Batman – Graveyard Shift: a filler volume that fills the gap

After The Court of Owls, , Death of the Family and Zero Year, we get a rather unusual volume in Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo's run. Batman: Graveyard Shift doesn't introduce a major new threat or tell one long story. Instead, it collects several issues that fell between the main story arcs.

First, a clarification: I'm reviewing the US edition, Batman Vol. 6: Graveyard Shift, which runs to 224 pages and doesn't contain exactly the same material as ECC's Spanish edition, which includes one extra issue. Just so you know; it hardly changes the overall experience.

As a collection, it's quite uneven. Some stories work wonderfully on their own, others require knowledge of events in other series, some are previews, and the artwork constantly shifts in style and quality.

It's clearly a lesser volume in Snyder's run, but that doesn't mean it lacks interesting material.

Some of the short stories are worth reading

Batman doesn't need a ten- or twelve-issue saga to star in a good adventure. In fact, here are several stories that stand perfectly well on their own.

The one featuring Clayface is probably one of the most interesting. Snyder uses the villain's abilities to build a mystery about impersonation that works without stretching beyond two issues. It has an appealing premise, brisk pacing and a very detective-minded Batman.

I also liked The Anchoress, the Arkham-set story in the second annual. It has a personality of its own and makes excellent use of one of the most interesting settings in Batman's world. And although it references other events, you don't need to know the entire DC universe to follow what's going on.

Another good example is The Meek, an investigation into a serial killer that brings back the character's noir side. Its tone fits Gotham perfectly and shows how much these short tales can offer when they're built around a clear idea.

Overall, these stories account for much of the book's appeal. They're not among Snyder's best, but they're enjoyable reads.

The problem: where are we in Batman's timeline?

The biggest drawback of Graveyard Shift isn't so much the individual stories as the experience of reading them all back to back.

The chronology is a bit of a mess.

One chapter takes us back to Batman's early days, another shows Bruce dealing with later events, and just when you get your bearings, a story appears that previews developments in another series.

So you keep asking yourself: what year is this? Does this happen before or after Zero Year? What happened to this character?

The clearest example is Damian Wayne's death. In one episode Batman is deeply affected by it, but that event doesn't take place in this series; it happens in Batman Incorporated, during Grant Morrison's run.

Something similar happens with Harper Row, a relatively new character in Batman's world who appears here with little context. If you come from more classic Batman stories, as I do, you may feel rather lost. And to top it off, Batman #28 acts as a preview of Batman Eternal, practically inviting you to carry on reading another series.

I don't mind references to other series. That's normal in a shared universe like DC's. The problem is that this volume brings together stories from such different points in time that readers have to keep reconstructing the continuity..

I would have appreciated a clearer structure in this collection, or at least a little more context between episodes.

Lots of artists and uneven artwork

Another difference from the previous volumes is that we don't have the visual consistency Greg Capullo provides.

These pages feature great artists such as Andy Kubert, Dustin Nguyen, Wes Craig, Matteo Scalera, Alex Maleev and others, all with very different styles. That gives each story its own personality, but it also leads to rather abrupt changes from one to the next.

And I'm not just talking about different styles: the quality seems uneven to me, too. There are wonderful pages and others that barely stand out.

My favourite here is Alex Maleev, whose work I already loved on Daredevil. His art is dark and expressive, with an almost painterly texture that suits Batman extremely well. The way he portrays characters and shadows creates a very distinctive atmosphere.

Capullo remains a spectacular artist and the others bring interesting things to the table, but Maleev proves Gotham also looks fantastic with a grittier, painterly aesthetic.

After The Court of Owls, , Death of the Family and Zero Year, we get a rather unusual volume in Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo's run. Batman: Graveyard Shift doesn't introduce a major new threat or tell one long story. Instead, it collects several issues that fell between the main story arcs.

The best of Batman: Graveyard Shift

• The Clayface, The Anchoress and The Meek stories, which show that Batman also works very well in shorter adventures.
• Alex Maleev's artwork, especially his depiction of shadows and Gotham's atmosphere.
• The variety of approaches, which lets us discover different facets of the character between Snyder's major arcs.

The worst of Batman: Graveyard Shift

• The chronological confusion, which keeps you wondering when each story takes place.
• The dependence on other series, particularly in the episodes involving Damian Wayne and Batman Eternal..
• The uneven artwork, with artists whose styles and quality vary widely.

Conclusion: a filler volume that does its job

Batman: Graveyard Shift is a transitional collection with good short stories, some excellent artwork and several chapters that depend too heavily on outside events.

The lack of chronological continuity really hurts the reading experience. Just as you begin to enjoy one story, you jump to another period of Batman's life and have to get your bearings all over again.

Even so, I think the result is decent. Clayface, The Anchoress and The Meek offer interesting adventures, and the work of artists such as Maleev is worth seeing.

It's a filler volume that fills a gap. If you only want to follow Snyder and Capullo's major arcs, you can skip it without much trouble. But if you buy it to complete the collection, you won't regret it either.

Technical details of Batman – Graveyard Shift

Item	Information
Original title	Batman: Graveyard Shift
Edition reviewed	Batman Vol. 6: Graveyard Shift
Publisher	DC Comics
Original publication of the collection	2015
Script	Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, Marguerite Bennett and others
Artwork	Greg Capullo, Andy Kubert, Alex Maleev, Dustin Nguyen, Wes Craig, Matteo Scalera and others
Contents	Batman #0, #18-20, #28, #34 and Batman Annual #2
Pages	224
Genre	Superheroes, mystery and action

The Spanish ECC edition also includes Batman #12, which isn't part of the US collection reviewed here.