Comics Review: "BATMAN #3" is Some Filler and Some Killer

BATMAN (2025) #3

DC COMICS

STORY: Matt Fraction

ART: Jorge Jimenez

COLORS: Tomeu Morey

LETTERS: Clayton Cowles with Jorge Jimenez

EDITOR: Rob Levin

COVER: Jorge Jimenez

VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Jim Lee and Scott Williams with Alex Sinclair; Julian Totino Tedesco; Brian Stelfreeze; Joe Quesada with Richard Isanove; David Aja; Jorge Jimenez

36pp, Color, $4.99 U.S., (January 2026)

Batman created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger

Rating: 13+

“Crown of Storms”

DC Comics recently relaunched its Batman flagship comic book series – the third time in 14 years.  It is written by Matt Fraction; drawn by Jorge Jimenez; colored by Tomeu Morey; and lettered by Clayton Cowles.  DC is pushing the series as the dawn of new era in Batman comic books.

Batman #3 (“Crown of Storms”) opens as Gotham City Police Department Commissioner Vandal Savage makes his move against Batman and Robin.  He is a determined man, and that means using intimidation and even murder... if necessary.  However, a boy named Huston may have evidence of Savage's savage machinations.

Meanwhile, Bruce Wayne runs afoul of Tim Drake's partner and also bumps into Damian Wayne's ball-busting.  And the Riddler makes his play for arguably the most important item in all of Gotham.

THE LOWDOWN:  For years, I had a subscription to DC Comics' Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? ongoing comic book series.  It was quietly canceled within the last year, but I had 14 issues left in my subscription.  Midtown Comics in NYC, which manages DC Comics' subscriptions, gave me the option of choosing any new DC title I wanted to continue my subscription, so I chose Batman – just in time for this new era, and this is my third review of this new series.

I highly praised the first two issues of Matt Fraction and Jorge Jimenez's Batman.  They deserved it.  Some of the content of those first two issues reminded me of elements of Frank Miller's Batman: The Dark Knight Returns.

I enjoyed this third issue, but half of it feels like a holding pattern.  It is as if Fraction and Jimenez are full speed ahead for the first two issues, but decided to put half of issue #3 on cruise control before racing the devil again... hopefully in the fourth issue.

That's it.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Batman comic books will want to read Batman 2025.

B+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

[This comic book includes two previews of upcoming comic books.  The first is a four-page preview of “Batman Static Beyond” #1” from writer Evan Narcisse; artist Nikolas Draper-Ivey; colorist Wil Quintana; and letterer Wes Abbot.

The second is a three-page preview of “Harvey & Ivy: Life & Crimes #1” from writer-artist-colorist Erica Anderson and letterer Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou.]

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There is a Kindle edition of BATMAN #3.  The first trade edition of this series, BATMAN VOL. 1: DAYLIGHT is due June 2026 and can be preordered at Amazon.

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