Since I'm giving this second volume a higher rating than the first one, I'll explain why it was an improvement:The artwork overall here was much better; there weren't any stories that looked like they were drawn by a third grader. One part even had drawings that looked like grayscale photography.This volume also wasted less space by putting the biographies of the writers and artists at the end.Not only that, but...unlike many modern comic book omnibuses, the quotient of objectionable content was...

Batman: Black and White, Vol. 2 is a Batman anthology featuring black-and-white Batman short stories. Written and illustrated by various writers and pencilers, Batman: Black and White 2 is an anthology of backup stories from Batman: Gotham Knights #1–16 with a handful of new short stories. This trade paperback collects Batman: Gotham Knights #1–16 backup stories with five new stories.For the most part, I really like most of these entries – the black and white gave the dark noir feeling that this...

Oh boy I can't keep any of these straight anymore. They all had one or two pretty good stories and then a number of fair stories. What's interesting is how many of them focus on Scarecrow and how few focus on the Joker. Also, few Robins.

Like the first “Batman: Black & White” collection, this anthology contains some of the biggest names in comics putting together short Batman stories in black and white, but the overall effect is uneven with some great stories, some awful stories, and quite a lot of so-so stories. My favourite by far in this collection was the opening story called “Case Study” by Paul Dini and drawn by Alex Ross, which takes a look at the Joker before he became the Joker and questions whether he really is crazy o...

A couple of good stories, but a disappointment compared to Vol 1.

Mostly very strong art, although this set of stories lacks vol. 1's stylistic range, abetted by passable scripts.

not as perfect as the first !!!

THIS COLLECTION IS ON THE ABSOLUTE TOP TIER OF THE BATMAN!!So many stories were nickel-chiseled reltney *****s that the four worst in the collection (none of which were bad) still kept the overall grade in the high nineties.What was shocking to me was that the quality of the twenty collaborations was just as good as stories done by one person. Bolland was the only one who worked alone so he deserves to be the one picked above as author. The combinations were almost all firsts for me and the rost...

A good anthology of Batman stories by some of the best writers and artists out there. And I do love black and white comic art! Like most collections of short stories it's hit or miss, but for the most part the majority of them are good stories. I do have Batman: Black and White Vol. 1 but unfortunately am unable to find it at the moment. Once I do, however, I will read that too.

Great anthology of short, sweet Batman tales. I appreciated this volume's sense of humor intermingled with more sobered takes on the Dark Knight. Paul Dini turns up for a few tales - really, the creative teams are just magnificent.

It's an anthology, so of course it's a mixed bag, both from an art and story perspective. There are some really outstanding stories here. Paul Dini's "Case Study", the first story in the collection, is a nice and perceptive look at Joker's psychology, painting him as someone completely sane, possibly even hyper-sane, who uses the trappings of insanity as a mask. Howard Chaykin's "Blackout" took me surprise. It's set in the 40s and co-stars Catwoman, and surprised me by being an honestly good per...

The second volume of Batman: Black & White is much like the first. Editor Mark Chiarello gathers together some of the most acclaimed writers and artists who then produce short stories about The Dark Knight. While I didn’t find the overall experience as strong as the first collection, there were still some pretty great tales inside.The collection opens up on a strong note with some excellent artwork by the uber-talented Alex Ross. Ross brings his ultra-realistic style to a story written by Batman...

This goes for probably quite a number of anthologies out there, but Volume 2 of the “Batman: Black and White” series reads like the result of a creative workshop. Not that Volume 1 was altogether different, since in both cases you have the pairing of a comic book writer and an illustrator (sometimes there is one person behind all the work, like in most group projects), given the task to create a very short story about the Caped Crusader. I have no idea whether the dynamic duos have been paired a...

Compared to the first volume, there is no overarching theme to the stories in this volume. The first few led me to think that this one would be more comic and satirical, but that was really just the first few. It's more than a 3 stars, but less than 4 imo.These were the ones whose stories I particularly liked:• Case Study• Bats, Man (hilarious satire!)• A Game of Bat and Rat• The Black & White BanditI enjoyed the art in these ones:• Case Study• Bats, Man (lent itself well to the satirical conten...

There's just not enough here. There are a bunch of talented creators, many not associated with Batman, telling very short black and white tales. Unfortunately, the stories are too quick. Nothing had any weight or gravitas. Overall, interesting but lacking.

A handful of great stories (Case Study, Night After Night, and The Riddle were the highlights for me) but wasn't as impressed with this volume as I remember liking the first. Still solid overall and cool to see this much visual variety within the Batman character.

This volume includes my #1 favorite Batman: Black & White story, "Guardian" by Alan Brennert and Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez.

There are 21 short stories depicted in black, white and gray purposefully. Several of the tales are little moments to a side of Batman one rarely sees. Overall, I found some of the stories quite engaging or just funny in a goofy manner. Others fell quite flat or were just plain ho hum. This is one of those tales in which the artwork was more impressive than the plots.Some notable writers were Paul Dini, Warren Ellis, Chris Claremont, Paul Pope and Harlan Ellison. There's a nice collection of Bat...

This is such a high class series. I reread my review from a few years ago of volume 4 and I feel the same way about this one - no one story is a "classic" but as a whole they are such fun and such a delight to read and the art is 5+ stars. It is wonderful tot see these top class artists let loose in Black and White. I said there was no one "all star story" but I will highlight three that were my favourites. There was one by Dave Gibbons that I loved because it was so smart and clever. It actual...

There are some great writers and artists in this collection and there are some good stories but for me they are all just a bit disposable. I have read them, enjoyed some but will never need to read them again