A confession: I'm an oddball who really enjoy the action genre without being very into action. That goes doubly for superhero comics, and so in a giant collection like this, not everything will be to my tastes. The giant kaiju-esque battles in "Night of the Monster Men", for instance, do very little for me (though at least when there towards the end of the omnibus is a similar confrontation in "Fall of the Batmen", there is the emotional undercurrent to make me care more). What I love is the character stuff -- issue 975, "The Trial of Batwoman", for instance, is probably my favourite issue of this whole giant book. All the various Bat-sidekicks sitting around, talking, interacting, arguing, caring. That's the good stuff.

And there is a lot of stuff like that here. I got this collection for Christmas, but I specifically wished for it because James Tynion IV has earned my confidence that he knows how to handle these characters very well. No exception here. While I'd at times have appreciated some more grounded plotlines and less overblown science fiction mumbo jumbo, the character arc throughlines are impeccable. Cassandra Cain might be my favourite Batman character of all time (well, second to Alfred, obviously, but I'm increasingly of the belief that anyone whose favourite Batman character isn't Alfred simply hasn't read enough Batman comics yet) and she really gets to shine here. Conversely, a character I've never really cared about -- the original Clayface -- also has a wonderful, redemptive plotline that made me like the character for the first time I can remember. Kate Kane's Batwoman came out of nowhere for me with Rucka's original run, and has cemented herself as a strong, interesting character for me ever since -- no exception here. Finally, Tim Drake might be my favourite Robin, sharing as he does in Batman's trademark intelligence and paranoia but coupled with a youthful optimism and idealism, and he, too, is pivotal in this collection, perhaps more so than anyone.

So while any collection of 50ish issues of an ongoing comic title will have its ups and downs, there are a lot of ups here. It's probably not the best entry point for a complete Batman novice, with the large roster of characters, but the bar is still pretty low, the continuity nods and references always being the kind that brings added value to the diehard fan without being incomprehensible to the casual one. A worthy sequel to Tynion's "Batman Eternal"/"Batman and Robin Eternal", whose character introductions of Stephanie Brown, Cassandra Cain and Jean-Paul Valley it continues to chronicle, and one I'm glad I now own. ( )