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Description
succulents with spikes Buy Red Spike Ice Plant Phoenix, AZ | CephalophyllumDrought Tolerant Red Groundcover for Phoenix Sun Red Spike Ice Plant (Cephalophyllum 'Red Spike') is one of the toughest and most colorful groundcover succulents you can plant in the Phoenix Valley. This low growing succulent produces masses of brilliant red, daisy like flowers in late winter and early spring right when your landscape needs color the most. Its finger like succulent leaves stay green year round, creating a dense mat that chokes out
Drought-Tolerant Red Groundcover for Phoenix Sun
Red Spike Ice Plant (Cephalophyllum 'Red Spike') is one of the toughest and most colorful groundcover succulents you can plant in the Phoenix Valley. This low-growing succulent produces masses of brilliant red, daisy-like flowers in late winter and early spring — right when your landscape needs color the most. Its finger-like succulent leaves stay green year-round, creating a dense mat that chokes out weeds and stabilizes soil. It thrives in full Arizona sun, handles reflected heat, and needs almost no water once established. Whether you're covering a slope in Scottsdale, edging a pathway in Mesa, or filling a rock garden in Chandler — Red Spike Ice Plant delivers vivid color with virtually zero maintenance.
Red Spike Ice Plant Details
| Attribute | Detail |
|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Cephalophyllum 'Red Spike' |
| Common Names | Red Spike Ice Plant, Red Ice Plant |
| Mature Height | 3–6 inches |
| Mature Width | 18–24 inches per plant (spreads to form dense mats) |
| Growth Rate | Moderate to Fast — fills in within 1–2 seasons |
| Sun | Full sun (6+ hrs). Thrives in reflected heat from walls and pavement. |
| Water | Very low. Extremely drought-tolerant once established. |
| USDA Zones | 9–11 (Phoenix is Zone 9b–10a) |
| Soil | Well-draining. Thrives in sandy, rocky, and gravelly Arizona soils. Tolerates caliche. |
| Foliage | Evergreen succulent — green finger-like leaves year-round |
| Bloom Color | Brilliant red, late winter through spring |
Red Spike Ice Plant Uses in Phoenix Landscapes
Groundcover & Mass Planting
Red Spike Ice Plant is one of the best succulent groundcovers for Phoenix. Plant them 18–24 inches apart and they'll knit into a solid carpet of green with seasonal bursts of red blooms. Perfect for covering large areas where you want zero-irrigation color. A 100-square-foot bed needs about 30–40 plants.
Slope & Erosion Control
The dense root system and spreading habit make Red Spike excellent for stabilizing slopes, berms, and embankments. It handles the harsh conditions of south-facing slopes — full sun, reflected heat, and zero supplemental water — better than almost any other flowering groundcover.
Rock Garden & Xeriscape Accent
Tuck Red Spike into gaps between boulders, along dry creek beds, and around decomposed granite pathways. The succulent texture and seasonal red blooms pop against gravel and stone in Tempe, Peoria, and Gilbert desert landscapes.
Border & Edging
At just 3–6 inches tall, Red Spike makes a perfect low border along walkways, driveways, and garden beds without blocking sightlines. The evergreen succulent foliage looks tidy year-round.
Best Time to Plant Red Spike Ice Plant in Phoenix
Fall (October–November) is the ideal window. Cooler temperatures and warm soil promote fast root establishment. Your ice plant gets months to root in before summer. Spring (February–April) is the second-best window. Avoid planting in peak summer heat.
How to Plant Red Spike Ice Plant
- Dig a shallow hole — Just deep enough for the root ball and 2x as wide. Ice plants have shallow roots.
- Ensure drainage — Break through any caliche layer. Succulents rot in standing water.
- Backfill with native soil — No amendments needed. Ice plants prefer lean, fast-draining soil.
- Spacing — 18–24 inches apart for groundcover; 12 inches for faster fill-in.
- No mulch needed — Gravel or decomposed granite is fine around ice plants. Avoid bark mulch which retains too much moisture around succulent stems.
Watering Red Spike Ice Plant in Phoenix
First Year Watering Schedule
Weeks 1–2: Water every 3–4 days, light. Month 1–3: Every 7–10 days. After Month 3: Every 14–21 days. After Year 1: Monthly or less in summer; almost nothing in winter. Overwatering is the #1 cause of ice plant failure.
Drip Irrigation
One 0.5-GPH emitter per plant during establishment. For mass plantings, use drip tubing with emitters every 18 inches. Reduce or eliminate irrigation once established — these are true desert succulents.
When does Red Spike Ice Plant bloom in Phoenix?
Late winter through early spring (January–March) is peak bloom time. The brilliant red flowers create a stunning display right when most other plants are dormant. Some sporadic blooming may occur into early summer.
Is Red Spike Ice Plant truly drought tolerant?
Extremely. Once established, Red Spike Ice Plant can survive on rainfall alone in the Phoenix area. It stores water in its succulent leaves and needs far less irrigation than any flowering groundcover alternative.
What's the difference between Red Spike Ice Plant and Red Ice Plant?
Red Spike (Cephalophyllum) has upright, finger-like leaves and blooms primarily in winter-spring. Both are succulent groundcovers that thrive in Phoenix. Three Timbers carries both varieties.
Does ice plant attract pests?
Rarely. Ice plants are virtually pest-free in the Phoenix area. The biggest threat is overwatering, which can cause root rot. In dry, sunny conditions, they're among the most trouble-free plants available.
You May Also Like
Red Ice Plant — Another red-flowering succulent groundcover with slightly different growth habit.
Red Gazania — A flowering groundcover with bold red daisy-like blooms for sunny spots.
Yellow Gazania — Bright yellow groundcover blooms that pair well with red ice plant.
Lantana — A colorful, spreading groundcover shrub for borders and mass plantings.
Desert Spoon — A sculptural desert accent that pairs beautifully with low groundcovers.
How Many Red Spike Ice Plant Do I Need?
Red Spike spreads 18 to 24 inches wide, so space plants about 18 inches on center for a solid succulent mat. Use this coverage guide:
| Area to Cover | Plants Needed (18 in spacing) |
|---|---|
| 25 sq ft | about 12 plants |
| 50 sq ft | about 22 plants |
| 100 sq ft | about 44 plants |
| 200 sq ft | about 89 plants |
Tighten to 12 inches on center for faster fill-in on slopes and erosion-control plantings.
Red Spike Ice Plant Season-by-Season in Phoenix
- Spring (Feb to Apr): Peak color winds down from the winter-spring bloom as masses of red flowers carry into March. New succulent growth flushes with warming soil. A good second planting window.
- Summer (May to Sep): Tough through extreme and reflected heat. Growth slows in the hottest stretch. Cut irrigation back hard: overwatering in summer, not heat, is what rots ice plant. Monsoon humidity is tolerated as long as soil drains fast.
- Fall (Oct to Nov): Prime planting season. Warm soil and cooling air drive fast root establishment before winter bloom sets buds.
- Winter (Dec to Jan): The main event. Brilliant red daisy-like flowers open in the low desert when most plants are bare. Foliage stays evergreen. Can show tip damage in a hard frost below about 25°F, so cover in a rare cold snap and it bounces back fast.
At a Glance
✔ Drought-Tolerant ✔ Heat-Loving (Reflected-Heat Tolerant) ✔ Pool-Friendly (Low-Litter) ✔ Pollinator-Friendly ✔ Evergreen ✔ Low-Maintenance
Plant It With
- Red Ice Plant: a companion red-flowering succulent mat with a trailing habit for layered groundcover color.
- Purple Ice Plant: magenta blooms that contrast the red and bloom in a different season for longer color.
- AZ Ice Plant-Copper: warm copper-orange tones to blend a multi-color ice plant carpet.
- Desert Spoon: a sculptural desert accent that rises above the low mat for height and structure.
Is Red Spike Ice Plant Right for Your Yard?
Red Spike thrives in full sun and reflected heat, in lean sandy or gravelly soil that drains fast, on slopes, rock gardens, and hot xeriscape beds where almost nothing else flowers in winter. Break through caliche so water never stands around the crown. It is not a fit if your site is shady, holds water after rain, or gets regular irrigation: soggy roots and overwatering are the only things that reliably kill it.
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4.3 ★★★★★
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★★★★★ 5
The Best BATMAN Tale since YEAR ONE.
When I first started reading Scott Snyder's run on DETECTIVE COMICS, I was unfamiliar with his work. It seemed like they had just grabbed a new name after arcs done by distinguished writers such as Grant Morrison (which I actually thought was terrible during his RIP arc), Greg Rucka (who did a brilliant job with bringing the character of Batwoman into the fold), and Paul Dini (whose work ranged from not great to just about perfect). Snyder just seemed like a Johnny-Come-Lately, and the previous arc on DETECTIVE had been particularly disappointing, but alas I had faith that another solid arc was due for the Darkknight Detective, so I kept collecting.
Nothing could have made me happier, since Snyder and his partners in crime, artists Jock and Francesco Francavilla had crafted the most solid, unified and smartest Batman tale since Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli's eponymous BATMAN: YEAR ONE.
Not to get too bogged down in plot detail, but essentially, the "Black Mirror" arc begins with Dick Grayson as The Batman (since Bruce Wayne was too busy fighting his way through time... argh...) and he's closing in on a secret auction where 'collectibles' of Gotham's most notorious villains are being sold to an elite crowd of wealthy degenerates, such as Scarecrow's fear gas and the crowbar actually used to beat Jason Todd almost to death. The main villain of the piece is hardly Batman's most powerful enemy, but it does leave some psychic scars on Dick. Next Dick is forced to deal with a dead woman found in an office building. Hardly worth Batman's specific attention, but what is is that the woman's body was found inside a dead killer whale's mouth in an office building. Making matters more complicated is that the woman this murder is sending a message to is actually the daughter of Tony Zucco, the gangster responsible for the death of Dick's parents.
While these stories are exciting, well-crafted and beautifully rendered by Jock, we enter a much more personal tale of Commissioner Gordon: the return of his son James Jr., who we haven't seen much of at all in his life. Apparently, James Jr. is a psychotic who is taking a new anti-psychotic medication and hopes to return back to society in some way. This becomes a very personal tale for the Gordon family, including Gordon's ex-wife Barbara and of course his daughter Barbara, formerly Batgirl and now the wheelchair-confined information gatherer Oracle. These interludes are illustrated by the brilliant Francavilla, whose every page looks like it's suitable for framing. Unfortunately for everyone involved, Jr. is not exactly what he seems to be and this leads to a small-scale but highly emotionally charged finale.
Scott Snyder did several things in this book that very few before him were able to do successfully. First and foremost, he captured the essence of Dick Grayson bearing the responsibility of being Batman. It's not something he shirks from, but he does feel out of place living in Bruce's penthouse and basically taking the mantle of Batman is no small matter. He is more emotional than Bruce and has more issues with his own fears. Second is that he's one of the few writers to really get the essence of Batman being a detective. While Dick is not as brilliant as Bruce, he was trained by the best, and Batman is not just a machine of brute force dispensing justice with his fists and cool gadgets; he's also considered the world's greatest detective and it's always exciting to see an author with a good handle on that aspect of Batman. Third is Snyder's awareness of Gotham not just being a city, but as being an integral character in the adventures of Batman. There's a darkness to the city that the good people strive to rise above, which is why the partnership of Batman and Jim Gordon has been the lifeline of Gotham's survival. Also on wonderful display here is Snyder's understanding of the supporting cast. He gives all of them equal and necessary life in the story, and has a superb handle on their individual characters.
In the few years since Snyder started in this business, first gaining prominence on AMERICAN VAMPIRE (which is another breath of fresh air to a dying genre) and then his work on DETECTIVE gaining him even greater accolades, he has become possibly the best writer currently at DC. Several people, including myself have heralded him as the next Alan Moore. He has an understanding of character, dialogue and structure that is unusual and continually striking. He's been the standout star of DC's "New 52", continuing his work on Batman with
as well as bringing back one of DC's greatest horror titles,
. He has also continued to establish himself as one of comic's premier horror writers by doing the best horror comic in years over at Image Comics called
(you can find my review of that book via that link), as well as doing a mini-event that explores the beginnings of Gotham City in
.
THE BLACK MIRROR is a Batman classic that people will still be discussing in years to come, as well as his other work in the field. I couldn't suggest more highly picking up any of his books. It doesn't get much better.
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Reviewed in the United States on May 12, 2012
★★★★★ 5
Dark, Brooding and 100% Batman
This review is super-spoilery. If you haven't read The Black Mirror yet, do yourself a favor and go grab a copy ASAP. You won't regret it.
No matter who we are, we can't escape our past. Where we've come from and who we've been leave indelible marks on us. Nowhere is this more true than Gotham City, and in Batman: The Black Mirror, Scott Snyder gives us a glimpse into the Darkness that lies at the core of the city.
If you're not a regular Batman reader, you may not know that everyone in the DC Comics universe thought Bruce Wayne was dead for a while. While he was gone, Dick Grayson - the original Robin - took up the mantle of the Batman. After Bruce Wayne's return, he kept Dick as the new Gotham City Batman.* Black Mirror is actually a story featuring Dick Grayson - not Bruce Wayne - as the Batman.
Snyder's story is one of the best Batman stories I've ever read. It's a dark, brooding and good, old-fashioned detective story. And it actually works better with Dick instead of Bruce under the cowl. That's a writing feat nothing short of miraculous.
Snyder's Gotham is a monstrous city that seeks to poison everyone in it. It turned both Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson into masked vigilantes. Dick was the child of circus acrobats who were murdered in Gotham. He was taken in by Bruce Wayne, who lost his own parents to Gotham criminals and trained Dick to become Robin. Eventually Dick outgrew the Robin persona and became Nightwing, working in a city near Gotham.
Joining Dick in the spotlight of Black Mirror is Commissioner James "Jim" Gordon, who's no less a victim of Gotham's darkness than Dick. He and his first wife Barbara have a son named James, Jr., who left with Barbara when she and Jim divorced. Jim also has a niece named Barbara who came to live with him after her parents died. Barbara dated Dick in high school, and she became the first Batgirl. In Alan Moore's epic The Killing Joke, the Joker shoots Barbara in the stomach, paralyzing her. In a wheelchair, she's now the Oracle. She serves as the information hub for Batman, Robin and their allies.
The Black Mirror introduces us for the first time to the adult James, Jr., who has returned to Gotham searching for a second chance. We learn from his suspicious father that James, Jr. is a clinical psychopath: he doesn't feel typical human emotion (yes, just like Dexter). But he comes claiming to be on a new medication that stimulates the brain to produce the chemicals psychopaths lack. He reveals that he's volunteering at Dr. Leslie Thompkins' free clinic.
Jim Gordon is suspicious, distrustful. But he can't stop himself from being hopeful, too. Is it possible that his son has found peace and even redemption?
Snyder keeps us guessing about James, Jr.'s true nature through the whole book. We feel the tension Jim Gordon feels, torn as he is between Oracle's pessimism and Dick's optimism. Barbara is convinced that James, Jr. is a monster who can and will never change, while Dick is hopeful.
And so with this tension established, Snyder asks us a most basic question: can we be anything other than what we have been?
We meet Sonja Branch, the estranged daughter of the mobster who killed Dick's parents. A wealthy, successful executive, Dick wonders to Jim Gordon if she's as upstanding as she seems. Dick muses that "it's nice to know that maybe, once in a blue moon, the apple does fall far from the tree in Gotham."
The expression on Jim Gordon's face as he echoes, "Once in a blue moon," reveals that he's still wondering about James, Jr. An old case has led Jim to reflect on his son to wonder yet again what made him the way he is. To wonder what he could've done differently. He concludes that Gotham is fundamentally sick. He wonders to Dick:
Do you ever feel like... like the more good you do or try to do for people out there, for strangers, the more the ones close to you, the ones you love, get hurt? ...I don't mean in general. I mean here. In Gotham... I'm talking about the damn bedrock. There are times I feel a dark heart down there, Dick. A dark, malformed heart.
Since Alan Moore's The Killing Joke, the Batman mythology has suggested that Gotham's villains arise as a response to the Batman's presence. The Joker of Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns is comatose, awaking only when news breaks that the Batman has returned to Gotham. And Heath Ledger's Joker in The Dark Knight laughs that Batman thinks Joker wants him dead - the Batman completes Ledger's Joker.
But Snyder dares to step beyond this to suggest that it's Gotham, the city itself that creates both the heroes and the monsters. Gotham created the Batman just as it created the Joker. Gotham created Robin by murdering Dick's parents. And now that Dick is the Batman, we learn that Gotham has been creating a new nightmare just for him.
Dick's opposite, his dark mirror, isn't the Joker. That surprise comes when we finally meet the newly-escaped Clown Prince of Crime after Batman tracks him down. The Joker knows instantly, chastising Batman:
Do you even know what Gotham means, little bird? ...It means a safe place for goats! And do you know what preys on goats? Bats. The bat makes the goat sick. But every bat does this in its own way. And you, you're not my bat!
So what sickness has arisen as a response to Dick's new Batman? By the time we reach Snyder's gut-wrenching, perfectly, agonizingly timed reveal, we realize it could have been no one else but James, Jr.
James, Jr. is a pure, true psychopath. He's reversed his medications - instead of stimulating the brain to produce more of the drugs that give us emotions, James, Jr.'s drug suppresses them. His master plan - an eerie successor to the Joker's inaugural caper - is to drug a factory in Gotham that manufactures infant formula. James, Jr.'s goal is to create a generation of psychopaths, to remake Gotham's children in his own image.
He calmly explains as much to Dick as he tortures his cousin, Barbara:
Gotham is a city of nightmares... in the truest sense because what's a nightmare if it isn't a warning? A vision of yourself at your weakest... Batman - the real one - he shapes Gotham out of an obsession... but you new crop, you do it out of compassion. Out of empathy. Out of weakness... And out of all of them, Dick, you're the weakest.
[Gotham] is a city of nightmares, and I'm yours. I'm the face you see in the glass. A man with no conscience. No empathy. Gotham made me to challenge you... I am Gotham's son. And the city made me so I could help usher in a new generation of children.
Dick proves that his compassion is more a weapon than a weakness, thwarting James, Jr. (probably). But Black Mirror leaves us with an unsettled, uneasy sense that this fight is darker and longer than we thought. We start to wonder if the Batman's quest is actually winnable, in the end.
But Dick Grayson never wonders. That's what separates him from the James, Jrs. of the world. That's what separates him even from Bruce. This is a different Batman. Full of optimism. Playful - he makes jokes and teases his teammates.
Dick's Batman is at once totally different from Bruce's and at the same time wholly Batman.
Most importantly, Dick is hopeful. And it's ultimately that hope that lifts us up over even a surprisingly ambiguous ending. Dick said it perfectly early in the book:
I couldn't understand why Bruce... always chose to drive through the streets, moving on the ground... when he could've just soared above it all. But I get it now. Because even back then he understood that Gotham is a place you can never get above, a place you can never see clearly... I can't help it, though. I'm built differently. Because there's something about seeing Gotham from the sky that energizes me, gives me hope, if only for a moment before I come back down to earth.
Dick hopes that Gotham can be better. It's a hope that transcends anything even Bruce has. And it's that hope that draws him and those around him - like Jim and Barbara to fight the good fight.
Bottom Line: Whether you're a long-time fan of the Batman or only know The Dark Knight, Snyder's book is a must read. The characters are amazing. The plot is fantastic. The art is breathtaking. From start to finish, The Black Mirror is a sterling example of the literary power of comics you'll want to read over and over again.
*Since DC Comics has rebooted their entire franchise, none of this is the case anymore. Bruce is back to being the Batman and Dick Grayson has returned to his role as Nightwing.
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Reviewed in the United States on December 13, 2011
★★★★★ 4
Reflections of the Dark Knight
A new Batman, a new villain, an old city, and lots of familiar faces. 'The Black Mirror' is a potent formula, and for the most part very effective.
But, I have to say at the outset, it's difficult to read a Batman story without Bruce Wayne. Scott Snyder brings all his considerable skill to bear in writing this multifaceted tale of a Gotham City finding its way, Dick Grayson trying so hard to fill the cowl of Bruce Wayne with new partners, and a long-forgotten piece of Commissioner Jim Gordon's past come back to haunt him.
There's a lot to this story, and Snyder spins it with the same wit, the same grasp of history and literature, and the same subtleties of craft as he has evidenced with the excellent 'American Vampire.' For all its newness, it's clear that Snyder "gets" the Batman, gets the importance of Gotham City as a place and as a character in its own right, gets the history of those who've come before him, and pumps all of this into the overall arc of 'The Black Mirror.'
And yet part of me can't let go - where's the Batman I know?
Similarly, artists Jock and Francesco Francavilla get the look and feel of Batman. Despite pretty dramatically different styles - Jock's harsh and jagged and nearly monochromatic, Francavilla's more colorful and less edgy - they both show well here, and the material they illustrate is well-suited to their talents. Jock expresses the drama and the darkness of the Batman, Francavilla expresses the more human side of both heroes and villains alike. For a story this complex - a story of drugs and madmen and broken families and long-held grudges - both have their piece to contribute, and they do it well.
And something still feels like it's missing.
It's a little like reading 'The Hound of the Baskervilles,' in the parts where Holmes is absent from the story. Watson is a fine investigator, and pushes the story forward in his own way, and it's still a good story. But it feels less driven, less exciting, less complete, until Holmes' return, with all his fire and fervor, to wrap the case up with his signature panache.
I kept waiting, in 'The Black Mirror,' for that moment. When Bruce Wayne returned and righted that world and brought it all back into sharp perspective. Though there were many satisfying moments to be experienced...that moment never came.
'The Black Mirror' is aptly named. It reflects aspects of Gotham City and its denizens, both those who fight for it and those who would bring it crashing down, in new and original ways. It makes us see things we haven't seen before. Scott Snyder and Jock and Francavilla represent well here, and have created a finely-crafted addition to the ongoing story of Batman.
But a reflection of a thing is not the thing itself, and that difference was felt here. A slight warping of the glass, or a flaw in its surface gave it away. Though his reflection was seen in the black mirror, the Batman was not to be found here. And that was hard to get past.
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Reviewed in the United States on October 2, 2012
★★★★★ 5
The Greatest Batman Story Ever Written by Scott Snyder
Format: Paperback, Format: Paperback
Known about this volume for a long time, but I kept putting it off and just managed to finally read it a few days ago. And the first thing that came to my mind after I finished the last page and closed the comic was "Wow, that was a really good story". And I really think that sums it up perfectly, but i'll expand to give a more thorough review.
Scott Snyder is the current writer of the main Batman comic book series (Though his run is nearly at an end now), which is where the brunt of my experience with him comes from. I've read another comic by him set around the same time period that this one takes place in (Batman Gates of Gotham) and I honestly wasn't impressed with it. Definitely one of his weaker showings. This one makes up for that and then some however. The Batman featured in this, and the previous, story is Dick Grayson (Robin #1, Nightwing, and currently Agent 13 over in Grayson). Naturally, you'd expect Dick Grayson to be a different character than Bruce Wayne, and Snyder gets this. The entire story really deals with the idea that it is Dick wearing the cape and cowl and crafts an adventure that is made for him and how he would personally deal with it. He makes some mistakes here and there, but also has a lot of success specifically because of who he is. I think the stories told in this work are exciting and full of a good amount of action and character development.
Snyder has a tendency in my opinion to only focus on one overarching story, which I don't personally prefer. He avoids that here. There is one massive story being told, with one main villain at its core who is responsible for pulling our heroe's strings, but between that and the start of the story are numerous other adventures as well, with different characters and villains, who have their own motivations. I appreciate this because it's just nice to see our hero fighting against so many different people throughout the story. This also isnt' solely Dick's story. I'd say that it's as much Jim Gordon's as it is Batman's this time around, with the major villain striking really close to home. This adds a sense of emotion and tragedy to the story which you don't often see. Further more, this story is creepy. That's actually something that I don't think can be said about the majority of Batman stories out there. It's dark, depressing, and genuinely creepy at points, capable of chilling you to the bone. It's a solid change of pace and I loved it.
Despite the fact that we don't get our traditional Batman in this I would honestly rate this as one of the greatst Batman stories of all time and highly recommend it.
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Reviewed in the United States on March 14, 2016
★★★★★ 5
Great story telling, but not for everyone
WARNING: THERE WILL BE SPOILERS THROUGHOUT THIS REVIEW.
I found this book to be a really great read. I have been away from comics for a little while now and decided to pick this up after hearing Scott Snyder's interview with Kevin Smith on Fat Man on Batman. I am a fan of the dark style for Batman and this is one of my favorite books now. Granted I've been away for a while so I don't know much of the other stories (I plan on reading a lot more), but this book was an instant favorite. I will admit there are a few things I disliked at first, like Dick Grayson taking the mantle of the Bat but I soon warmed up to him.
I'll mention a bit of the storyline now:
Dick Grayson is now the Batman after the events of Infinite Crisis. He tries to fit into this new lifestyle as being the Bat and living in Bruce's penthouse. He feels uneasy and restless. So once trouble arises, he goes out as Batman to investigate (same old thing). He gets into this kind of social gathering (disguised as someone else) for the wealthy who purchase items once owned by Gotham's most notorious villains. Now the guy running the show knows he is Batman and tricks him, having some sort of toxin enter his body to make him fear everything around him. While all this is going on, Commissioner Gordon is out on patrol and learns that his son is back in town. Ever since James Jr. was a baby, he couldn't feel empathy. So whenever someone would mess with him, he would go after then ans torture them (this is where things get twisted). Long story short, the reader finds out that it was Gordon's behind all of the crimes recently commit to get back at Batman (Dick). There are also apparences by the Joker, Tim Drake, Barbara Gordon and Sonia Zucco (daughter of Tony Zucco, the man who killed Dick's parents).
Now I will say this book is pretty amazing, but like I mentioned in the title, this one isn't for everyone. This book is kinda graphic and has gore elements in it. Not to mention the use of psychotic themes and characters. I can see how some people can get disinterested in that. And the story does jump around a little so it can get a bit difficult to follow. But all in all, it is great storytelling.
If dark story-telling is your thing, I recommend checking this one out. The dialog of the characters seem so natural and so is their development. The inclusion of Gordon's son was such a wonderful experience, and not only that but to have him a little twisted in the head was incredible in my opinion. Like they have said before, having this character be twisted, he is a perfect counter-part to both Gordon and Dick; Dick is smiling and care for other people while James Jr. cannot do this, and to Gordon, his son is the one case he cannot solve. Anyways, I loved everything about it and has even inspired me to get back into the comic book genre. I hope my review helped you decide to check this book out.
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Reviewed in the United States on February 20, 2013
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