Batman Vol.3 #1

Aug 2012. Cover price £2.99.
76 pages. Full colour contents.
Titan Magazines.

Cover p: PAT (Patrick Gleason), i: Mick Gray, colouring by Moose Baumann.
r: cover from Batman and Robin (DC Comics) #01 (Nov 2011).

Contents:

 2 Star Wars Galaxy in-house advertisement

 3 Contents Page

 4 Batman pin-up; p: PAT (Patrick Gleason), i: Mick Gray, colouring by Moose Baumann.

r: cover from Batman and Robin (DC Comics) #01 (Nov 2011).

 5 Born to Kill w: Peter J. Tomasi; p: Patrick Gleason, i: Mick Gray, lettering by Patrick Brosseau, colouring by John Kalisz.

r: Batman and Robin (DC Comics) #01 (Nov 2011).

25 Justice League in-house advertisement.

26 Batman pin-up; p: PAT (Patrick Gleason), i: Mick Gray, colouring by John Kalisz.

r: cover from Batman and Robin (DC Comics) #02 (Dec 2011).

27 Bad Blood w: Peter J. Tomasi; p: Patrick Gleason, i: Mick Gray, lettering by Patrick Brosseau, colouring by John Kalisz.

r: Batman and Robin (DC Comics) #02 (Dec 2011).

37 Batman pin-up; a: Dustin Nguyen.

r: variant cover from Batman (DC Comics) #07 (May 2012).

38 Batman pin-up; p: PAT (Patrick Gleason), i: Mick Gray, colouring by John Kalisz.

r: cover from Batman and Robin (DC Comics) #02 (Dec 2011).

43 Batman: The World of the Dark Knight competition.

52 Subscribe

53 Batman a: Greg Capullo, colouring by FCO Plascencia.

r: cover from Batman (DC Comics) #07 (May 2012).

54 Previously - Batman Vs. The Court of Owls recap.

55 The Talons Strike! w: Scott Snyder. p: Greg Capullo, i: Jonathan Glapion, lettering by Richard Starkings & Jimmy Betancourt, colouring by FCO Plascencia.

r: Batman (DC Comics) #07 (May 2012).

75 Next Time! in-house advertisement.

76 Batman: The Dark Knight in-house advertisement.

For a first issue, this is incredibly poor. Aside from the lack of profile pages (as the London Editions Magazines launch had), this also neglects to explain anything about the New 52 status quo, for those expecting material published prior to DC's perfect jumping-off point. A complete lack of text signifying that there are major differences in the background to the title is frustrating, and promotes the sense of this comic being little more than a chore for Titan, when it really ought to be a celebration of a long-lived character.

The primary villain encountered in the first story, for instance, isn't even named in the comic until over halfway through the issue, which is compounded by the problem of an entirely different storyline making up the final third of the issue. With the Joker or the Riddler, enough exposure across various media negates the necessity to tag the character for reader identification, but second-rate villains should always be named as early in the script as possible to prevent frustration. These lapses point to a sloppiness and disregard for the reader that is, in this day and age, completely unacceptable.

I keep six honest serving-men
(They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who.
I send them over land and sea,
I send them east and west;
But after they have worked for me,
I give them all a rest.
                     Rudyard Kipling.

What is the diabolical plan Batman must overcome? Why is the villain undertaking such a plan? When, importantly, is this story set, in relation to material which the reader has possibly encountered? How does it fit in with the stories previously published, and how have we gotten to the point where the story picks up? Where, thankfully, is covered well, establishing Gotham as central to the continuing narrative. Who are these characters?

An abysmal entry-point for new readers, who should have been provided with a far cleaner and less convoluted tale.

There are a few positives here - notably the clean presentation of the covers as pin-ups - though the mish-mash of contents, and the unfortunate continuation of Damian Wayne's presence, mean that this is a chore to read rather than a piece of entertainment.

Batman Vol.3

#02