Batman: The Black Mirror

A wonderful edition of one of the best Batman stories in recent memory. This volume collects the work that sold me on Scott Snyder as a Batman writer, and do so without a single fault in the design of the book I can point to. Also, don't be fooled by the description: the Jim Gordon back-up stories from the original Detective issues are included and organized into the proper places in the narrative, ensuring that you get the whole mystery Snyder wrote.

This is not a book to miss. Get it as soon as you can.

Awesome story - illustrations and writing are top notch. I am personally less inclined to read the Batman stories where Bruce is not Batman but even with that it's an awesome story and I enjoyed the entire thing, I just miss Bruce :)

Enter the cockpit into your wayback machine, and you'll remember that, for a while, Bruce Wayne was dead. For a year or three, his ward Dick Grayson took over the cape and cowl as the Batman. In that time, Detective Comics traded hands, and Scott Snyder took over with writing duties, teaming up with Jock and Francesco Francavilla before the DC Universe whacked the television and did a hard reboot.

This collection of eight issues is particularly powerful. I'm really satisfied with it, and it's hard for me to convey all of it to you.Snyder brings up a character from the past, James, son of Commissioner Jim Gordon that covers the major storyarc, over a smearing of smaller storyarcs. It's comics storytelling at its finest. Some of them take three issues, some of them are just one, but all of them create this great atmosphere. It's this intangible thing that comes together with the right colors, the right art and the right words.

Issue 874 really stands out to me. It's broken up into three parts, and tells the story of James meeting his father the Commissioner, while flashing back to this chilling memory of an incident during James' childhood. I've never read a more chilling conversation between father and son. Good job, Francavilla!

This review was originally posted on my blog chezkevin.blogspot.com

Scott Snyder is wonderful for the Batman franchise. The Black Mirror takes you deep into one of my favorite supporting characters, Jim Gordon. Be prepared to view his history as a cop, a father, and a man. This book is an excellent read as a standalone story. If you are not willing or ready to invest the time in an extended series/storyline, this is a great pick. Book does contain some elements and implications of disturbing violence. Be prepared to be creeped out.

SPOILERS POSSIBLE

Back in the days of Final Crisis, I was very much against Bruce Wayne "dying." Then Grant Morrison did what he normally does and surprises me by making me enjoy Dick Grayson as Batman and Damian as Robin.
Then, Bruce came back and Dick got to stay as Batman while he was away. Didn't like that idea either.
Scott Snyder changed my mind on that one, too.
This is one of the best Batman stories I've ever read, and I don't say that lightly. The inclusion of Jim Gordon's son, which I hated at first, I absolutely love. Everything from the pacing, to the art, to the action, and freaky scenes in this book make this a definite buy for any Bat fan.
If you're on the fence, don't be. This should be on your bookshelf.

The story is excellent, capullo/snyder gave on of the best batman run, there's nothing wrong with the book, it's beautiful. The problem is the mask it's really more yellow than green, still creepy but kind of a let down, it's not a 3-star rating just because the comic book is THAT good

n "The Black Mirror," a series of brutal murders pushes Batman's detective skills to the limit and forces him to confront one of Gotham City's oldest evils. Helpless and trapped in the deadly Mirror House, Batman must fight for his life against one of Gotham City's oldest and most powerful evils!

Then, in a second story called "Hungry City," the corpse of a killer whale shows up on the floor of one of Gotham City's foremost banks. The event begins a strange and deadly mystery that will bring Batman face-to-face with the new, terrifying faces of organized crime in Gotham.

This volume collects Detective Comics #871-881. and this time Dick Grayson formerly Nightwing has now taken up the mantle of Batman per Bruce Wayne's wishes and Red robin is here to help as he takes on some dangerously familiar foes old and new and some from his childhood it was especially shocking about the stories about james gordon who was an evil so unrecognizable that almost no one saw coming

This dark storyline pulls the reader into an unexplored part of Jim Gordon's traumatic life as a father and crusader in a city that consumes those who stare too deeply. Dick Grayson's struggles to fill Batman's weighty cowl serve as a human distraction, making the original Robin a hero not only to the Gordons, but also the reader.

I really wanted The Black Mirror to meet or exceed the recent efforts of Grant Morrison. It's not that I don't like Morrison's works, quite the contrary, I consider The Black Glove, R.I.P and "Batman and Robin" to be some of the best Batman comics I've ever read. The problem is that Morrison appears a bit too taken with himself and I just wanted to see another writer belt one out of the park. My chances seemed good as the professional reviewers were absolutely drooling over Scott Snyder's writing. So did this book match my expectations? Not quite.

In the first story arc someone is stealing weapons from Batman's rogue's gallery and auctioning them off. Items like the formula that changed King Croc into a true croc and some Joker serum. Behind the scenes is a group called Mirror House that felt like a watered down version of Morrison's Black Glove organization. There was one tense moment where Batman was trapped in an absolutely fiendish trap but ended up just punching his way out in what felt like a bit of lazy scripting. Following this arc we are introduced to James Gordon Jr., son of the famed Commissioner. He made a few appearances in Batman Year One but here Snyder reinvents him as a recovering psychopath (now on meds) attempting to make amends with his family including his step sister Barbara. Adding to the mix is Sonia Zocco, the daughter of mobster Tony `Fats' Zucco the murderer of Dick Grayson's parents. Sonia is attempting to distance herself from her shameful father having risen to the level of bank president while going under the assumed name of Sonia Branch. Can Grayson trust the supposedly reformed James Gordon Jr. or the daughter of the man who killed his parents?

I'm glad that Snyder stuck with the Dick Grayson Batman and I liked how Grayson's thoughts always went back to his years in the circus to differentiate himself from Bruce Wayne. The Joker was able to deduce that the current Batman was in fact a grown up Robin because he would smile while he battled crime. That's a great touch. Damian Wayne (Robin) makes no appearance but we do get Tim Drake (Red Robin) assisting Grayson. About half the book focusing on the Gordon family and I give Snyder credit for creating and entire issue of Batman that was very compelling and only featured Batman in a single frame.

The Black Mirror gets pretty intense near the end but for me it was a step down from Morrison. Snyder writes very sequential stories whereas Morrison's feel more multidimensional with various story arcs bouncing off of each other. Morrison also benefited from better artists. Frencesco Francavilla has a very neat minimalist style but *ahem* Jock was somewhat forgettable. They just can't compare to J.H. Williams III, Frank Quitely and the other artists Morrison has been privileged to work with. One thing I will say is that the character of James Gordon Jr. really stuck with me and Snyder does a great job of keeping the reader guessing as to whether he's truly reformed or even more monstrous than imagined. If I've been hard on this book it's mostly because the professional reviewers yet again set me up for something spectacular rather than just quite good.

Came with some box damage to the clear window and a few dents, to someone who take apart the packaging it's no big deal, but i collect in packaging and was a little sad to see it. Still happy overall.

This book is entirely satisfying!
What is enjoyable is the Jim Gordon story - very refreshing!
Also, Dick Grayson's stint as Batman is fantastic - while somewhat similar to Bruce Wayne, Grayson puts his own stamp on the hero.
And, the main villain in this one is phenomenally creepy!