Batman: Dark Patterns #8

This is a story about the depravity that happens when people are given up as less than human and it ends with a young and less-trained Batman at the mercy of one of the darkest evils he's ever encountered. Each arc of this series has been completely different from the last, but no less compelling. Read Full Review

The Best Batman book at the LCS strikes again with another fantastic chapter. Watters writing dives into the ever emerging skills of the Dark Knight. Sherman and Farrell construct incredible visuals to keep readers on the edge of their seats. This is high level storytelling that cant be beat. Read Full Review

Batman: Dark Patterns has earned its praise for being a grounded, smart, and detective-driven story, and issue #8 is no exception. It's a testament to the idea that you don't always need the whole rogues' gallery or complex multiversal plots to tell a compelling Batman story. This issue is a solid continuation of what is undoubtedly one of the best Batman books currently on the shelves. Read Full Review

Batman: Dark Patterns #8 continues the series' streak of smart, grounded detective storytelling, giving us a younger Batman still refining his methods and managing his emotions. With standout visuals by Hayden Sherman and clever twists courtesy of Dan Watters, this issue deepens the mystery even as it positions itself more as a setup than a payoff. Still, when the setup is this good, you won't mind the wait. Read Full Review

This is a solid middle act for this title's most brooding chapter yet. Leaning a bit more heavily on plot acceleration than character moments, this is still a thrilling and poignant read. "Dark Patterns will go down as a great and successful early career series of Batman stories. Read Full Review

Overall a very fun issue that gives us a non BatGod version of the character who is back to roots with detective work and street level crime. Read Full Review

Ryan

Jan 02, 2026

I continue to be blown away by this! The little details, like the newspaper articles from this first couple pages, are great. The art, coloring, and creativity of the panel layout are the best part of this series. Watters’ pacing is perfect

George

Jul 11, 2025

Definitely things I loved about this. And it definitely subverted by expectations.

myconius

Jul 11, 2025

Wow!! That was a massive subversion of expectations! Not at all what I was envisioning. But that is definitely not a bad thing. Not a lot really happened in this issue. The plot moved just a little. But we did have quite a dilly of a cliffhanger. I’m not really expecting a whole lot from the next issue. ********** Spoilers ********** ********** Spoilers ********** ********** Spoilers ********** Even with a bullet wound in his back, I’m not expecting Batman to have too much of a problem dealing with an old man with severe health issues and two young boys. Especially when this arc is set to wrap up in the next issue. Hopefully next issue can surprise me like this one did.

DDJamesB

Jul 27, 2025

I didn't like the twist in this one. Felt like it came quick and wasn't very impactful. Overall, it's still a fun little story with some great art.