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Batman: Private Casebook Hardcover – December 23, 2008

by Paul Dini (Author), Dustin Nguyen (Illustrator)

4.6 52 ratings

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"Departed foes return and old secrets are revealed as the Dark Knight becomes haunted by his past. Ra's al Ghul, the only enemy who knows Batman's identity, has been resurrected and returns to Gotham. How far will the Caped Crusader go to insure the safety of his city-- and his loved ones? Also, the manic marionette Scarface is reborn and in the lap of the lovely new Ventriloquist. Only this time the team is less interested in organizing crime-- and more interested in exacting revenge on those who've wronged them in the past. But with more ties to Gotham's elite than its underworld, it's not Batman who must reason with the alluring puppet master, but Bruce Wayne!" -- from dust jacket.

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Dini and Nguyen's Batman stories from Detective Comics collected here are largely brief, self-contained mysteries, focusing on the colorful, bizarre characters of Batman's world. They're something of a throwback in tone to the superhero comics of the '60s and '70s: in one episode, the wicked Tweedledee and Tweedledum steal the Mad Hatter's mind-control technology to assemble the Wonderland Gang, which Batman busts up by the end of the issue. It's breezy stuff as contemporary Batman comics go, even making room for a little romance (a subplot concerns the Dark Knight's flirtations with the magician Zatanna and the sultry burglar Catwoman). Still, Dini gets a lot of juice out of the way his characters interact and comes up with clever ways to whisk each story toward its conclusion—The Riddle Unanswered, for instance, pivots around Batman hanging out in an online chat room of amateur detectives (and a few superheroes) to trade ideas about a case. Nguyen and Fridolfs's artwork complements these stories' mood with a loose, flowing style, built around jagged chunks of black, which owes something to contemporary animation. (Dec.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ DC Comics; First Edition (December 23, 2008)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 160 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1401220096
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1401220099
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 14.7 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.95 x 0.48 x 10.49 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,762,750 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #4,117 in DC Comics & Graphic Novels
- #27,223 in Superhero Comics & Graphic Novels
- #217,202 in Science Fiction & Fantasy (Books)

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4.6 52 ratings

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Paul Dini
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Paul Dini is the multi-award-winning writer of many scripts for Batman: The Animated Series, and has also written for the Superman and Justice League animated series. His comics work includes Batman: Black and White and Batman Adventures. Dustin Nguyen has pencilled the critically acclaimed WildCats 3.0 and The Authority.
Photo by Comiquero.com from México (DC Countdown crew) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.
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Derek Fridolfs
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Derek Fridolfs is a New York Times bestselling author and Eisner nominated writer. He works in the comic book industry as a writer, artist, and inker.
He has worked on a range of beloved properties including Batman, Detective Comics, Arkham City, Legends Of The Dark Knight, Gotham Academy, Adventures Of Superman, Sensation Comics Featuring Wonder Woman, Catwoman, Zatanna, Justice League Beyond, and JLA. And he's written and illustrated comics based on the animated series Adventure Time, Regular Show, Clarence, Dexter's Laboratory, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Teen Titans Go, Looney Tunes, and Scooby-Doo.
His first book market title for SCHOLASTIC, Secret Hero Society, debuted at #1 on the New York Times Bestseller List for Hardcover Graphic Books.
And he's been Eisner nominated for co-writing Batman: Li'l Gotham with Dustin Nguyen for DC Comics.
Derek resides in California, where he enjoys pizza, book hunting, weekend trips, and afternoon naps.
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Dustin Nguyen
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Dustin Nguyen is a New York Times Bestselling and Eisner Award winning American comic creator.
Currently, Dustin illustrates Descender, a monthly comic published through Image Comics in which he is also co-creator of, alongside artist/writer Jeff Lemire. He is also working on the next installment of Scholastic's Secret Hero Society as well as Lil' Gotham for DC Comics with Derek Fridolfs, slated to release next year.
WHAT IS IT is his first children's book, illustrated by Dustin and written by his wife Nicole Hoang as a child in 5th grade. It is produced by BOOM! Studios and distributed by Simon & Shuster.
His past body of work includes - Wildcats v3.o, The Authority Revolution, Batman, Superman/Batman, Detective Comics, his creator owned project- Manifest Eternity, Batgirl, and Batman: Streets of Gotham. He is also credited for co-writing and illustrating Justice League Beyond , illustrating Vertigo's American Vampire: Lord of Nightmares with writer Scott Snyder, and co-creator of DC's all ages series- BATMAN: Lil Gotham written by himself and Derek Fridolfs. Aside from providing cover illustrations for the majority of his own books, his cover art can also be found on titles from Batman Beyond , Batgirl, Justice League: Generation Lost, Supernatural and Friday the 13th, to numerous other DC, Marvel, Darkhorse, Boom, IDW, and Image Comics.
Outside of comics, Dustin also moonlights as a conceptual artist for toys and consumer products, games, and animation.
He enjoys sleeping, driving, and sketching things he cares about.
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M. Frost

Wonderful collection of stories & art (You don't always need an "epic" 6-part series)

Reviewed in the United States on March 17, 2024

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This very solid collection reminds us that comic books come out monthly or biweekly to tell stories. Sometimes they can be part of huge story arcs or extremely important plot & characters issues. BUT sometimes they can just tell us great stories. Either individually or as a 2-parter.

It may be a minor item, but I LOVE a good table of contents! This has one.

All the stories except 842, which is by Peter Milligan, are by Paul Dini. All the OUTSTANDING art is by Dustin Nguyen.

1. DC 840: The Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul - Epilogue

Ra's tells Batman he's moving into Gotham and he is going to make life hell for Batman. Batman takes things into his own hands and shows Ra's how quickly he can put him down and put him away, somewhere Ra's really doesn't want to be. Sometimes it is just fantastic to see Bruce demonstrate his prowess in no uncertain terms!

2. DC 841: The Wonderland Gang!

[SPOILER] Tweedledee and Tweedledum manipulate the Mad Hatter to create a gang and go on a crime spree. They put together a nice collection of henchmen. Batman has to figure things out, since everything is just a bit off from Jervis Tetch's normal actions. Nice touch has Bruce at the Gotham Fashion Week, where he normally can make a quick uneventful appearance and leave unnoticed, but now is part of a robbery.

3. DC 842: The Suit of Sorrows

Gotham Jack and a Suit of Sorrows gifted to Batman by Talia al Ghul bring Batman to France, an ancient massacre, and the Order of Saint Dumas. Batman learns that the gift has some serious consequences on his mind when he wears it. (Tim is Robin.)

4-5. DC 843/844: Opening Night/Curtains

Zatanna hits on Bruce Wayne and hard. But both get caught up in the plot of Scarface, now controlling the beautiful Peyton Riley, of the Riley Crime Family, taking revenge against her forced husband, Johnny Sabatino, opening a new night club with Zatanna as the headliner for the night. Penguin makes a brief appearance.

Priceless small exchange between Sabatino & Zatanna, as he tries to hire her for his opening night. She tells him, as she's wearing her magician outfit, that she is going to "slip into something more comfortable". She comes out wearing...sweatpants and a hoodie!

6. DC 845: The Riddle Unanswered

Bruce Wayne goes online in a crime-related chat group, with the then amnesiac Riddler being a member, to solve a weird serial killer mystery, of unrelated murders that must have some tie somewhere to something or someone. The killer is mundane, not a super-villain, which I think improves this tragic story greatly. Someone so desperate to cover up a revenge killing of someone so clueless as the long-term adverse impact his machinations have on normal people in the real world.

Catwoman in costume makes a magnificent 3-page appearance, after she returns from the Salvation Run prison planet. She's upset that Bruce is dating Jezebel Jet and knows Zatanna is trying to date Bruce!

7. DC Infinite Halloween Special 1: Kcirt Ro Taert

A fast 5-page story--told by Scarecrow--of Zatanna performing at a Children's Hospital on Halloween when she encounters a young boy who was admitted after being drugged (syringe injection into candy!) by a group of 20-something petty evil doers. She takes her revenge on them. Wonderfully DIFFERENT art style that fits the nature of this story perfectly.

There are NO additional materials at the end.

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D. Hamue

Fantastic artwork, fantastic writing

Reviewed in the United States on February 26, 2013

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Great little stories that help occupy the world of Batman, accompanied by fantastic artwork from its illustrator. The duo really knock it out of the park. If you're looking for something that calls back to the animated series, this might be what you're looking for.

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Tjokro Arianto

One of great Batman stories!

Reviewed in the United States on February 28, 2020

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Love the plot and the brief romance subplot between Batman and Zatanna

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Dan Middleton

Some fun, fanciful departures from the usual Bat-fare

Reviewed in the United States on May 20, 2011

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Batman: Private Casebook is a collection of five individual stories, mostly taken from the pages of Detective Comics and most from the pen of Paul Dini. Besides his work on Detective Comics, Dini is well known to Bat-fans as the primary creative force behind the 1990's Batman animated series and the acclaimed video game Batman: Arkham Asylum (as well as its upcoming sequel, Arkham City and its ongoing tie-in comic series).

Dini's background as writer for the Batman animated series shows here, as at its best moments the stories in Private Casebook have the feel of a great cartoon: energetic, vivid, and imaginative.

It should be noted that your enjoyment of the stories contained in this volume will be somewhat dependent on the degree to which you're prepared to accept the injection of some more fanciful elements into the caped crusader's gloomy world. This is not to say that the stories in Private Casebook are by any means light-hearted or fluffy; but you have to be prepared to accept that many of the stories have strong elements of the paranormal or unexplained. Fans of the dark knight who also enjoy works like Mike Mignola's Hellboy will be right at home here.

The first story, "The Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul - Epilogue" is pretty much exactly what you would expect from the title, serving as a coda to the storyline by Grant Morrison available elsewhere in its own collected form. It is solid, but without giving away too much some readers may feel that it wraps things up a bit too neatly with regards to one of the most important antagonists in Batman's world.

The second tale, "The Wonderland Gang!", is about Batman tracking down and battling a new cabal of Lewis Carroll-themed criminals led by the Mad Hatter. Mad Hatter has never risen above the B-list in Batman's rogues gallery, and this story is pretty unspectacular stuff.

The third story, "The Suit of Sorrows" (from guest writer Peter Milligan), is where the collection begins to pick up steam. Batman is gifted with a medieval suit of armor by one-time lover Talia al Ghul. The ancient armor seems to augment Batman's physical abilities, but is also possibly cursed with some sort of taint that threatens to make him lose control of himself and violate the personal code of honor he has held to in his never-ending crusade against Gotham's dark forces. Batman's attempt to discover the secret of the armor leads him to the far-off French Alps. This is Batman at its most Hellboy-esque.

The fourth story in the collection is divided into two parts: "Opening Night" and "Curtains." Batman - actually, for much of the story, just Bruce Wayne - must team up with his old friend and occasional romantic interest, the sorceress Zatanna, to defeat the evil puppet Scarface and his new Ventriloquist. This is the heart of the volume, its longest and most entertaining story overall, and has as a bonus some interesting exploration of the relationship between Bruce/Batman and Zatanna.

In "The Riddle Unanswered," Batman investigates the apparent emergence of a new Gotham serial killer who has a distinctive M.O. but whose victims appear to have nothing in common. But Edward Nigma - once Batman antagonist The Riddler, now "reformed" egotistical private detective - is also working the case. The resolution of the mystery is interesting, but suffers because it is presented to us in summary in the story's climax; we don't get to see enough of how Batman cracks the case. But the scene where Batman anonymously trades theories on the bizarre killings with a group of amateur sleuths in an internet chat room is fantastic, and makes the story worthwhile by itself.

The final story in Private Casebook, "Kcirt ro Taert," is only a few pages long, and doesn't actually feature Batman at all. Rather, it's a brief Zatanna story taken from DC Infinite Halloween Special. This will obviously be welcomed by Zatanna fans, but even if you're not that into the top-hatted sorceress it's a nice little throw-in to end the collection.

I have focused primarily on the quality of the writing and storylines in this review, as I feel my tastes are too uninformed and undifferentiated to comment intelligently about the artwork. That said, Dustin Nguyen does a thoroughly satisfactory job throughout. His composition is dynamic and interesting, and the semi-stylized look he uses fits the feel of the stories quite well, and the cover plates for each story are beautiful. The concluding Zatanna story has a different look all its own, almost sepia-toned, which is also very much in keeping with its nature as a Halloween tale.

Overall, Batman: Private Casebook is a highly worthwhile little volume. People looking for long, involved plotlines they can become engrossed in or who insist upon only the most gritty "realism" in their Batman tales should obviously look elsewhere. Any Bat-fan who's looking for gems beyond the more famous, big-name stories and is willing to be a little open-minded (or who, perhaps, was a big fan of the Batman animated series), however, should make sure to add this collection of tight and entertaining short stories to their collection.

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arr arr

Excellent Art from Dustin Nguyen and good story from Paul Dini and Peter Milligan Writers

Reviewed in the United States on July 5, 2011

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I really enjoyed this one. Excellent Art from Dustin, wish I could draw even a bit this well and good story from Paul dini and Peter Milligan. I'm new to batman comics, but this one you have to read.

Reviewed in the United States on February 26, 2018

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Dini is a great writer

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Losinglemo

You thought I would allow that?

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 7, 2015

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The third collection of Paul Dinis run in Detective Comics and more examples of his brilliance in the form of short stories starring a varied cast including some less than regular characters that have been lost time. The first story is the Epilogue to the Graphic novel/ storyline Batman: Resurrection of Ras Al Ghul which I recommend reading before this novel as there are a few references including a story revolving around the Origin of a St Dumas suit of armour called the suit of Sorrows which was given to Batman by Talia Al Ghul.

There isn't a single weak story in here and each one felt exciting and refreshing while also having just a sprinkle of Nostalgia without shoving it down your throat.. (Grant Morrison). Each story contains its own colourful cast and despite being a short story each one is satisfying and fulfilling. The first issue revolves around the repercussions of the Resurrection of Ras Al Ghul, with repercussions being the main theme as not only does Batman feels the repercussions of Ras being resurrected but Ras soon learns the Repercussions for threatening Gotham the way he does in this book, causing Batman to walk very close to the line so close I would say he was probably walking on top of that line in fact.

The second story is a nostalgia filled romp with a new gang in town led my Mad Hatter called the Wonderland Gang, seemingly teaming up with two old Batman Villains Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum and building his own theme gang. But things are not as they seem. A fantastic way of incorporating old villains and second stringers into a modern story, and a strong one at that with the feel of an old Batman issue but reading like a modern day work of realism. Congrats to Paul Dini on this issue.

The third story is the origins of the Suit of Sorrows a mystical suit of armour given to Batman by Talia and seemingly possessing surreal qualities and psychological qualities. This may be seen as the weakest story by readers purely for the fact that its more of an informative piece. In future issues this suit is handed down to the possession of Azrael and so mainly Batman fact buffs will enjoy this story. There are positive aspects for everyone though as the suit pushes Batmans psychological limit as he tries to contain the feelings the suit seems to be manipulating and as always its good to see Batman iron strong will conquering all.

The fourth story is a two parter starring one of Paul Dinis favourite characters Zatanna as she teams up with Batman to battle the new Scarface/Ventriloquist team.Readers that have encountered Scarface in the previous volumes after the originals death will finally be provided with some answers as to who exactly the new Ventriloquist is and how she came about Scarface. Again Scarface and Ventriloquist where seen as out of date and second string villains even being killed off in the Batman Face the Face storyline but Paul Dini has revitalised the character and once again done a damn fine job of it, playing on the question of whos really in control Scarface or the Ventriloquist and bringing back that creepy factor that was lost long ago when Scarface became a joke.

The last main story is a detective mystery starring the worlds greatest detective.. the Riddler! Or so he would have you believe. A mysterious new killer is prowling the streets of Gotham making a name for themselves attracting the attention of Batman and the reformed private detective Riddler. As the Riddlers past begins to catch up with him the race is on between the two detective to catch the killer. And find out what or who they're really after.. This story also features a cameo from Catwoman who makes a jealous comment about the two other women currently in Batmans life, Zatanna from the Detective Comics and Jezebel Jet from the Batman comics I enjoyed this as it showed Paul is aware of everything thats going on in Batmans life at the moment beyond his own issues and sets the scene for the impending Batman: RIP storyline.

The last story is a short story from a Halloween special starring the Scarecrow retelling a story of vengeance when Zatanna discovers drug addicts have been spiking trick or treat candy. A pretty creepy story in the Halloween spirit and not for the first time brings readers to question Zatanna morality and sense of justice.

The art throughout is fantastic, Not the best art but clear and concise and a lot better than the likes of Scott Mcdaniel. Overall I highly recommend this book and its predecessors Batman: Detective and Batman: Death and the City although they can be a bit pricey now days as they are out of print. This also leads into the next Paul Dini novel Batman: The Heart of Hush again highly recommended.
This book contains: Detective Comics #840 - #845 and DC Infinite Halloween Special #1

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Nicholas hochreiter

Dissapointing

Reviewed in Canada on May 29, 2014

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I''ve been looking forward to getting this book for quite some time. I was always a big fan of Dini's animated series and thought his comic run would be just as exciting. There wasn't anything particularly bad about the stories, but there was definately nothing exciting.

After being spoiled by such great graphic novels by Loeb, Morrison, Snyder, Miller, and Moench (in no particular order) Dini's private casebook felt stale.

People complain about the complex story of Morrison's run and the lack of one shots in comics these days, so maybe this book is for them.

I only recommend this book for people who are desperate for a new Batman book who have had the luxury of reading: Year One, Prey, Long Halloween, Dark Victory, Killing Joker, Tower of Babel, Bat man and Son, Black Glove, Batman Rip, Battle for the Cowl, Black Mirror, Flashpoint, Joker, Court of the Owls and any other graphic novel I''ve missed that provides the littlest sense of contributions to the Batman legend.

L. Sinclair

Batman: Private Casebook

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 17, 2009

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This compilation collects together stories from six issues of Detective Comics, plus a short from last year's Hallowe'en Special. They're mostly self-contained, but two of the tales (coincidently, the weakest in this collection) do tie into the previously published The Resurrection of Ra's Al Ghul (Batman (DC Comics Hardcover)) . Luckily, most of the stories are written by veteran scribe Paul Dini, and more than make up for a couple of lacklustre chapters.

Batman's rogue's gallery is fully utilised here, with appearances from Catwoman, the Riddler, the Mad Hatter and the Ventriloquist. All foes that he has defeated before, but here Dini gives each a slight tweak of the new to differentiate them from older portrayals, making room for unexpected twists.

Those twists don't all involve punching, either. Batman remains the world's greatest detective, using his skills to their fullest in this book, thwarting robberies, kidnappings and even serial killings. The subject matter doesn't get too 'dark' however, and while much of the subject matter isn't suitable for very young children, this is hardly 'adults only' material.

Of course, what comicbook review would be complete without mentioning the art? Dustin Nguyen's style flows well, his figures full of expression and movement and the backgrounds around them well-defined. He uses shadows sparingly (for a Batman comic, anyway) and the flow of action and narrative is very easy to follow. His crowning achievement is the facial expressions he grafts onto the characters, who themselves are easily distinguishable from each other.

While not quite in the same league as the next book in the series ( The Heart of Hush (Batman (DC Comics Hardcover)) ), due to the afore-mentioned Ra's al Ghul stories, this still remains an example of the right way to do a Batman story.

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TheMightyMosh

Decent Dini Story

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 27, 2012

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This is an alright Batman title from the great writer Paul Dini, for me a better Paul Dini Batman graphic novel would be Heart Of Hush.

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Batman: Private Casebook Hardcover – December 23, 2008

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