Eh it’s short stories. Some are good some are trash. This is definitely only a read if you already like/know a lot about the Bat universe

The Outsiders story was really short and they left us on a cliffhanger. I always find it weird how American comics exoticize Asian cultures. Katana definitely falls into that category, especially in this book. I have never met the third member of this team, Frankenstein, before and he certainly is strange, but you know, the team dynamics weren’t bad at all. And I’m intrigued to find out who the fifth member is and how they’ll find Maseo’s soul back.

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The Tim Drake story felt very classic Batman and I liked it. I’m not used to Tim being this intense especially at such a young age, but I’m also not sure where the story falls in the timeline. He’s been through a lot in recent runs so maybe this fits with his personality.

Aside from the Chaos peoples outfit, which triggered my trypophobia, the art is very cute which fits the romantic subplot, but not the rest of the comic. The colouring saves the day there. I like this Detective Williams, I hope he and Tim partner up again.

It was a bold decision to make Tim want to explore his sexuality, but I’m so glad DC Comics creators made that decision. Not sure how long it’ll last, but Bernard and Tim being each other’s awakenings is sweet.

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I didn’t care for the Azrael story. I don’t think I’ve ever read a Bat Universe story that’s so faith based. Does this kind of Christian ideology really belong in comic books? In any pop culture really? If any other religion was quoted in this fashion or with so much emphasis, I doubt large swathes of readers would sit for it. And yet, add one Black person or queer person to the mix, and suddenly there’s ‘an agenda’ and we’re ‘forcing wokism down their throats’. This one is a no from me.

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The Oracle story was a quick and thrilling read. I think it was too simplistic, but that’s always going to be an issue with cyber stories in pop culture. But yes, the story does examine our reliance on digital networks for our day to day lives. I’m not sure about the art. I like that it’s vibrant and hopeful, but why does Babs have to have the childish art? Nothing wrong with the art, but I think it does the story and characters a disservice by being so child like.

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The Batgirls story was just one issue, but I really want to read more. Can’t believe Ryan Wilder is in the mix. So excited for her to be working alongside the Batgirls, and not against. Hopefully soon.

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The Batwing story was also only one issue and way too short. I think it got wrapped up too conveniently. Tonally it was a bit off. I thought some horrid thing had happen to Tim Drake, then realized that Luke has a brother named Tim. So I thought Tim Fox had died a terrible death, but no, apparently it’s just that Tim is returning home. Maybe from prison? Maybe he did something bad! I don’t know enough about Luke Fox in the comics but I am looking forward to reading more from him. Campus Johnson is obviously very fond of the character and brings a lightness to Luke that I feel would otherwise be missing in the character if someone else wrote him.

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The Batwoman story kinda got me. I only know Kate and Beth’s relationship from the CW show, and I loved them there. So this book got me in the feels, especially how it focuses on Beth trying to battle with and conquer her trauma. And I love how protective and loving Kate is of her sister.

I don’t know much about the world Kate inhabits—I’ve read it in bits and pieces but I want to read more. The Seer, Simon Saint and Magistrates are how they work together is interesting, if only because they remind me somewhat of the Sentinels in the X-Men comics. The story feels like it’s set in the near future, and has its own unique vibe to it.

The colours are perfection. You see how beautifully lit and happy Kate’s home is, as opposed to the darkness of Gotham outside. The colours of the costumes pop. It’s brilliant. What I didn’t like is the character art. It was erratic and inconsistent. Out of the suit, Kate looks too thin and like a 70s secretary. The facial expressions are all to exaggerated and cartoony. In this book itself it feels like the artists don’t know how to give the female leads enough gravitas through their drawings, and that irks me. I’m not saying go edgy and dark, but be respectful of the few female superheroes we have and draw them like heroes, not caricatures.

Character art aside, I loved this story and I want to read more.

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The Future State story—bit of a cop out that the fifth member would be rotated, I was excited that someone new was joining the Outsiders. But that’s all beside the point though.

I generally enjoyed the story even though I’m not a big fan of magic stories in the Bat Universe. The Outsiders are cool and I liked their dynamic with Red Robin. Intrigued to read more Future State as well.

The art was great, nice character drawings and the colours kept us off balance. I liked this one.

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And back to Tim Drake. So, it’s a Christmas story which is weird but also sweet. I kinda liked it in the end. I like it when Batman realizes not every problem can be fixed with a punch, it’s long overdue honestly.

Not sure about Nightwing brushing his hands off Bruce, but then again, he’s a grown man and he can’t keep putting his life on hold for his dad. That’s the moral of the story here—Tim is dating Bernard and he’s happy but he feels he shouldn’t be because Bruce is in a bad place. But he learns and Bruce himself tells Tim to just live. I loved this one. It’s so sweet.

The art isn’t my favorite, but that’s ok. Everyone got their style and they can run with it. I want to read more of the Bat family now.

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The final story features Nightwing so yay. But the story itself was… out of character. I mean, there’s only so many Christmas Carol-sequel stories you can make without it coming across as super cheesy and silly. And that’s the problem with this story. It’s understandable that Nightwing isn’t in a celebratory mood because of bereavement and endless disaster, but why would Babs nag him to join the party when he’s literally in the middle of saving people? Did she want him to just leave the department store full of dead gas? It’s ridiculous.

And they show him one moment in time when he was an angsty teen waiting for Bruce to wish him on Christmas. That seems, unlike Dick. Maybe it’s canon, but it was so contrived and dumb. Dick isn’t the sole reason for hell for the Bat family, and he shouldn’t be made to feel guilty for having a moment to himself.

I liked the art and the colours, but this story doesn’t work with Nightwing as the protagonist.