This was a solid volume all around--both the Man Bat origin story and the Wrath story weaved into each other quite well. I particularly enjoyed the tying up of the Penguin storyline from the previous volume.

Beautifully pieced mythology...fits together so we'll. Loved the man bat thread. The wrath adaptation didn't hold as much water as I'd have liked.

Something about the wording bothered mena bit though..enough to take off a star. The art is intricate, both large and small scale, really impressive. Pulls together new and old very well.

This is really a collection of very short Batman stories with a few narrative connections running throughout. We get a retelling of the Man-Bat origin story through the lense of the Batman Incorporated dreck that Grant Morrison was writing. There's a Batmanesque Batman villain from the 80s who is used for the first time in ages. And there are some other C-level stories that are weaved in and out of these, including the resolution to the Emperor Penguin, which, frankly, deserved better.

I've loved some of [a:John Layman|93094|John Layman|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1316046488p2/93094.jpg]'s creator owned material, particularly [b:Chew, Vol. 1: Taster's Choice|6839093|Chew, Vol. 1 Taster's Choice|John Layman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1409985990l/6839093._SY75_.jpg|7050578], but his superhero work mostly bores me. It's not terrible. But he tends to reimagine stories rather than create his own, and his dialogue is stiff.

You certainly don't have to read this to follow any of the other New 52 books.

I have loved Layman's run on Detective Comics! His storytelling jumps back and forth between past and present, which is usually difficult for me to follow, but I found this time Layman made it quite easy to follow. Jason Fabok's artwork is also BRILLIANT. Layman has so far dived into a couple of new villains for the New 52, each of them with great depth and story. In this volume, the issues were all leading up to a new villain named "The Wrath". It was cool to see him operate in the shadows at the beginning, and then fully reveal himself toward the end. Overall, a great story, and I found a great storyteller and artist that I will follow in the future.

Not bad...but the Man-Bat and his loopy wife just don't do it for me.

6 sessions of bat marriage counseling out of 10

3.5 stars

John Layman writes a classic style Batman - a little detective work, a little action, and plenty of entertainment. The story isn’t anything particularly revolutionary or groundbreaking, but it is solid. Real meat and potatoes super heroics.

Capitalist cash-cow Wrath is so unimpressive.

Good premise, half-baked execution. Good artwork and back-up story. Not bowled over, sadly. (This is more like 2.5*)

Layman continues to lead batman out of the darkness and into the light. Aditionally his gift for planting the seeds for the next story while finishing the last is Clairmontian in the best of ways.

Mostly focused on the Man-Bat, and various other lesser known villains. An okay read. This could have been much better.