Catching up on Batman: Week One

Using the resources of my local public library (epl) and my youngest daughter (Kaia), I have begun the process of working my way through the various Bat-Titles in the DC's 2011 launch, The New 52.

This week I was able to read through the first Detective Comics, Batman: The Dark Knight, Batman, and Batgirl collections.

I've seen Batman fight the Joker, team up with the Flash and Superman, have his first encounter with the Court of Owls, and begin the story of a post-wheelchair Barbara Gordon as she takes back up the mantle of Batgirl.

As compared to most of the Marvel titles I've read over 2015, these are fast, gritty, and often surprisingly fun collections. Each one (excluding Batgirl) adds another love interest for Bruce, and each came with some fairly shocking plot twists overall, beginning with the Joker's interaction with The Dollmaker in issue one of Detective Comics, carrying into a run of Bane-venom infused Villains in Batman: The Dark Knight (highest on action, lowest on story of the titles I'm reading), and the eerily impressive introduction of the Court of Owls in the main Batman title.

Batgirl begins with the introduction of a new villain, Mirror, who targets people who should have died, but didn't, and aims to finish the job - basically someone who saw the Final Destination franchise and thought - how can I get in on this crazy action?

So far I'm having a lot of fun - it is interesting to see how many monthly Batman titles can dance around each other and I'm definitely interested in reading the first crossover this weekend, Night of the Owls.