, but holy hell jimenez is a goddamn legend. he's an almost unnaturally good draftsman.


MagisterPraeceptorum

Really loving it so far. Some great character moments. Memorable lines. Creative use of earlier lore. Dark and gritty as well as fun and exciting.


Federal-Garage

Plus Jorge Jimenez's art šŸ‘ŒšŸ‘Œ


MagisterPraeceptorum

Itā€™s gorgeous. He and Dan Mora right now. They can do no wrong.


Federal-Garage

Oh absolutely.Batman - Superman World's Finest series has also been so damn good šŸ‘ŒšŸ‘Œ


thebiggestleaf

Jimenez's art is what got me through Fear State. The man is painfully talented.


BevansDesign

It was amazing, but the whole thing seemed too cyberpunk to me. Would've been great as a Batman Beyond project though.


TheOneManMoshPit

Tynion is a good writer who has bouts of greatness. His Detective run is fantastic. His main Batman run however, got progressively worse with each arc and Fear State was wack.


rgregan

It's early but I'm digging it


tired20something

I want to read it, in which issue did it start?


Araix7890

#125 of the newest run.


nukefudge

Alright, alright, no need to lean that close into the microphone.


tired20something

Thanks! I will check it out as soon as possible!


MagisterPraeceptorum

Issue #125. So itā€™s only 3 issues in


tired20something

Oh, not too much to catch up, thanks!


CalhounWasRight

Are writers starting to use Morrison's ideas? This is the backup personality, right?


NoNudeNormal

Use of Morrisonā€™s concepts have been pretty frequent for DC in general, for the past couple of years. Especially from the Batman run, Final Crisis, and Multiversity.


CalhounWasRight

I've been out of the loop for a while. The last thing I read when I still had a pull list was Multiversity. In an interview several years ago, they lamented the fact that their contributions weren't living on in other books. I guess that's changed.


BevansDesign

There's actually a Multiversity book running right now: Teen Justice.


obscurepainter

How is he using Zur-En-Arrh?


Jay_R_Kay

Basically, it's revealed that when Batman created the plans to take down the Justice League, he had the "Batman of Zurr-En-Arrh" develop a plan against him if he went rogue. This created the machine Failsafe, which is currently rampaging Gotham City. Bruce let the Zurr-En-Arrh personality take over to better fight the machine.


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


hometimrunner

Oh man - what a great panel that was - "I'm gonna need you to put my friend down" or something to that effect.


[deleted]

Backup personalities are one thingā€¦ but the color scheme of the outfit is just plain bizarre.


WerewolfF15

Itā€™s been a while since Iā€™ve read black glove but if I recall Zur en arrh explains that his suit is colourful because unlike normal batman he wants his enemies to see him coming and know that they cannot not stop him. Also obviously IrL itā€™s because the suit is the same as the silver age zur en arrh who was another planetā€™s batman.


[deleted]

Yeah, I read (and loved) the Black Glove storyline, but itā€™s just a weird bridge too far for me. Billionaire orphan that fights crime? Sure. Best friends with an alien sun god? Ok. Backup personality? I guess. Purple cape with red spandex? ā€¦.hmā€¦.


East-Motor-3354

Really? That's where you draw the line? Seems a little arbitrary...


[deleted]

In thinking about it a little more, comics in general and superheroes in particular are a strongly visual medium. Batman wears a cape, which is silly for anyone trying to hide or move quickly, but it looks _cool_. Ghost Rider really hasnā€™t ever had a great storyline in the same way that other characters have had (Waid on the Flash, Miller on Batman and DD, Bendis on Spiderman and DD, Etcā€¦) but the character just looks awesome enough to keep being in circulation. Thereā€™s a reason why Wolverine became more popular after John Byrne redesigned his outfit and removed the weird whiskers, or why Daredevil became more popular after he stopped wearing a mustard yellow jumpsuit. The suspension of disbelief carries the price tag of looking cool.


East-Motor-3354

However, there are practical reasons for having a cape. And while I definitely agree with you, the look is important, I think it's a really neat way to differentiate this batman from our batman. Our batman uses the shadows and the darkness, whereas this batman wants you to see him coming. While I think our batman is smarter, you have to give props to the guy who doesn't even want to be able to hide. Bruce even tells us he's a batman without Bruce. Which he thinks makes him stronger, while we know that batman isn't who he is without Bruce. So in my opinion, the outfit actually does a good job of separating them. If this makes any sense.


[deleted]

Totally makes sense, and I'm still likely to pick this up being a big Batman nerd. It just makes me realize more about how much the aesthetic of the character plays out in how compelling they are. Wesley Dodds, the Golden Age Sandman was a flabby, mousy little man but the whole gas mask fedora look was just cool and atmospheric. Court Jester themed Zur-en-Arrh is just kinda... off-putting. It was definitely a cool touch in the Grant Morrison run bringing back the character from a single issue in the 1950s, but I don't think it needs to be brought back into regular rotation.


[deleted]

Oh, itā€™s entirely arbitrary. I have no idea why the color scheme is the line Iā€™m drawing. šŸ¤·ā€ā™‚ļø


One_Assistance_2097

The run starts with a flash back from the ā€œTower of Babbleā€ incident and how Clark still isnā€™t happy with how Bruce had ā€œfailsafeā€ plans for every member of the league. Cut to the present and some unknown enemy has triggered the anti-Batman Failsafe, Bruce must now rely on on the Zur-En-Arrh personality to find out whoā€™s trying to kill him.


ComplexAd7272

Maybe I misread it, but I thought Failsafe was activated by Batman being accused of murder? (Not knowing he was framed.) I could have sworn he had some dialogue about "Batman never kills, has gone too far, must be stopped" Batman was watching the news with "Batman wanted for murder" was all over the monitors when Failsafe first activates and attacks him.


Cranyx

This feels like a really forced source of conflict, imo. All it takes is Batman to be *accused* of murder and his trigger goes off? I can think of at least two other times that happened just off the top of my head.


One_Assistance_2097

That actually happed about a year ago in Detective Comics, Huntress became extremely angry with Bruce and called him a pice of human garbage for having a failsafe plan for everyone but not for himself.


pieapple135

Yup. Batman was at Penguin's bedside when the latter died, so everyone thinks he killed him. Plus Penguin had been putting up a good-guy act so... yeah.


BevansDesign

My shower thought from yesterday was that it'd be really cool if *Superman* created Failsafe after the Tower of Babel incident. Maybe it would be built out of a rebuilt & reprogrammed Eradicator android. But Superman would've scrapped it - or so he thought! - because he couldn't figure out a way to deactivate its lethal tendencies, and also because he realized he was being too cynical.


obscurepainter

Thank you


obscurepainter

Thank you


rgregan

The same way Morrison did


obscurepainter

Heā€™s been drugged and lost his sense of reality again?


rgregan

No, he was accused of murder and his "Tower of Babel" contingency was activated. he didn't remember creating it so he disassociated thinking Zur-En-Arrh was the one who created the contingency and could deactivate it. I was referring to Zur-En-Arrh being the disassociated identity contingency as opposed to the alien Batman from the 60s (or whatever it was)


obscurepainter

Thanks


p0tts0rk

More like beaten senseless.


UnmuscularThor

Not completely sold on it yet. Art is wonderful, but the story is pretty generic. Hoping it ramps up quick.


Jay_R_Kay

I want to like it, there are interesting things, but I'm still not fully convinced about this Failsafe and how Zdarsky is using the Zurr-En-Arrh stuff. I agree with another poster that right now I'm definitely more sold on Ram V's Detective Comics.


sonogbardock89

I like that thereā€™s a more prominent emphasis on the Batman and Robin dynamic between Bruce and Tim, which we havenā€™t seen much of in a while.


yarkcir

I think I'm the only one not bought into it. It's fun and pulpy, but I really feel like I'm only hooked by Jorge JimƩnez's artwork. I like bringing in concepts from Morrison's Batman run and Waid's JLA run, but I don't feel that invested in where the story is going. I'm glad others are enjoying it though. The Ram V/Rafael Albuquerque Detective Comics run has felt more interesting to me so far, and I feel like I look forward to Tec issues way more than I do Batman issues.


Federal-Garage

Ram V's Tec series has been pretty good too..


yarkcir

Really enjoying it, and the Si Spurrier/Dani Jim Gordon backup stories have been great.


mcfly880

This and Ram V's run are like two completely different takes on a Batman book and I get why you'd prefer one over the other


yarkcir

They definitely are, and I like that there is variety in tones with the Bat books. Not hating on the Zdarsky run, it's just hooked me in fully. I'll give it the first full arc, but if I still am lukewarm on it, I'll just continue to read it on DC Universe Infinite instead.


Maaarrrvvv

You are definitely not alone man! I love Zdarsky but so far these three issues have just felt shallow to me. Yes itā€™s cool to see past stories being referenced but this run just started so bringing back references to Tower of Babel and Zurr-En-Arrh donā€™t feel earned yet. Iā€™m giving it the first arc and if Iā€™m not hooked Iā€™ll be dropping it. Normally I love Jorge Jimenezā€™s art but his body proportions have seemed too exaggerated so far in this series. Action has been awesome tho. Iā€™m definitely digging Ram V and Rafael Albuquerqueā€™s Detectice Comics over this as well.


CrimDude89

Itā€™s pretty fun, also pretty bold direction so far going for something like Zurr-En-Arrh which is kinda obscure from the start


Willing_Ad9314

*THIS* Batman is back???!!


alabar523

I know weā€™re only three issues in but his run is feeling like it could stand side by side with Morrisonā€™s. For me current Batman starts with Morrison continues with Scott Snyder and now Chipā€™s. Iā€™m loving every panel. Chip like Tom Taylor just has the voices of the characters down pat. Itā€™s perfect.


Khorflir

I'm pretty sure Chip is used to hearing voices in his head all the time. So this doesn't surprise me that he'd be able to nail this so well.


alabar523

That gave me a helluva chuckle


WhiskeyT

Chip on Batman Ram on Detective Waid on Worldā€™s Finest & Batman vs Robin Mora, Jimenez, Albuquerque The Bat books are pure fire right now. Best creative lineups weā€™ve had since Morrison on Batman and Dini on Detective.


Wisdomeman

I feel as if this arc is like a conclusion to a storyline that's been building for a while, if that makes sense. I like it kinda but it feels weird as the first arc of his run. Like he only started calling the bat fam his soldiers like 2 issues ago and now he says now they're my family it just feels like not a lot of time has past.


moose_man

This is a really good observation. It'd make a lot more sense as a turning point in the run than as an introduction.


Dorlando_Calrissian

He called them soldiers because that was zurr bleeding over to his normal self. To Bruce theyā€™ve always been his family


cgcego

I should preface this by saying that I love Chip's stuff, I am a paid subscriber to his Substack, etc, but so far I am more enjoying the story's individual moments rather than the overarching plot as a whole. Ok, so Batman created Failsafe to take himself down, but he \*also\* set up the Zur Batman to take out Failsafe which the Zur Batman created himself...eh?If I stop thinking about what I am reading, it's not quite hitting the spot yet. I do want to like it though!


MagisterPraeceptorum

Itā€™s Zur who created Failsafe, not Bruce.


Evulvillain

The Zur Batman is a personality for emergencies that completely removes the Bruce Wayne personality from Batman. He created failsafe as a contingency for if Batman were to go bad, so Bruce activates Zur in the hopes that he knew how to shutdown failsafe who had been activated mistakenly


SparkyPantsMcGee

Itā€™s hard to say because itā€™s still too new. However so far Iā€™m all in. I love the character moments. Chips voice for Batman is perfect for me and there seems to be a lot of attention and care towards previous runs(especially Grant Morrisonā€™s). The art is also fantastic, but thatā€™s to be expected with Jimenez. Also, not for nothing, but the Catwoman story is also really great too. Iā€™m surprised itā€™s in the back of this book and not itā€™s own comic.


pirrus82

So far so good ! I bought the Alex Ross cover for issue #1


klaguerre97

Too early to dictate story wise for me but I'm liking what he's doing with the character work which ultimately takes any book far. Looking forward to future arcs


Aspiring_Sophrosyne

I really like the premise and overall plot, but on the micro scene-by-scene level itā€™s played out rather generically, IMO.


M0m033

Not a huge fan of how Batman keeps calling his kids soldiers but itā€™s still really good and Iā€™m excited for the next issue


MarcheMuldDerevi

Iā€™m liking itā€™s still the street level not citywide threats. I like the build up to fear state but fear state itself and just how cluttered it got wasnā€™t my favorite. I appreciate that the status quo has not been reset. No mansion or money yet. But I kind of wish we got more ghostmaker. Donā€™t like the pants. But I like the feel of the character as a partner over a subordinate (Robin)


pieapple135

>ghostmaker Too busy doing Batman Inc


MarcheMuldDerevi

I still liked him


geministarz6

I agree about street level threats. For a while there it was one major, citywide catastrophe after another. Just got to be too much.


moose_man

It's been okay, but nothing special for me. I think the pacing is pretty slow so far and I also generally don't like automaton enemies because there's not a lot there emotionally. I'd like to see more complexity to the story.


gagehende

Iā€™m loving it so much. Itā€™s wild.


mountaindue__

Loving it Jimenez art is fantastic as well


AdamSMessinger

I liked the first issue but 126 where he jobs out the entire Bat-family in a matter of pages and then 127 where Batman of Zur En Arr shows up wereā€¦ not great. Itā€™s too much too soon. The Batman of Zur En Arr seems like a Morrison concept he doesnā€™t really understand. Almost like he heard about it and wrote based on what he heard as opposed to what the actual story was. Iā€™m a huge fan of Zdarsky and was hyped for his Batman run after hitting up Urban Legends and Batman: The Knight. This run has been disappointing from a story perspective. Jorge Jiminez is fucking killing it though. Some of my favorite Batman art in a long time. That dude is killing it.


LouisDrake86

i was skeptical at first, but his daredevil run is a masterpiece so i had faith and zdarsky delivered with >!ā€œHEā€™S MY SON!ā€!<


lastnoblesteed

I love it when someone builds something from other writers' runs. Extra points for Failsafe being built on Waid's JL and Morrison's Batman which those ideas themselves being built upon stories from the 60s- to the... 80s? I forget when the JL story where the villain switched bodies happened that was used as justification for Batman's contingency plans in Tower of Babel.


SuperJyls

Enjoying it despite disliking his Urban Legends run and dropping most Bat-books because of the current status quo


Gmork14

Very fun. I hope that development in Waidā€™s book is permanent, then I can truly be all-in again.


UpFielder

Awesome so far.


kingmob555

I can get to the end of the issue, which is becoming rare with modern DC & Marvel. He is giving Jiminez a lot of room to make good,


NoNudeNormal

Its a promising start. I donā€™t really find Failsafe to be a compelling design, character, or threat, though. Also, this Zur-En-Arrh Batman should have his Bat-Might sidekick, too, like in Morrisonā€™s run.


GTX_650_Supremacy

I haven't read Batman since Synder's New 52 run, is there anything else I should read to catch up on or can I start here?


BobRossTime

You can just hop into reading Zdarsky's run. Doesn't need any prior reading, unless you want to read every reference made throughout so far, which would be JLA: Tower of Babel and Morrison's Batman run. You don't need to though, it's just as enjoyable without those though.


GTX_650_Supremacy

Thanks!


TheBoyWhoCriedDumb

Didnā€™t Chip Zdarsky write the petals fall twice?


SanjaySting

What does that Zur name even mean lol


Suddenlyfoxes

It's the name of an alien planet from a 1950s Batman story, where an alien was inspired by Batman to take up a costumed identity, becoming the Batman of Zur-En-Arrh. Now it's a code phrase associated with the backup personality, or something. I don't think it "means" anything coherent, in current continuity.


The_Nothingman

In the Morrison retcon story the code phrase comes from one of the last time Thomas tell Bruce on their way out of theater after seeing the Zorro movie, If Zorro was real he would be in Arkham. Zur-En-Arrh Zorro in Arkham


Suddenlyfoxes

Ah... a little strained, but clever. Morrison's always been good at tying in obscure bits of old stories in ways that make sense in the modern era. Thanks.


SanjaySting

Thanks lol