Batman [New 52]

[Jeppe]

My interest in the Gotham titles just took a swift kick to the 'nads. (Yes, my interest has genitalia.)

So you don't trust Snyder when he says that the titles will remain self-contained?

[VinceB]

So you don't trust Snyder when he says that the titles will remain self-contained?

I guess so. I just have no interest in a giant Batman Family shindig right now. I enjoy the new Batgirl (a fact which continues to surprise me), but I don't want to read about Barbara's role in a larger Bat-event, most of which I will not read.

Crossover is a dirty word in my comics vocabulary. If the story is a worthwhile endeavor, tell it in a self-contained mini- or maxi-series. Not in the mood for Stupid Publishing Tricks.

[thefreakytiki]

Crossover? Bound to happen sooner or later, I guess.

My interest in the Gotham titles just took a swift kick to the 'nads. (Yes, my interest has genitalia.)

Stop yourself.  Just keep buying what you have been buying and you'll be fine.  Don't let your imagination fill in the holes of the unknown.  That would be far more destructive to your enjoyment of what IS there.

the Tiki

[legion of daves]

i'll keep reading what i'm reading, i'm sure i'll be able to figure out what's going on.  the real thing to take away from this is:  ALBUQUERQUE ON BATMAN BACKUPS!

[Steve Raker]

From what I understand based on my conversation w (the extremely nice and engaging) Capullo just before the holidays, this Batman story is an 11 issue story that'll be self contained. He was finished with 6 and had plot/script through 8. The stuff from 5&6 I saw looked really, really cool. Enjoy the ride!

[JoeyN]

Interview with Snyder

[BillyZ]

I really have to get back up to speed with the Bat titles.  Though I'm getting all the DCnU titles, I haven't read beyond #2 for any of them save for Batgirl.

[Steve Raker]

So it seems that this Night of Owls crossover is either occurring after or coinciding with the conclusion of his & Greg's run.

[BobBretall]

Crossover is a dirty word in my comics vocabulary. If the story is a worthwhile endeavor, tell it in a self-contained mini- or maxi-series. Not in the mood for Stupid Publishing Tricks.

 

It seems like DC is trying to have their cake & eat it too.

The only reason to have a cross-over is to try to get people to buy books they are not already getting (or else you'd just tell the story within a single book or a standalone mini).  Then they try to appease people who are not fans of crossovers by saying you don;t need to read all the parts & each piece is a standalone story.

I'm sure there is some element that is standalone, but there must be some decent sized continuing chunk of story continuing to the other titles or else the crossover is pointless.

You can't have it both ways, DC.

[ThreeJackBogey]

News of a crossover event doesn't dampen my enthusiasm for Snyder and Capullo's Batman in the slightest. It's the last book I read in my DCBS box each month. Can't wait to get to #4 at the bottom of my current stack.

 

[Jon O]

I'm sure there is some element that is standalone, but there must be some decent sized continuing chunk of story continuing to the other titles or else the crossover is pointless.

You can't have it both ways, DC.

Each character could be dealing with a different problem or antagonist and just have all of those villains be related to the Court of Owls.  Admittedly that's a weak crossover, but I think it'd make for stronger books.

[Jeppe]

I honestly don't know what to think of this. Crossover events seem to be an almost unavoidable aspect of cape comics coming out of Marvel and DC, and usually they annoy me. On the other hand there have been some fine examples of Bat-universe crossover events in the past (such as No Man's Land), and several of these current books have fine creative teams on them, so why shouldn't it be good?
I'll wait to hear the verdict of other forumites, and then I might check it out. Or I might not. We'll see 

[electric mayhem]

Personally, a crossover smacks of trying to keep the wave of popularity going after the relaunch.  I wish this that the good stories would be able to drive interest and keep the growth coming. 

But at least I am spared since I cannot stand the Batman/Bruce Wayne character.  No crossover for me! 

[evaD]

I'm optimistic.

...for now.

I feel like This is said every time there's a crossover and it's never true.

I guess so. I just have no interest in a giant Batman Family shindig right now. I enjoy the new Batgirl (a fact which continues to surprise me), but I don't want to read about Barbara's role in a larger Bat-event, most of which I will not read.

Crossover is a dirty word in my comics vocabulary. If the story is a worthwhile endeavor, tell it in a self-contained mini- or maxi-series. Not in the mood for Stupid Publishing Tricks.

I'm right there with you. I'm not going to jump to any conclusions, but I'm putting DC on notice. I'll keep reading the books I'm reading, but if the story feels incomplete I will bail. I'm looking for an excuse to cut back, DC, don't make me do it.

[Steve Raker]

I feel like This is said every time there's a crossover and it's never true.

I think it's become more and more true at Marvel with and since Secret Invasion..hopefully DC's learned to try to follow suit!

[Hassan T]

I feel like This is said every time there's a crossover and it's never true.
I'm right there with you. I'm not going to jump to any conclusions, but I'm putting DC on notice. I'll keep reading the books I'm reading, but if the story feels incomplete I will bail. I'm looking for an excuse to cut back, DC, don't make me do it.

I think that it is almost never true. In recent history, it actually has been true with the Batman books. The last Batman event was Battle of the Cowl and basically all you had to do was read the main mini-series series. With Batman RIP, the event prior to Battle of the Cowl, the other Batman titles had their own stories related to RIP (with the standard event banner) but they were "self-contained" stories.

So based on comments from DC and Scott Snyder, I going to go into this believing that these stories are self-contained. Trust me, I stayed away from Batman in the 90s because of all the crossovers. It was ridiculous.

Besides, Batman is one of, if not, the best super-hero comic published today. There is no way I am dropping this title. Relative to Marvel's double shipping, charging $3.99 for majority of titles and having another major crossover event so soon after Fear Itself, this is nothing.

We don't know who or what is the back-up for Detective Comics yet, but I am not going to drop that title either unless the creative team on the back-up is so bad. I find Detective Comics a lot fun to read.

[Steve Raker]

As per his tweets tonight, Capullo had zero knowledge of all this and just found out from a fan at AZ Con.....crazy!! Welcome back to the big two!

[steinkrug]

Batman is currently my favorite book published by DC... and Snyder may be my favorite writer working in comics right now...

So I am excited by the backups.. and crossing my fingers with a slight pessimistic feeling that the "crossover event" will turn out to be a good thing... or at least unobtrusive. I'm reading a bunch of the Bat books, but not all of them..

I guess I'm in "wait and see" mode.

The recent use of Batgirl and Nightwing in each others books was handled well, I thought.

[JoeyN]

The recent use of Batgirl and Nightwing in each others books was handled well, I thought.

Yep, and the way they are doing Swamp Thing/Animal Man is done well also.

[VinceB]

Yep, and the way they are doing Swamp Thing/Animal Man is done well also.

I don't mind when they mingle two characters like OMAC and Franky or Swamp Thing and Animal Man. The stories and themes blend well and, let's be honest, it's only for an issue or two here and there. The recent commingling of New 52 characters and teams reminds me a lot of the old JLA/JSA yearly shindigs. Fast, fun, and one could completely ignore their existence if they didn't already buy the books involved.

A Gotham-wide crossover is a totally different beast. The beeg bada-boom line-wide crossovers have almost nothing to do with storytelling and everything to do with the shitty ways they've been trying to sell comics over the past couple decades. I don't need to see Oz behind the curtain every time I open a mainstream comic.