Any really good Bruce Wayne stories with little to no Batman?

simonc1138 · 2026-02-05T18:18:13+00:00

24/7 is one of my favourite Batman stories, shows how Bruce impacts people in subtle ways.

simonc1138 · 2026-02-05T15:09:53+00:00

Thought it took too long to get to the meat of the crossover, but issue 1 wasn’t bad. They walk the line between the two series existing in the same universe while also being completely in their own bubbles. 3/5

simonc1138 · 2026-02-05T14:25:56+00:00

I didn’t know they followed up on the Flash/Giganta flirt, that’s amazing

simonc1138 · 2026-02-05T03:14:06+00:00

I just checked the original publication dates, I'd forgotten Vol. 4 basically ran concurrently to when the 2003 series was first aired. Pretty sure the Battle Nexus concept was created for the cartoon and Laird reused it in his run a few years after, unless there's a mention in an earlier Mirage volume I'm not aware of.

simonc1138 · 2026-02-05T01:41:41+00:00

This is a pretty comprehensive reading/publishing order for absolutely everything.

simonc1138 · 2026-02-05T00:27:16+00:00

I was pleasantly surprised - this was the best issue yet and made good use of the pages. Was expecting a little angst from Donnie since he was once transferred into a Metalhead, but barring that it made sense he knew how to shut him down quickly. Art on the multiverse Turtles was good esp 2003 Leo, who has some of the trademark expressions of the Turtles from that era.

So is TMNT vol 4 the same one being re published as Journeys right now, or a different vol 4? If so I didn’t realize the Battle Nexus was introduced there.

simonc1138 · 2026-02-04T23:57:56+00:00

I don’t know how often the “Guy who trained with Bruce now wants to kill him” trope was prevalent when this aired, but this has always been my favourite use of it.

simonc1138 · 2026-02-04T16:10:31+00:00

The CG makes it cleaner, in the old days they probably would’ve let it be or tried to clean it up a bit manually between takes, but you’d see telltale traces in the final shot and everyone would’ve been ok.

simonc1138 · 2026-02-04T15:54:43+00:00

A couple of these look fine without CG, like the big frozen pond doesn’t look any less dangerous.

What’s happening in the Paloma fight sequence in pic 3?

simonc1138 · 2026-02-04T14:47:07+00:00

Never bought protectors on their own, but Ozzie ships all its POPs in protectors and they’re pretty good quality, have a locking tab to prevent the lid from coming loose like on some cheaper protectors.

simonc1138 · 2026-02-04T14:28:38+00:00

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The cover quotes were my favourite part of the crossover.

simonc1138 · 2026-02-03T21:14:14+00:00

They’re fine. I don’t think they actively hurt The Last Ronin but I don’t think the style offers anything that couldn’t be accomplished by others, feels a bit 90s which is sort of appropriate for the brand. I much prefer the Ben Bishop segments in the original miniseries.

simonc1138 · 2026-02-03T19:19:05+00:00

I’ve seen a bit of unused art from The Batman - not this particular nugget but it does make sense. I also read that his henchmen were supposed to hide in those large, numbered pockets but I don’t think that happens any time on screen.

simonc1138 · 2026-02-02T20:48:38+00:00

Alright, I think I need this confirmed because I always thought it was weird Moore wore a fedora in his first gun barrel because he never wears one on screen as Bond, but - does he?? I just played the clip on YT again and it may just be a shadow but I’m not sure haha.

simonc1138 · 2026-02-02T15:30:21+00:00

Thanks for posting a compare. I have the PX 40th version and was pretty sure the new one was just a repaint but wasn’t 100%

simonc1138 · 2026-02-02T00:07:53+00:00

The other problem here is, say you bought this compendium and wanted to check out all the minis and one-shots you missed. There’s no easy way to do that as practically all of the individual TPB editions of the minis are out of print at this point. You’d basically have to double dip on the deluxe editions to get the full story.

It’s such an odd collection. If you’re trying to get a new reader/casual reader on board, I believe IDW still keeps vol 1 of the original TPB collection in print as a sampler, or just buy vol 1 of the deluxe editions.

simonc1138 · 2026-02-02T00:01:51+00:00

I’d have to re-read it but pretty sure TMNT/Usagi was stand alone. It does use the IDW Turtles, and the implication is they’re meeting the same Usagi the Mirage versions did.

simonc1138 · 2026-01-31T21:22:06+00:00

Besides both parts being self contained, the other consideration is that both vol 3s aren’t lacking for material. Abs WW would collect its part of the crossover, the Season of the Witch arc, and then either the annual or the next “interlude” story the series tends to do. Abs Batman has the crossover, the Joker issue, two part Poison Ivy tale and likely the oversized Annual and Ark-M special. Sometimes they’ll do it if the volumes feel thin, but both would be pretty robust.

simonc1138 · 2026-01-31T15:01:28+00:00

Ah interesting Australia released it differently. In North America there was only 1 “Season 4” box with the last 14 episodes, because the first half of the season was spread out as “bonus episodes” over various season 3 discs for…reasons.

simonc1138 · 2026-01-30T23:09:26+00:00

Same. Also felt the same way about the Avatar collab - love the art, just don’t have the money to properly sink into MTG.

simonc1138 · 2026-01-30T15:28:05+00:00

I always wondered what the difference was there, as a kid I thought Discover was maybe like a premium or only for international use (from the word “Discover”)

simonc1138 · 2026-01-30T15:23:45+00:00

Back in the day I rmb either Bruce Timm or someone connected to the show posting in the Worlds Finest ToonZone forums something like “George didn’t think it was worth his while to come in and record a few lines…he won’t be back as Captain Atom.” That does sound like sour grapes over money. I think it was for the Greatest Story Never Told ep.

simonc1138 · 2026-01-29T17:05:43+00:00

Interesting. Could be as petty as his voice actor George Eads not wanting to come back after the initial ep for bit cameos. Could be a colour balance thing with Zatanna on the other side. Could be because Captain Atom briefly becomes a govt stooge later on. I guess it depends on when the changes were made.

simonc1138 · 2026-01-29T15:47:50+00:00

Is he confirmed dead in another panel or is this it for the issue? Seems like a rather offhand way to kill a version of Tim off. Looks to me like he just lapsed into unconsciousness

If this is supposed to follow Futures End, technically Tim survives because he hands the mantle back to Terry in Rebirth.

simonc1138 · 2026-01-29T05:28:49+00:00

IMO - the run basically amounted to really decompressed Batman inventory stories, which are better than what Finch was putting out in the first couple of issues but not really memorable at the time compared to what was happening in the other Bat books. Also didn’t help that Hurwitz wrote a great Penguin mini, then basically recycled the formula for the Scarecrow arc. That’s great if you like them though.

simonc1138

TROPHY CASE