Batman #111

James Tynion IV continues to push Gotham in new and exciting ways, redefining the city and its denizens for the foreseeable future. Batman 111 is a largely transitional issue, moving Batman and Gotham toward the incoming 'Fear State" event, and Ghost-Maker toward the conclusion of his backup story in the 2021 Batman Annual later this year. While that does make it light on resolutions for a book that technically ends two separate features, it does deftly accomplish what it is trying to do: prepare the world, the characters, and the readers for "Fear State"... and Gotham's terrifying future. As it happens, Fear State has me more excited than any Bat-title crossover has in years, so if that's what we're here to do this month, that's fine by me. Read Full Review

Ghost-Maker's ascent up the tower continues to be highly entertaining, and I'm looking forward to him finally facing Madame Midas. It's superhero comics by way of Korean martial arts films. Read Full Review

Batman #111 is another highly consistent release that crams in a lot of content into its pages. We get art that explodes off the page, violence that packs a huge punch, plotting that's enticing with a page-turning quality, and a real sense of peril and high stakes. As this arc enters its home strait, anything could happen to any of the characters. Issue #112 needs to be at the top of everybody's pull lists, as there's no sounder investment to be made! Read Full Review

Batman #111 is the culmination of Tynion's build-up to Fear State. Given how amazing Joker War was, I expect that Fear State will prove just as great. I will be eagerly watching to see if Tynion can deliver with this event story. Read Full Review

Jimenez has a brilliant eye for both detail and movement in the Batman story. There is an energy to the visuals that helps drive the story forward. Lopez Ortiz has does some great work with the Ghost Maker story. The visual style of the story is great and I love the anime influences. Read Full Review

Batman #111 sets everything into place for the upcoming Fear State story be an event I am entering at the maximum hype level. James Tynion and Jorge Jimenez do an excellent job making the unknown something to be excited about. In the process they turn Scarecrow into a top-tier villain with how terrifying he comes across. Everything else that goes down in Batman #111 creates a lot of questions for how the Batman Family will deal with the rise of Scarecrow and the Magistrate. Read Full Review

Art, storytelling and characters come together nicely for another solid, enjoyable chapter in this ongoing Batman saga. Read Full Review

The Dark Knight's latest adventure is drawing to a close with a hell of a twist. The art from both Jimenez and Morey is some of the best in comics right now, and Tynion proves that he's one of the best writers in comics today. Read Full Review

James Tynion IV and Jorge Jimenez wrap up the first arc of Batman to follow "Future State" with a series of action set pieces and a third-act betrayal that sets up the next big Gotham crossover: "Fear State." Read Full Review

Tynion might be getting too ambitious with this story arc, but it's certainly keeping Batman from getting boring. It'd be nice for a break between these extended arcs though if for no other reason than allowing Batman to recover and assess how things have played out. Tynion hasn't really done much with the vast potential of Bruce Wayne losing his fortune and with the constant battles flowing into the next one, it doesn't feel like as big a change to the status quo as it should. Hopefully Tynion can allow things to cool down soon to spend more time on Batman and his supporting cast when they're not in action 24/7. Read Full Review

Batman #111 ends as one would expect, laying the groundwork for the upcoming Fear State event. It's fun, albeit predictable. Read Full Review

Batman #111 makes it quite clear that James Tynion has been building to Fear State under the guise of Future State/ the Magistrate. The issue reveals a number of plot threads that will unfold in the upcoming event, and they're executed well enough that I'm interested. Incredible artwork from Jorge Jimenez and Tomeu Morey " along with some entertaining and engaging action " makes this a worthy read. That doesn't mean the issue is without its problems though. James Tynion still has opportunities, namely his depiction of Batman. Read Full Review

Batman #111 is an okay issue that gets everything in place for Fear State. Because of that, the excitement is what's coming, not what's happening, and while the art was good,  there wasn't anything that stood out.  Read Full Review

An amazing Batman book, but I'm getting tired of these intrusive Ghost Maker bonus stories. Read Full Review

The current core of Batman's story isn't serving to tell a Batman story. It's designed to back fill "Future State," just with Tynion dressing things up with flash and gimmick characters. When you realize that, when the whole of Simon Saint's plan is laid out completely bare in the issue, it takes the shine off of everything else. Read Full Review

cincyfan

Aug 07, 2021

Wow! This continues to be my favorite book. I can't say enough about how much I have loved what James tynion has done. The Batman story was incredible! I'm really into the miracle molly charecter and I really dig the unsanity collective. The artwork in the Batman story is fantastic as well. I also really enjoy learning more and more about ghostmaker the more I read of him the more I love that character as well.i would score this a 10+

Federico Liguori

Aug 03, 2023

This long storyline confirms that Batman's problem had a name: Tom King. If you compare this to garbage like The War of Jokes and Riddles or City of Bane, the results are laughable.

Screaming Enigma

Jul 18, 2023

The final issue of Batman before Fear State is a pretty good one that finally brings Batman to Scarecrow after the past few issues have opened with Batman's dream sequences. I'm really loving Jimenez's art in this run, but that's to be expected at this point. The backup wasn't quite as good Issue 110's, but it was still entertaining and I'm looking forward to seeing Ghost-Maker finally face all of his adversaries in the annual.

Gavan

Aug 04, 2021

Solid issue. Not much more to say. Good set-up for ‘Fear State’ as well

TSMack

Aug 10, 2021

I thought the artwork was great & Tynion's story kept me interested to the end. One thing though. The media is viewing the situation, and they are too dumb to see that the Magistrates are trying to massacre the Unsanity Collective? Again, I don't care about the tedious White Deadpool story.

UxasIs

Aug 13, 2021

Batman - 8.5/10 Ghost-maker - 7.5/10

Tempra16v2.0Turbo

Aug 04, 2021

Não irei dizer que estou adorando esse run, mas essa edição foi uma leitura agradável, apesar da Harley.

daspidaboy

Aug 03, 2021

This is just set up for Fear State, but I still like this story due to its action, art style, and the upcoming crossover event. The dialogue is a bit weird but whatever.

Anakin

Aug 03, 2021

While I do miss the more grounded and "depressing" Batman stories, I don't really mind how fun, well paced and action packed this storyline has been. Is it the best thing ever? No, not even close but it's fun and sort of cheesy in all the right ways. That being said, this does somewhat cheapen the Fear State event and I probably won't be taking it as seriously as I should be. The art is fantastic and does wonders to elevate this middling story. The Future State continuity never strongly resonated with me and I definitely do not want it to be rehashed in canon. Here's hoping to a better next arc because this feels way less serious than I wish it would be. I miss the drama and the gravity that I'm used to from Batman, I need more of t hat. more

DDJamesB

Aug 04, 2021

The main story was pretty good. I really don't like the unsanity collective so as soon as the focus shifted from them it was pretty good. But the parts with Miracle Molly were just not every good at all and kind of corny. The back up story was ok but not worth the extra cash.

Comics Code Authorities

Aug 17, 2021

So here we have Batman with The Joker's equally out of her head groupie and the poorest Deadpool Rip-off of all time against A mentally unhinged Robocop wannabe with a pointless group of freaks that bring nothing but filler material. I'm not holding much hope for Fear state, but at least Tynion will be gone when it ends. So goodbye, good luck and take your poor characters with you. I swear everything's been downhill since Future State and its $7 each issues. As always I didn't even browse at the Ghost Maker story. I don't know how Tynion isn't facing a multi million dollar lawsuit from Marvel over ripping Deadpool off-badly. But he's going to learn when he sets out to make up his own stuff he's going to need to do a lot better at making u p characters than he has been over the last year. more

Psycamorean

Aug 03, 2021

The problem with this book is that despite having great art, and competent writing, it is slow and dull. This entire arc has been nothing but set up for Fear State, while not really having a cohesive story in and of itself. The ending to this issue is a great example of my problem with this arc. It's such a whimper non-ending. The back-up continues to bore me. I do not care about how cool and awesome Ghost-Maker is. Make him do something cool and awesome, don't just tell me about it with a bunch of hypeman new villains. Also, can we just talk about how Razorline is just Pinhead from the Hellraiser films? I was so hoping he'd say, "I have such sights to show you," just to know that Tynion is aware of how much of a copy his new OC is, and emb races it. more

KFuqua

Aug 06, 2021

I typically don't mind Tynion and like Jimenez, but Batman is just not good right now. This is a terrible story and it make no sense to have it going this way.

Afre

Aug 04, 2021

The art is just so good in this book. And it is completely wasted in this. And that is the only good thing about this. I am currently so bored and annoyed by this. I do repeat myself by saying that "nothing happens, I am bored, etc..." But it is what I mostly feel by reading this. I loathed King's run. But at least I felt something when I read it. At least it felt like one writer's vision. This one feels just so generic that tries to please everyone but pleases no one. I don't know what happened to Tynion but this just isn't it. Each issue we are introduced to a new character that the readers forget by the next issue. I really don't remember what is going on currently. But I do remember King's run, even if it has been years sinc e I read it. Do I want to go back to those times? No, but I do want this series to be at least memorable. And in some way keep me hooked. Either be good or terrible. Don't be forgettable and mediocre. more

Lal

Aug 03, 2021

This story has potential, but right now it's just too frustrating to read with this never-ending influx of new characters, and the fact that the current Batfamily is basically just Harley and Ghost-maker. The art is still absolutely stunning and is one of the redeeming qualities of the book.

Quinn

Aug 03, 2021

Again, an issue where nothing really happens. It begins with Facist Dum-Dum Dugan lookalike holding a gun on two video characters with clown colors. The evil corporation has gotten the drop on the Tynion anarhcist group. His third such group he's introduced into Batman mythos, if I am not mistaken. (If I am, forgive me). Facist Dum-Dum blathers on and we actually see him shoot one of the prisoners. Well we see a shot of him firing his gun. He is positioned about three feet away from the prisoners, calling her a hippie (No one uses hippy anymore except Eric Cartman). She ducks. Which is fair enough. But while she is crouched down, she pulls out a cable from her belt, Attaches one end to the other girl's necklace, which is some sort of tech t hat gives her Canary sonic scream powers, and said girl then screams at evil facist hired police. So let me get this straight. In all the time it takes for clown color girl to do all this, evil Dum Dum just stands there. Even if she is super fast it's got to take three or four seconds. He just stands there? He doesn't lower his gun and fire. That only takes half a second. The clown color girls run away, then Batman, Harley and White billowing sheet man show up and rescue the girls. But unfortunately for them, there are drones broadcasting this to the tv stations. So now it looks like Bats and co. are helping criminals get away, says Oracle. Let me break down why this is terrible writing and not just the rantings of someone who is chasing kids of his lawn and is a known "not fond of Tynion's writings" critic. First, see the "why does evil Dum Dum just stand there" analysis. In order for a fantastic world to be believable (and yes, you must make fantastic worlds believable) you have to get the details right. Example, the Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman. They had the ability to run 60 miles an hour. Problem, how do you show that on a TV budget and make it (wait for it) believable. Solution - slow motion. You have Steve and Jamie run as fast as they can, have the extras move slowly and then film in slow motion. Problem solved. So just having an armed crew stand there while someone is doing something that will take four seconds is not believable. You'd have to have a bright light go off, so while people are rubbing their eyes, said action can take place. These solutions aren't hard folks, but they do require the writer to actually think his action through. Something this generation of writers does very poorly. Second problem. The drones. Why would someone doing an illegal execution record it? That's dumb. Now maybe if it was established that Simon Says "likes to watch" then fine. He's a creep and needs the content to get off. But that hasn't been established. So bad writing. Even if he doesn't broadcast an execution, the system will record and store it. Bad idea to generate your own evidence of a crime. Then we have Batman, who is supposed to be smart, just blindly jumping in to rescue. He doesn't do recon? He doesn't have anti-drone batspray? That's dumb. Drones have been established as a piece of equipment Simon Bar Sinister uses. Batman would have to have some counter when he goes into action, if only to stop the drones from following him to safe zones. Oracle doesn't anticipate this? She's supposed to be smart too. You'd think that someone who offers electronic advice from a distance would anticipate that someone else might do the same, especially someone who uses high tech surveillance equipment too. Again, writing characters as just dumb as a box of rocks. Three. Batman has 46 Robins, 24 Batgirls, a Duke. a Batman or two as well as Huntresses galore, and an Oracle and he's depending on a psycho killer in the form of Harley and a psycho killer in the form of White Sheet man? No, just no. That is a writer just not sticking to the rules of the universe as established. (See making fantastic world believable.) What really hurts is that all this action could have been done in three pages. I am serious. $5 stories should give you $5 worth of story, not three pages of story. So Batman has bee "exposed" to the world via TV. Where have I seen that before? No this is bad because in order for the plot to work, everyone has to be stupid. The villains are uninteresting (an opinion, I'll admit), the plot, such as it is, unfolds SLOWLY, and I frankly am really tired of the color scheme and what the techno clown color villains look like (also an opinion). We also don't know who they are. They have a vague manifesto, but that is not characterization. They are all inter-changable and I still really don't know what they stand for and why that is interesting. Overall, a very poor issue. Or I could be wrong. more

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• Merlyn
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Merlyn - Aug 3, 2021

You're right, this is yet another anarchist group that Tynion keeps forming and that's what I find so very juvenile about his writing. His whole shtick is "we're going to tear down the current order because it's anarchist and fun". Ok, what do you put up in its place? He doesn't have the answer to that. Anarchism it's cool until you actually grow up and realize it's just edgy. The only people who remain in that mindset are either idiots or edgelords who think this makes them cool. It doesn't.

Merlyn - Aug 3, 2021

And that is very similar to what he's doing to Gotham characters. He's replacing already established characters with lamer versions of themselves. If anything, it is kind of in line with the anarchist mindset. :))

Mingthemerciless - Aug 3, 2021

Tynions poor writing aside I think what hes doing is gradually brushing aside the characters that function around Bruce Wayne/Batman and elevating his own hollow facsimiles for the post Fear State Gotham where Bruce Wayne is a marginal character. I think this is why hes writing Bruce/Batman as almost an afterthought right now. Hes a bit player in his own book. I think DC is trying to work out how to get rid of him without haemorraghing readership.

Mingthemerciless - Aug 3, 2021

Tynion seems to have come up with the idea that if Bruce exists as a side character the book won't bleed out readers whilehe ushers in post Fwar State nuveaux Batman complete with the Waybe fortune batgadgets rogue gallery etc. And a cast of "where have I seen them before?" Supporting cast hes creating now. Like Quinn says I could be wrong...but.....

Merlyn - Aug 3, 2021

@Ming: You might be right. In one of those final pages with Bones where DC shows us what's next I noticed a panel teasing a confrontation between Batman and Tim Fox, with him also in the Batman costume. I think they're bringing him in the current day Universe and they'll try to somehow justify his presence as legitimate. Remember when people were complaining about the possible replacement of Batman and a lot of dumbasses were like "wHy dOeS tHiS bOtHeR yOu, iT's jUsT a 4 iSsue lImItEd sErIeS?"

Merlyn - Aug 3, 2021

Well, it turns out after that there came another 12 issue limited series. Again, same attitude from some people when some of us were seeing all the signs there. And now he'll come to the main universe and probably challenge Bruce even though there isn't any real reason for this because as much as some at DC don't seem to get, Bruce Wayne IS Batman.

Mingthemerciless - Aug 3, 2021

Yeah I've encountered the "what are you talking about batman is a cash cow for DC hes not going anywhere " and the "hey people can read about a different batman if they want to. DC isn't taking Bruce Wayne away" naysayers. Theyve already given the Superman book to the hyper aged Jon Kent and I've read that Super Clark has been bandied around.

Mingthemerciless - Aug 3, 2021

The next Tim Fox series is called I am Batman. It's a tie in with Fear State. Ridley is saying part of Tim Foxs issue with Lucius is his wealth. Apparently hes stolen the Waynefortune going forward.

Mingthemerciless - Aug 3, 2021

I think DC actually thinks it can permanently replace Bruce Wayne with Tim Fox and expects to keep its readership on Batman. This isn't like knightfall or battle for the cowl where you knew Bruce would be back. This is a "eat it kids.. Tim's Batman now" move. If it happens I wont even but non continuity books with Bruce until DC abandons this idiocy. I have a feeling I wont be in the minority either.

Mingthemerciless - Aug 3, 2021

Bruce IS Batman.

Merlyn

Aug 03, 2021

Another boring issue from Tynion, I feel like fanfic would be better at this point. At least in fanfic most people use the characters from Gotham that people know and love, not the Unsanity Collective (still an idiotic name, btw) and Ghost-Maker, who is the lite and boring version of Red Hood. The whole issue is pretty bad with Molly escaping ridiculously from situations Batman would have trouble with. If his objective is to create an even more annoying character than Punchline or to make PK-01 sympathetic, he's doing a great job with Molly. Btw, Tynion, we get it, the whole "they" thing, no need to repeat that pronoun five times until we get you're woke. Even the art wasn't that great this issue and the second story is as bad as it's been so far. more