Batman Vol. 6: Graveyard Shift (The New 52)

Volume 6 is a compilation of the various issues of Batman since the start of the new 52 that have not been collected in the previous five volumes. As such, there is no overarching plot and the issues included are of varying quality and from various creators. There is a shared plot point among some of the issues, involving Batman's struggles to come to terms with a particularly traumatic event, which took place in Batman Incorporated and I won't spoil here, but really this volume is for collectors and readers of more than just the main Batman series.The best issues of what's here are those created by Snyder and Capullo, in my opinion, as they don't let the momentum built up in their grander stories dissipate. Their run on Batman has been consistently excellent both in Snyder's writing and Capullo's art. They also both seem to be at their best together, based on what's here.The worst are little more than advertisements for other titles. That is the nature of DC's business model but there is no reason why those crossover issues can't be both compelling in their own right and make sense in the context of the series. One odd detail also worth a mention was a sudden change of artist part way through one particular issue. It was jarring and more than a little confusing.It bears mentioning too that at the time of writing the "Review" in the Product Description appears to be referring to the Batman series overall and not this book in particular.Graveyard Shift is a book that defies a traditional rating on a five star scale. What you get from it will largely depend on how much reading you have done or are willing to do outside of the main Batman series. If you're a fan of Batman Incorporated, Batman Eternal and maybe Batman and Robin too then you'll probably enjoy the expanded view of the events of those series. If you've just been following the collected volumes of Batman so far then you might be better off skipping straight to Endgame. Or, if you can't bear the thought of a missing volume in your collection, you'll find some great material here, even if it is shoulder to shoulder with some filler issues.

When I bought it I knew what I was getting, more individual stories rather than a full arc. I liked the stories, the go more in depth with the batman world and expand on the psychology of some characters. The stories also tie in and introduce the Zero Year arc (I don't really know why since Zero Year is treated in Volume 4 and 5, before this...), Battman Incorporated and Batman Eternal.For some stories I felt a little bit lost and I would've liked to know a little bit more without reading all the DC comics... A summarized help would've been appreciated here.

Snyders work on the New 52 Batman has been exceptional. The best Batman writing I've seen in years, but this collection of single issue stories from his run is very hit and miss. For a start, they're not all written by Snyder, and the quality varies accordingly. This is completely missable in my opinion, unless you are a completionist. It doesn't really tie in with the main story arcs at all.

Graveyard Shift is different than the previous volumes of Scott Snyder's Batman. It is basically a collection of seven smaller stories in the same book. Two of those are following Zero Year, two others follow the tragic events that led to Bruce Wayne's son death in Batman Incorporated, two others are classic Batman detective stories and the final one is took from another story arc called Batman Eternal. The stories are interesting, but since they sometimes refer to events which are from different issues than the Snyder/Capullo arc, it almost feels like they want to tease us to these other books. It is still quite enjoyable and readable, but not as original and entertaining as the previous stories.

I love batman and this particular series goes from strength to strength. I can't wait for volume 7 and beyond.This series works from Year Zero on wards and introduces the big villains and their thinking so well. A lot of detail both in dialogue and graphically and I would advise this as a buy for anyone.