Most of this is very lame. Lee Bermejo’s opening story, for example, featuring a revisionist take on Robin’s training… very lame. Beremjo goes for tough and real, then ends on a bad joke.

But it’s nothing compared to Damion Scott’s entry, which has Bruce Wayne’s internal narration a hip hop song. Even if one likes Scott’s art, there’s nothing to like about the idiotic narrative.

Marv Wolfman’s story–with Riccardo Burchielli doing a fine job on the art–has Batman trying to save a wrongly convicted death row inmate. Is it a familiar character? Like one who had this same story told in a graphic novel in the nineties? Who edits this?

The Rian Hughes future one is dumb. It’s supposed to be funny. It’s not.

Then Paul Dini and Stephane Roux turn in a truly fantastic final entry. Shame the rest of the stories aren’t a tenth as good.

CREDITS

Rule Number One; writer and artist, Lee Bermejo; letterer, Carlos M. Mangual. Hall of Mirrors; writer and artist, Damion Scott; letterer, Dezi Sienty. An Innocent Man; writer, Marv Wolfman; artist, Riccardo Burchielli; letterer, Taylor Esposito. Namtab: Babel Comes to Gotham; writer, artist and letterer, Rian Hughes. Role Models; writer, Paul Dini; artist, Stephane Roux; letterer, Jared K. Fletcher. Editors, Camilla Zhang and Mark Chiarello; publisher, DC Comics.