Not as good as Snyder's previous Batman entries, but still enjoyable. ( )

The author tries to deflect criticism by making light of it in his own script, but shaving James Gordon's mustache and head, shoving him into an Iron Man suit with bunny ears and calling him Batman is just stupid. And the new villain . . . ugh. ( )

I received this from Edelweiss and DC Comics in exchange for an honest review.

This is really, REALLY bad. I never thought I'd say that about a Scott Snyder-penned book.

James Gordon is now a young, cut, mohawked ex-marine wearing a nano-carbon batsuit. Bruce Wayne, who can't seem to EVER stay dead, is back almost immediately after Endgame, but has amnesia and only knows he's rich and is supposed to somehow help the down-trodden people of Gotham City. Oh, and even though he has amnesia, he's engaged to his childhood sweetheart. Or something.

There's a new bad guy, Mr. Bloom, and while this is supposed to be an "origin story", there's nothing to indicate where he came from. And somehow, Penguin is involved, but it looks like Bloom kills him halfway through the book. Or something.

And what's with the post-Zero Hour story in the middle of the book? Talk about throwing the reader for a loop! Is it supposed to be James Gordon remembering something that Batman did? Is it supposed to be a Bruce Wayne story so the reader doesn't have to reminisce about the real Batman? Does it have anything to do with the Bloom story arc? Who really knows?

I wouldn't recommend this to anyone, even rabid Batman fans. This is really, REALLY bad. ( )

Alright. That wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. Which, I know, is a horrible way to start a review. But, a new Batman always makes me nervous, whether it’s John Paul, or Dick, or this newbie. But while it wasn’t perfect, I did enjoy this new Batman story.

I also liked that apparently it’s now Commissioner Sawyer. There’s a new bad guy being called Mr. Bloom. And Julia. The Julia thing took me a second to catch up with, but that was super cool too. It was a nice start to a new chapter in the Batman story. (And that hair, oh my that hair cut of Jim's)

I got this galley through Netgalley on behalf of DC Entertainment. ( )