Batman #25 - Zero Year: Dark City, Part Two; People in the Dark

where was the Riddler?!

Hey @g_man, check out the Riddler scene from issue 21 and then check out the last scene from this issue. I think the helmet's pretty significant.

I just can't get into the story. It is kindof uninteresting compared to what Snyder was doing with Court of Owls and Joker.

@madeinbangladesh: how is zero year disappointing to you?

@spinningbirdcake: So? If wishes and but's were candy and nuts... Let's move on to something more important if in fact there is anything.

This describes my thoughts so very well.

I really thought this issue was the weakest of the Zero Year so far.

IMO the new (old) batmobile sucked. The starting tunnel sequence was stupid and I felt like the story didnt move forward that much :/

@spinningbirdcake said:

@kaiklown said:

I am loving the variant cover. Blimps looking like a skull. So good.

Okay, for all the people that have been throwing the word around lately, this is using negative space. You're not using negative space unless the places you don't draw create an image. In this case it's a skull.

Well no, that's not true. Negative space is simply what's left over from the positive space, and interesting or well-used negative space does not at all have to be representational (like drawing a skull). Well-used negative space just has to have interesting compositional characteristics (cool use of shape or color or balance or contrast, etc.), or create an interesting tension within the rest of the composition. In other words, negative space is defined compositionally, not representationally.

In any case, this issue was awesome all around. A true 5-star book.

@kaiklown said:

I am loving the variant cover. Blimps looking like a skull. So good.

Okay, for all the people that have been throwing the word around lately, this is using negative space. You're not using negative space unless the places you don't draw create an image. In this case it's a skull.

@dud317: So it might (depending where to believe) be like one of those director's cut books. What the heck Scott Synder?!

@cerial442: there seems to be some contradiction about The Wake #5. Comiclist has it at $3.99 like you said, but Vertigo has it at $2.99, noting 32 pages. However, Bleeding Cool has commented that it will be a 25 page story, with expanded content, sketch material, and more.

http://www.bleedingcool.com/2013/10/23/batwoman-25-and-the-wake-5-to-increase-in-size-and-price/

These glossy / embossed covers, etc must be considered viable enough to keep doing them, even at a rate increase or a page count drop.

On another note, they should have a few extra bucks lying around after seeing the Lego Marvel ad in the DC books thus month.

@themantisshrimp: it was longer than a regular issue it was 40 pages. But it was the same length has issue 21, and that was a $3.99 price tag.

The only thing different about this issue is the cover is fancier. It's the same thing DC did for Villains month, only then we got a choice. It would have been nice to have a choice here.

They are also raising the price of The Wake next week to $3.99. It appears to have nothing extra.

@wilbertus: he injects him with that serum I thought

@cerial442, the cover price is pretty lame. But I don't think its just the cover, a lot of 3.99 titles have no longer have backups, also super lame, and seem to run in under 24 pages. This book had 29 pages which I think is part of the extra buck. If you look back at some older issues of John's Justice League some of them had over 30 pages at 3.99, now it seems like we can't even get 25 pages for that. On the plus side DC seems to have more 2.99 titles than marvel.

@gotham331: A dollar less than this book.

@cap10nate: I too was curious about this part. Is this something that I should know, or are they referring to something that has yet to be explained?

What's marvel charging these days?

The price is high because people are willing to pay that much.

Duh.

Okay, I did in fact enjoy the story and there were some pretty cool moments in there. Especially when Lucius stabbed Bruce at the end. However, where was Riddler in this issue?! I expected to see more of the actual blackout. Except for characters mentioning it, I didn't really get the feeling there was a blackout at all. A shame, but maybe that is just because I didn't get what I expected or thought was reasonable to expect from this issue.

@cerial442: Okay, They trying to make money. They know people will still buy it for the extra dollar price. + Having the same cover like issue #21 saves them money for creating a new one and yet still charge +1$. smart way to make money lol.

I know everone already said it but why the heck is the price so high i just dont see the value

the story felt a little weird i mean i why did they release all the zero year tie ins this month when the storm dosnt even hit gotham until next month

I really dont like that bruce hates gordan he seemed fine with him during the 0 issue but now out of no where he hates Gordan and i can already tell that its going to be forced as hell

and whats up with the cave isnt it under the house why is it in th middle of his yard and look more like he dug a hole in the ground

And as for the soldiers i am guessing it has to do with Ra's he's the only villain i know of batmans that has anything to do with the dessert

I am loving the variant cover. Blimps looking like a skull. So good.

why the hell was this $4.99? -__- Anyway, so far Zero Year has been dissapointing for me. I hope this second part is great.

How many issues are in zero year for Batman, and also these prices are stupid. Ill buy it but i can live without the special covers.

@deadpool25mm: It's glossy and embossed. It's the same cover as 21, but black. Because of the blackout.

It maybe DC's best selling book, but still annoying with the price increases. The last issue was $6.99 (although did feature more pages), but still.

@cerial442: whats new about it? @cobra88king8:its the same cover like issue #21...

I enjoyed this issue and loved all of the little glimpse into the early days of these characters, but this issue felt very disconnected from where the previous issue left off. Last issue we were left with Riddler having crippled Gotham with a city-wide blackout and left the city to fend for itself, and while we do see that, the whole storyline with this "Dr. Death" felt very random. I was hoping we'd see more focus on Batman dealing with the Riddler, racing against time to stop Riddler's plan before he can cause even more chaos, but instead we have Batman dealing with a completely different villain and only get a mention of Riddler.

Now I'm not really annoyed by this, so don't get me wrong, as I'm sure this will somehow tie into the main storyline as the story continues, but I couldn't help but feel like it was a bit random. It was great to see the little interactions with Bruce and Gordon, I'm curious as to where Snyder is going with Gordon's connection to the death of Bruce's parents. I also liked seeing Batman deal with the police, it was fun to see and reminded me of the chase-scene from Batman Begins. xD

They raised the price an extra buck because this is DC's best selling title and it will make them look better once the month ends. Just like last month they will have the highest profit of all the other companies but they will not have the market share that normally goes Marvel's way.

I recently re-read the Court of Owls just to be astounded one more time.

No surprise there.Snyder.

That's what I'd like to know... I feel like it's suppose to have some significance, but I can't think of what that might be.

I just re-read this series to catch up, and completely forgot that The Riddler's city take over had been shown in the first issue of Zero Year.

5/5, This issue was somehow both fun and creepy at the same time.

Glad I'm not the only one confused on why this was 5 bucks. Did it have extra content?

@cerial442: Don't know if it's because of the cover, it's the same price digital as well

On another note were the words on the helmet on the end of any significance?

Can't believe they charged an extra dollar just because of the cover. Oh wait....it's DC.

@g_man

Is the information in that conversation between Bruce and Gordon already part of the Batman mythos or is that completely new?

Good issue all around.