I won't spend this month's review giving an extended rant about the state of anthologies in comics like I did last month. However, I will say that once again the cover art has absolutely nothing to do with any of the stories inside. Joker doesn't even feature in any of them! Oh well, I'm sure that these covers were probably decided upon well before all of the stories were finalized. It doesn't matter and we've got plenty to review inside, so let's get into it.

Mr. Baseball

"Mr. Baseball" isn't really a Batman story. He's in it, but largely just serves as a framing device for the rest of the story, primarily told through flashback. Instead, this is one of those stories that serves as a vehicle to introduce a new villain. I don't want to say that as an inherent negative; Batman is a mostly static character, so very often it's the villains that keep things fresh and interesting. Alan Grant and Norm Breyfogle's run legendary run on Detective Comics introduced an original villain pretty much every issue, and then you've got stories like Arkham Asylum: Living Hell which almost act as Great White Shark's extended origin. What makes or breaks this approach is the villain themself.

Here, we have the titular "Mr. Baseball". So what's the hook that makes him a worthy addition to the Gotham rogues gallery? Well, apparently it's that he likes baseball and knows how to put together "the perfect team" for a job. There's not a lot to go off of there, and baseball puns seem to fill in a lot of the gaps. His signature weapon is a baseball bat, which is at least on brand, and was at one point scarred to have his head look like it has baseball stitching. That's pretty much it. It's a very flimsy premise to build a character off of, and there's never much of anything else to work with. Aside from the superficial baseball stuff, he's just your run-of-the-mill mob enforcer/burglar.

With an unremarkable villain as the focus, it's difficult to find much of note to take away from this story. It's competently told, and Otto Schmidt's art keeps the action of the fight scenes at the end expressive and tense, but at the same time everything feels very barebones. Batman learns that a villain is targeting some crime family, we learn about the villain, and then there's a fight when he tries to kill the boss. Again, if the new character or his story were more compelling this could be something, but as it stands it's a passable yet forgettable comic.

Score: 5/10

Stormwatch: Down with the Kings part 3

This series is starting to establish a pretty clearly defined formula. The story will open with some banter between the team back at base, we'll get some brief exposition on the new mission, something will unexpectedly go wrong, and then there's a big action set piece. That doesn't make it a bad story, but when you start to see the patterns, it can make things feel somewhat predictable. Brisson even lampshades the fact by having Flint refer to it as "the inevitable complication".

While it's easy to see how they'll fit together, the individual pieces are still well done. The conversations between Director Bones and Dr. Huskk really highlight the moral duplicitousness of the Stormwatch organization. Like a lot of these "black ops" comic book teams, it takes the concept of "for the greater good" to the point of losing sight of ethics or morality. Often in reality that "greater good" is just code for some government or third party power, which is what we begin to see laid out in this issue.

Along with this morally gray tone comes a sort of default personality for the team. I'm sure you've seen it before: here to do a mission, serious yet with a dry sarcasm, and not overly concerned with collateral damage. It's the sort of character template used for innumerable anti-heroes. The series is slowly establishing unique personalities for the various members of the team (Rose especially gets a chance to shine here) but much of the team has yet to stand out.

The final piece of the formula, the action set piece, is as always a delight to see. Malware is presented as a really interesting villain to fight that requires a unique strategy and results in a conflict that is more than just "punch them until you win". It's something the series has been consistently good about, and it always keeps you invested as to what might happen next at any moment.

None of this would be possible without the spectacular visuals. Jeff Spokes' art is absolutely gorgeous. I don't think I've talked about it enough with this series, but it really is the highlight. His linework and colors conveys a sense individual identity and emotion to each character. It's the sort of detail you usually only see on covers, but here it fills every page with just as much care as the last. It results in wonderful character designs, striking imagery, and a visual storytelling that keeps your attention the entire time. If I had to give one critique it would be the paneling, of which the repetitive stacked layout is not particularly interesting. Spokes seems to be a new artist in the industry, and I hope he's able to get plenty of work in the future.

Score: 8/10

Superman: Order of the Black Lamp part 3

The final chapter of "Superman: Order of the Black Lamp" takes a step from the figurative into the literal. Everything so far has been couched in layers of vague metaphor, so much so that it almost felt like a dream. This was always appropriate because of how integral the theme of memory and how we perceive things was. However, now that Superman has been captured, we get a chance to see the actual villain behind it all and why/how he's doing it.

At first glance Dr. Anthelme's plan seems almost mundane. By selectively erasing people's memories, he's able to make money from people who hire him and even control society's opinions. He brought Superman here by contacting Clark because he knew they were connected "somehow", a subtle tongue-in-cheek lampshading of how ridiculous it is no one ever puts it all together. It's all your typical mad super scientist stuff, and fitting of the classic adventures its imitating.

However, what becomes apparent is that this still all serves as commentary on what memories mean to us, and the power that they hold. The kidnapped pilot Hop Harrigan was a heroic celebrity of his time, much like Superman is today. Anthelme even compares erasing the memory of Superman to "erasing the very idea of God, or totally eradicating hope or virtue in the abstract". It hammers home just how critical our memories are to what makes us who we are. When you change that, you change everything.

It's that message which makes the ending so sad. Anthelme had a fail-safe that ensured that his plan would be forgotten, just like he erased Harrigan from the world. He offered Superman and Harrigan eternal life, but without anything to remember, does it really exist? Even the notepad burns in the fire as they escape and Harrigan forgets how to fly - the skill that defined him. It's an ending that emphasizes just how fragile our identities are and the act of forgetting can be the most tragic thing of all.

Score: 8/10

City of Monsters

The final story of the collection is this month's black and white entry, "City of Monsters" (ignore the title listed on the opening index page, it incorrectly gives Joëlle Jones' story from last issue). The opening does a great job of immediately setting the tone of Batman in a gothic horror Gotham ruled by a vampire lord Kirk Langstrom. Jorge Molina's art especially creates a chilling atmosphere that brings Bram Stoker to Batman, though the suit he created for Batman doesn't quite work. I can see what he's going for with the high collar and armored shoulders. It's meant to evoke the same imagery as a 19th century lord (like Dracula). However, with the slim fit and extra lines going everywhere, it looks too much like athletic wear.

If this sort of over the top gothic horror Batman (complete with a Batmobile that looks like the car from League of Extraordinary Gentlemen) is what you want, then this story has got it for you. However, make sure that you're looking for flash and not substance, because the buckets of the former need to make up for the lack of the latter. The actual story is somewhat ridiculous, especially details like Batman saying he dresses like a bat because vampires killed his parents (which would be a bit like our Batman dressing like Joe Chill). It's loud, flamboyant, and involves shooting missiles at a vampire fortress.

Score: 7/10

Recommended if…

• You're looking for an action packed team up story
• Superman: Order of the Black Lamp's finale gives the emotional conclusion it needed
• You love flashy gothic horror

Overall

Aside from the first one, every story in this collection manages to successfully do what it sets out to. Stormwatch continues its action filled missions, Superman explores the importance of memory, and Batman fights a vampire lord in a gothic Gotham. Batman: Brave and the Bold #3 continues the series' pattern of offering up a satisfactory collection of tales.

Score: 7/10

DISCLAIMER: DC Comics provided Batman News with a copy of this comic for the purposes of this review.