1608 ( )

Outstanding artwork, but since I don't usually follow the comics, the storyline was a bit difficult for me to follow. Dawn Golden is a socialite from Bruce Wayne's youth. She's gone missing in Gotham and Batman is determined to find her. Along the way he encounters Killer Croc, the Penguin and Entrigan. ( )

I have to admit up front, this is the 2nd graphic novel/comic I have read in my life. I thoroughly enjoyed the artwork for this whole book. The story line was fine up until the end. I admit, having spoken with my husband who is a comic book aficionado, the biggest part of my problem with the story line was how dry it was, but that is "Batman" from what he told me. I'm just a fan of more dialogue and storytelling coming from a book background. I was not a fan of the ending, because that was not how I wanted the story to end, not because there was anything wrong with it. The biggest issue I had was that I often didn't understand what was going on. The letters for example, I didn't get why there were these scraps of paper until about 3/4 through the whole letters. The other issue I had was the beginning scenes with Batgirl. Why? I never figured it out. Maybe I'm just not cut out for Batman comics. Again, my opinion should be taken with a grain of salt, as I am not a huge graphic novel person. ( )

I was pretty disappointed with the story, however, the art is amazing. I guess this is proof that David Finch should stick to artwork and not story writing. The overall story seems very generic, heavy drawn out conversations, and riddled with loose-ends. ( )

Pretty much everything I dislike about Batman. He becomes emotionally attached to some girl from he past for no good reason. He fight Demons that are way out of his depth. His detective skills showcased would make the Great Mouse Detective laugh. ( )