Lol, my "non-fiction true crime list of books I want to read" just went through the roof. These sound all amazing.

I haven´t read any of these books, but again: I want to read them all. And I definitely have to shoehorn another non-fiction book or two into my bingo reading. 

Tom King may be the best writer working for the Big 2 at the moment. If he's writing a book, you need to be reading it.  It's that simple.

It would have been a little helpful to have read this before 'All Star Batman', but this is also very vague for the first volume of anything.

A new pair of superheroes have emerged to protect Gotham City, and Batman is grateful for the assistance, but there's something not quite right. Where did they come from and are they the saviors the city needs?

I liked the comic, but I'm progressively less certain how the new DC universe works.

Batman Rebirth

Next: 'I Am Suicide'

This was a more nuanced look at Batman, and what it means to be Batman, than I'd suspected when I first started reading.  On some level, it's fairly matter-of-fact, but if you want, there's much more to mine in this issue. 

The way that Batman deals with Claire is different than he does with any of his Robins, or Batgirl, or Batwoman.   Of course it is, although it's not because she's a girl.   He simply doesn't know her, and hasn't trained with her, or fought by her side as much as he had with any of the others. 

I think, given all she's lost, and given that it was her brother who really wanted to be the superhero, that it explains the difference.   Once someone committed in their world, they committed fully; they didn't fight, or hope for Bruce Wayne, or Batman, to tell them what to do.  A lack of commitment would have gotten Wayne himself, and thus Batman, killed over and over again.   How could he possibly tell a woman to fight if she wasn't sure she wanted to, on his word, and then expect her not to be killed?   (Since using her powers kills her, he couldn't possibly tell her anything expect 'do what you can do without using your powers,' too.)

And because he lets her in so closely, because her circumstances match his, and because she's so uncertain, they talk frankly about this life and if he's happy.   Which leads us to the ending. 

Which I found, quite frankly, forced.  I wonder if King was told to make this move, to be honest, which would be quite a departure from DCs earlier stance on the subject of superhero marriage.  Or maybe it's not: maybe there's a character death in the near future, although I doubt it given whom he proposed to.  Maybe she'll just laugh it off and say no, although I doubt it given what King's been building up to in this series.  I can't decide if she'll take time, or just say yes, although I'm really, really hoping it's not an immediate yes!

I really enjoyed this episode up until the last scene.   I finally nailed down why I felt it so forced at the time: given the talk throughout this issue, Bruce seems to have had these issues of happiness on his mind for a while.   Why he's Batman, and if that means he can be happy.   And yet, one talk later and he makes this huge commitment?   This from the man that researches everything?   This from the man who knows what a huge clusterfuck this can become?

I don't buy it.   I think he would at least take time to think about it, and I seriously hope the unnamed she does.   

And what I like best about this is that Bane was meant to be a foil to Batman.   Just as powerful physically, just as strong willed, just as cunning, but without the same moral compass.   And in this storyline, he's true to that origin, or what I've heard of it.   This feels very old school Batman, in which he is simply about his code: save the people, don't kill anyone.   And he's determined to do so, and he now knows exactly what Bane is.   Y'know, his foil. 

And I'm kinda really loving the old school Batman feel right now.   Love, love, love.   This series has had it's rough patches, but overall?   I'm glad I stuck with it.   It's stories like this that makes me truly glad that Tom King took over Batman.   (And while at one time I would have sold out Batman to have more of King's Vision, I'm sorta only halfway there right now.   Yeah, Marvel effed with me big time, but I love Vision just enough to want more of King's Vision.   Although a King-written Red Tornado series would kinda make me melt with joy... and be 100% okay with King jumping ship and killing that series.   Although, I dunno, I think the sales numbers kinda woulda killed that anyway.)