Much of writer Grant Morrison's previous work on the interrupted series Batman, Inc., is mostly recapped in this zero issue. Shedding light on a few past moments of Batman's global recruitment efforts, new readers might not understand the entire issue.
One of the initial causalities of the New 52 reboot initiative was Morrison's new series, Batman, Incorporated. Many of the characters involved, would simply not fit in due to the revamped timeline, with the biggest change being bestowed on the Batgirl/Oracle persona. Since then, "Leviathan Strikes", a one-shot special was released to finalize most of what Morrison had layed out in the first volume of the series. There, fans got one more glimpse of Stephanie Brown as Batgirl and Barbara Gordon as Oracle. As the series resumed, issue zero served as a way to reintroduce some of the stories from the first volume. Missing are any scenes involving any of the Bat-Family of characters such as Batwoman, Red Robin and Batgirl. You can forget about Jezebel Jet either. Instead we get some extended moments of Bruce Wayne's recruitment drive as a final homage to the original series.
It's not that Batman, Inc. issue 0 is a total disappoint but there's definitely nothing exciting for old readers but simply a daunting springboard for new readers. The dialogue is still witty and fresh - you'll love the shrinking ray jokes! Frazer Irving's artwork is spectacular as with the rest of the previous artists on the first series. Much of the global heroes haven't been prominently featured in the current series (Batman of Japan, Dark Ranger, etc.) with the exception of a few back in issue one of the new series (Even some of The Outsiders are there!). Perhaps this issue spotlights them and their future contributions in the war against Leviathan. Batman issue 0 is a great companion to Batman Inc., issue 2 of the New 52 series but can be a challenge for newer readers not familiar with what has transpired before.
Final Verdict: B
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