Batman: Detective Comics Vol. 1: Faces of Death (The New 52) (Batman: Detective Comics, 1) Paperback – April 9, 2013

I enjoyed this book. Cool story and wonderful collection of Batman's rogues gallery villains. Worth the read if you like Batman.

This is the first Batman graphic novel I have purchased and it did not disappoint. Not sure what it is rated but it is definitely not for kids. Some pretty gory Leatherface type stuff and mentions of cannibalism. So probably not something you want to buy for your eight year-old. But for teens and adults it's a fun read with excellent artwork. Can't wait to start the other books in the series.

I see some bad reviews for this book but I want this review to get attention because every one has their own tastes. I would have never picked this book up if I listened to the reviews but after reading it I can say two things. 1) I can understand the complaints from many readers about the pacing of the story. I am not a fan of introducing a new villain and then moving on to something new as soon as things start to heat up, which is what happened in this book. I am left wondering "well what about Dollmaker" and "why did they just start talking about Penguin, what does he have to do with this?". But with any good detective mystery I am hopoing these pieces of the puzzle will eventually fit and we will get to see the big picture. I am hoping that this will get better in Vol 2. 2) I thought this was a fun read and I enjoyed it. At times the inner monologue batman has with himself can be a little bit cliche? Not sure that is the right word but I found some of his lines cheesy. If you are a batman fan like myself you will still love this book and I can't wait to pick up the next one.

Truth be told I haven't read Batman since the Hush storyline and this is my first New 52 Batman graphic novel and I must say that it was really good and Tony Daniels art is perfect for Batman. It was quite interesting how the Joker made his first appearance into the New 52.So if truly a fan of Batman I suggest you read this graphic novel and then you'll find out how it it and why the Joker has staples on his face.

Much of Batman’s New 52 begins here, complete with the arc the Joker goes on in this series. The art is top notch and Dollmaker makes a villain every bit as creepy as you’ve seen him. There are a couple of issues that focus on the Penguin here too.

In the wake of DC's new reboot, they restarted one of their longest running series; Detective Comics. Back to number one, this new series has Batman facing off against foes new and old. Covering issues 1 through 7, this really nice looking hardcover book has all the textless covers, along with black and white prints, and a sketch gallery at the back of the book. However, the story contained within is just as important.Batman is hot on the heels of the Joker after a murder and, after catching him, learns that a villain named the Dollmaker has given the Joker a "facelift" and then helped him escape without leaving a trace. Batman tracks down the Dollmaker and his twisted Texas Chainsaw-Massacre-like "family" but gets caught up in a scheme where the Dollmaker is holding Commissioner Gordon hostage and wants to sell the Batman to the highest bidder. Learning that the Penguin is behind the sale, he finds the waddling foe at his new Iceberg Casino along with Bruce's date Charlotte who is also a reporter trying to figure out what's going on in Gotham. Her twin sister Jill reveals a plot, with Snakeskin, to overthrow the Penguin and it's up to Batman to put an end to the bloodshed and stop both the Penguin and the Dollmaker before it's too late!Well, the story jumps all over the place in these seven issues here! The first two issues are magnificent and reveal a story plot that just has you biting your nails the whole time. However, after that, it all goes downhill as Batman fails to capture the Dollmaker and then hunts down leads regarding the Penguin and just about forgets the Dollmaker altogether. Then, you have the ordeal with Olivia, the little girl who turns into a cop-killer and we get no reasoning as to why she did it or what she's up to and how the Dollmaker's involved. On top of that, the Penguin gets thrown into the mix and Batman runs off with his dying date instead of solving the loose ends with the Penguin. As a small peeve, we also get a reference to an I, Vampire crossover with no mention that the reader would need to read that volume to understand why in the world Alfred's talking about vampires and Batman's mentioning a train with lots of blood. The dialogue here is also something that has become cringe-worthy with lines like "Your new friends should now be your dead friends." And "I can only afford a one-time payment - made in lead." The extras at the end are nice as is the short Hugo Strange story involving Catwoman at the end of issue 5. But, it doesn't make up for the crazy story that goes nowhere. My biggest issue with this is, where the hell is the Joker? They made this big deal about him and made a very disturbing, eye-catching image at the end of issue one and then never came back to it. (However, I did notice a little bit of a mesh lining in the chin area of the "face" possibly suggesting it's a realistic fake) This would've driven the story closer to home and made it much better but instead it veered off into another direction.Overall, they restarted a very long-running series only to restart it on the wrong foot. I liked the first couple issues but it's diving into ridiculousness quickly and I'm hoping volume 2 will save it somewhat. However, I'm not very hopeful at this point.

The New 52 how done some work but nothing as good as the new Detective Comics. This has to be the best Batman series out there. The characters they've added with the story is amazing. The artwork is great. For Batman fans you need to read this series. Handsdown you won't be dispointed with this series.

Man this is very cool book. Batman is my character form the dc universe. And this volume is a great read. And the Joker is well all i van say is read it. Good tie in to death in the family. Batman fans the writing is amazing and the artwork is top notch.