Comic Info
Comic Name: All-Star Batman
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Scott Snyder
Artist: John Romita Jr./Declan Shalvey
# of Issues: 5
Release Date: 2015
All-Star Batman #4
Reprints All-Star Batman #1-5 (October 2016-February 2017). Batman has had it with Two-Face. With his actions getting increasingly more violent and the Harvey Dent persona disappearing into the Two-Face persona, Batman is making a final attempt to save his childhood friend. Two-Face has plans for Batman and has put a bounty on Batman’s head that will lead to all of Gotham’s secrets revealed…everyone is gunning for Batman, and Two-Face could come out on top!
Written by Scott Snyder, All-Star Batman Volume 1: My Own Worst Enemy is a DC Comics Rebirth title. Following Snyder’s run on the New 52 Batman, the series features art by John Romita Jr. A back-up story (which ran in issues #1-4) featuring Duke Thomas called “The Cursed Wheel” features art by Declan Shalvey.
Snyder’s New 52 Batman series kind of turned me on Batman. I wasn’t a huge Batman fan…I liked the movies, love the ’60s TV series as a kid, and really liked the animated series in the 1990s, but the comic books always (minus a few storylines) always left me rather flat. Snyder’s take on the character breathed new life into the character and gave him a different feel. I was excited to see his run continue into Rebirth, but found I had a hard time getting into All-Star Batman.
All-Star Batman #5 Variant
There is nothing wrong with All-Star Batman and it feels in tune with Snyder’s initial runs. I never was a big Two-Face fan and I thought the means Snyder used to tell the story were a little unnecessarily confusing (aka 2 hours ago, 2 days ago, etc.). Sometimes a shattered storyline helps emphasize the story and other times it just feels like it is to make a kind of boring story more interesting…I’m kind of leaning toward that here.
The book is loaded with great Batman villains but most of them are utilized to their best. Characters like Cheshire and Killer Croc are regulated to small cameos and they “give up” on the assignment once Batman bests them. The Beast (aka KGBeast) actually works well in the story and it makes me wish that some of the other villains had been dropped to focus on him (though I do always like the Royal Flush Gang getting trounced).
Duke is also an interesting aspect on this run of Batman. Batman repeatedly states that Duke “isn’t a Robin”, but it isn’t really defined what he will be to Batman. He isn’t an equal and he still feels like a sidekick. I like the character and I want to see what is planned for him.
All-Star Batman 1: My Own Worst Enemy isn’t a bad start to the title, but I wish I could get into it more. I like Romita Jr.’s art but I also like Shalvey’s back-up art. With such a “big” story to kick off the title, I don’t see how the series can keep up the momentum that this volume (regardless if I enjoyed it) tried to start. All-Star Batman 1: My Own Worst Enemy was followed by All-Star Batman 2: Ends of the Earth.
