Batman Giant #1 Review

One More Chance Part 1 of 2

Written by: Jimmy Palmiotti
Art by: Patch Zircher, John Kalisz and Tom Napolitano
Cover Price: $4.99
Release Date: July 1, 2018

Also Includes:
Batman - Hush Part One: The Ransom
Nightwing - Welcome to Gotham
Harley Quinn - Hot in the City

I am a big fan of a bargain and these Giant 100-page issues are just that.  Three back issues and a brand new story for $4.99? Count me in!  These, of course, are exclusive to Wal-Mart and while the opinion of whether that is a good or bad thing has hit the Twitterverse, I am here to review the original stories in each of these Giants.  So, here we go with Jimmy Palmiotti and Patch Zircher's Once More Chance...



The issue opens up with some classic Commissioner Gordon and Batman interaction.  You know, Batman sneaking up on Jim while he stands next to the lit Bat Signal!  If you haven't seen it much before, it's bound to give you a chuckle, but the laughs end there.  It seems this story is about a kidnapping and it's up to Batman to solve the case.

After getting the sitch from Gordon, Batman heads back to the Cave to work it out with Alfred.  The detective work may be a bit of a stretch with Batman jumping to some conclusions, but nowadays, any detective work in a Batman comic is a sight for sore eyes.

It's then off to talk to the relatives of the missing girl and seriously, everyone is a suspect, from the grouchy rich grandfather to the MIA security officer.  The trail takes Batman to Gotham's Chinatown right to the place Bruce never wants to be.  I won't spoil it, but the first part of this two-parter ends on a very personal cliffhanger.

This story was okay and while it does a decent job of catching new readers up to the Batman Mythos (complete with paint-by-numbers origin), those in the know will likely be bored.  I know that these books are made to get new readers so I will give it a break even while I wish that it was a bit more skewed to a younger set. 

Patch Zircher's art is good and has a gritty feel that fits the story and reminded me a bit of David Finch's art on the Rebirth Batman book.  Yes, that is a compliment!

**The score below is for just the new story.  If you want to factor in the back issues, you can easily add 2-3 points, especially if you've never read them before.  The Hush story and the beginning of Nightwing's New 52 run are really good...and you get a Harley to boot!**

Bits and Pieces:

Jimmy Palmiotti and Patch Zircher's original story plays it a bit safe, but if you're new to Batman, it will give you the basics to get moving forward to bigger and better things.  If you have been reading Batman already, you will not be missing much here...except some pretty cool back issues.

6.0/10