Batman: Bruce Wayne, Fugitive, Vol. 1

Batman: Bruce Wayne, Fugitive #1

by Devin Grayson, Ed Brubaker, Andrew Pepoy (Ink)

Bruce Wayne is missing.

Convicted of killing Vesper Fairchild, Bruce Wayne is sent to Blackgate Prison — only to escape, triggering a citywide manhunt. The man who is Batman has gone to ground, renouncing his civilian identity and operating deeper in the shadows that ever before.

Now it falls to his family — Nightwing, Robin, Oracle, Batgirl, Spoiler, and Alfred — to find out who really committed the murder. All the evidence points to someone setting Batman up … but it could also be pointing squarely at Batman's guilt.

Featuring story and art from some of DC Comics' top talents, Batman: Fugitive collects all the relevant segments from the groundbreaking "Batman: Fugitive" event, with volume one presenting stories from Batman: Gotham Knights, Nightwing, Birds of Prey, Batgirl and Batman.

Collects:
- Batman: Gotham Knights: #27, #28
- Batman: #601, #602
- Brids of Prey: #41, #43
- Batgirl: #27, #29
- Nightwing: #68, #69

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Batman, Dc Comics, Comic Book, Graphic Novels Comics, Superheroes

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Devin Grayson is an avid gamer, former acting student, and enthusiastic reader fortunate enough to have turned a lifelong obsession with fictional characters into a dynamic writing career. She has a B.A. from Bard College, where she studied creative writing with novelist Mona Simpson. Best known for her work on the Batman titles for DC Comics, Devin has been a regular writer on Catwoman, Nightwing, and The Titans, and contributed to the award-winning No Man’s Land story arc. With the publication of Batman: Gotham Knights in March of 2000, she became the first (and, sadly, only as of 2020) female to create, launch and write an ongoing Batman title.

Additional career highlights include the launch of the critically acclaimed series Omni for Humanoids, Doctor Strange: The Fate of Dreams, an original novel featuring Marvel’s Sorcerer Supreme, and USER—a highly personal three-part, creator-owned miniseries about gender identity and online role-playing, originally published by Vertigo and newly available as a collected edition hardcover through Image. Devin is also the creator of Yelena Belova, a Marvel character staring in the upcoming MCU Black Widow movie (played by Florence Pugh), Damien Darhk, a DC character now appearing regularly in CW’s Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow (played by Neal McDonough), and Catalina Flores, a DC character recently featured as the super-villain Tarantula in The Lego Batman Movie.

Frequently cited for compelling character development and nuanced exploration of complex themes, Devin’s work has been showcased in mainstream media such as USA Today and Working Woman as well as in alternative press such as The Village Voice, The Advocate, and Curve magazine. Over the years, she has written in several different media and genres, from comic books and novels to video game scripts and short essays. She is currently working on an original graphic novel for Berger Books.

Devin lives in Northern California with her husband, step-son, devoted Early Alert Canines Diabetic Alert Dog, and somewhat less devoted cat. Openly bisexual, she is a passionate advocate for the GLBTQ community, as well as being a committed environmentalist, and a public speaker for T1 Diabetes awareness and Diabetic Alert Dogs. She is always happy to take on a new challenge, especially if it involves making some new fictional friends.

Reviews

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bruce Wayne has been convicted of murder and then escapes prison. The story opens with him in his role as Batman, coming so close to killing that an observant Superman stops him and then tries to talk to him about his problems and choices. As usual and in character Batman doesn't need the help of that boy scout.

It isn't Batman who tries to solve this issue for he has mostly accepted that nobody will believe him and so he decides to just give up Bruce Wayne and instead stay in his Batman role. As a result Batgirl, Oracle, Spoiler, Black Canary, Alfred, Robin and Nightwing gradually band together to help the Dark Knight out of his situation. At the same time they all face their doubts in whether Batman/Bruce Wayne is innocent as the evidence against him is damning.

This first volume in the series is much more about the investigation process rather than the action as well as about deep character focus on Batman's past.

Ed Brubaker, Chuck Dixon, Devin Grayson and Kelly Puckett are the writing team for the first volume of this series.

STORY/PLOTTING: B to B plus; CHARACTERS/DIALOGUE: B to B plus; INVESTIGATION/CLUE TRAILS: B; OVERALL GRADE: B to B plus; WHEN READ: end of June 2012.

[Lashaan Balasingam · Rating 3 out of 5]

You can find my review on my blog by clicking here.

There can only be pure bewilderment upon discovering something as ludicrous as your mentor, your idol, your partner-in-law, your adoptive son or your significant other is convicted of the worse crime out there. Refusing aid and acting out violently also doesn’t allow that person to be saved from their predicament before things escalate and become impossible to undo. And for someone as isolated and proud as Batman, life couldn’t get any more complicated. Or can it? Continuing where things where left of in Batman: Bruce Wayne: Murderer?, several critically-acclaimed creators explore the mystery behind a murder that hides more than it tells. This first of three volumes collecting the groundbreaking “Batman: Fugitive” event thus contains Batman: Gotham Knights #27 and #28, Batman #601 and #602, Birds of Prey #41 and #43, Batgirl #27 and #29, and Nightwing #68 and #69.

What is Batman: Bruce Wayne: Fugitive (Vol. 1) about? Convicted for the murder of Vesper Fairchild, Bruce Wayne’s journey to Blackgate Prison brings his allies to wonder about the circumstances of this bizarre incident. Unconvinced of his culpability, the Bat Family (Nightwing, Robin, Oracle, Batgirl, Spoiler, and Alfred) go through hell and high water to understand what’s going on. Unfortunately, the sudden escape of Bruce Wayne from incarceration, only to renounce his civilian identity, leads many to despair. Without any cooperation from Batman, the team is off to find clues that could elucidate this mystery, while Batman goes off on a rampage, maintaining his crime-fighting activities, without a care in the world as to Bruce Wayne’s fate, on top of an extra dose of violence.

There’s no denying that fans are better off reading the newly collected edition of this trilogy, released a decade later, to truly forgo the unnecessary cliffhanger and absence of any answers in this first volume. The choppiness inevitably resulting from the implication of various writers of different ongoing comic book series (although they were mostly involved in the previous volume) remains a hinderance to the story, notably consequential to its pacing. Nonetheless, as you progress, you obtain tidbits of information on what might explain the circumstances of the murder but never enough to truly point a finger towards anyone in particular. Mostly focused on exposing different Bat Family member’s pursuit of the truth, this volume is also composed of pages filled with several key figures in Batman’s life who wish to extend their hand to Batman only to see themselves shut out by yours truly.

Similar to the one-too-many writers working towards constructing this event, the artwork sees to the presentation of an interesting array of styles and, surprisingly, they mostly align themselves towards a relatively uniform vision that captures a cartoonish and charming style. With an accent on the procedural elements of this mystery, there aren’t much action, forcing the artists to focus more on the noir atmosphere, the desperation from Batman’s allies, and his grimness through his violent behaviours and mysterious isolation (especially with him being completely oblivious to the ongoing manhunt for Bruce Wayne). With the mystery still unresolved, it is clear that the unanswered questions are the only hooks left in readers as we pray that the following two volumes bring clever and unexpected twists to this event.

Batman: Bruce Wayne: Fugitive (Vol. 1) is an uneventful yet captivating chapter into Bruce Wayne’s strange ordeal as the Bat Family slowly hunts for the truth.

Yours truly,

Lashaan | Blogger and Book Reviewer
Official blog: https://bookidote.com/

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

In “Bruce Wayne: Murderer?”, Bruce is accused of murdering his lady friend, Vesper. In this volume (“Bruce Wayne: Fugitive, Vol. 1”), Bruce escapes from Black Gate Prison, renounces his Bruce Wayne persona, and refuses to defend himself to the doubting family.

This run is pretty good but occasionally suffers from really bad art.

Batman is being such a stubborn ass in this one and angering everyone around him. I’m ready for him to fix things! Onto the next volume . . .

[Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

By the end of the preceding story, Batman: Bruce Wayne, Murderer?, in which Bruce Wayne was accused of killing Vesper Fairchild, then sent to Blackgate prison, before breaking out and "going to ground", Batman had renounced his Bruce Wayne identity, choosing to live only as Batman.

The title of this book is somewhat misleading: Bruce Wayne himself does not appear in a single panel in the whole book! The "Fugitive" tag seems to be more the perception of the cops looking for him within the story. There's 2 main things going on in this book:

[1] Batman's 'family' (ie: Nightwing, Robin, Alfred, Oracle, Batgirl), Spoiler and Black Canary are investigating in the hopes of finding proof that someone else murdered Fairchild, effectively clearing Bruce Wayne's name. Allen & Montoya [very] briefly question Alfred regarding Wayne's disappearance.

[2] Batman is just being Batman - punishing thugs and what not - without actively doing anything about Fairchild's murder or the investigation surrounding it.

Along with Batman: Bruce Wayne, Murderer?, this book was recently re-issued and collected in an omnibus (Batman: Bruce Wayne - Murderer?), and the main difference is that the omnibus reprints all the pages of all the included issues, whereas the older editions (such as the one you're currently reading the review for) reprint only the relevant material from these issues, leaving out quite a bit of unnecessary 'junk'. That's actually a plus, as it keeps the narrative more focused. I personally could care less about the other plot lines going on concurrently, as they do not impact the 'Murderer/Fugitive' story arcs.

The story continues in Batman: Bruce Wayne, Fugitive, Vol. 2, then in Batman: Bruce Wayne, Fugitive, Vol. 3. Alternately, you may opt to follow the story to its conclusion in the Batman: Bruce Wayne, Fugitive omnibus, which collects the two books mentioned just previously.

[Angel · Rating 5 out of 5]

The plot continues to thicken. This picks up right after Bruce Wayne: Murderer?. Nightwing, Oracle, and the others go about recreating the crime and figuring out how Bruce Wayne could have been framed. Meanwhile, Batman has given up on his Bruce Wayne identity and gone off on his own, alienating even his allies. His allies now know how the frame was done, but not who or why. And an old retired police detective motivates Batman to reconsider his actions as he makes Batman carry on a promise. The pace remains quick in this series, but the plot also gets more complicated. I am definitely moving along to the second volume of the Fugitive series. Very hard to put down. I read this volume pretty much in one sitting before bedtime.

[Sophie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh man. This is really cool - I have no idea what's going on, and it's been a while since I wasn't at least spoiled a little.
This is made for me. Reading this had me wondering again why I didn't start reading Batman earlier. I love it love it love it, the angst and the fucked-upness of it, and Dick believing in Bruce and not letting himself doubt him and doing it despite himself and - it's really painful, but in the best of ways.
And this is an intriguing plot, and has some great character moments, and there's Superman (<3) and - yeah, I love this. A lot.

[Robbs · Rating 2 out of 5]

[2/5]
This felt so painfully mid to me. For the record, I hate the art. Sometimes it's bearable but most of the time it hurts my eyes. This first volume just wasn't good to me. Hopefully vol 2 and 3 will change my mind but so far, reading this made me want to get this series off of my shelf.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Takes place after "Bruce Wayne - Murderer?" So, Bruce has escaped from prison, and as if nothing out of the ordinary has occurred, slips into his Bat costume and resumes his nightly patrolling.

Priceless WTF reaction from the Bat family right there. I love how Nightwing tries to provoke some reaction from Batman; honestly, one wonders how he put up with the psycho-Bat antics for so damn long. This Batman is nothing short of a screwed-up bastard—he's dangerous, stubborn, arrogant, uncooperative, dismissive and delusional. That's what happens when you take Bruce out of the Bat.

There're a lot of subplots going on simultaneously which I found irritating; it stilts the flow of the main narrative. But overall there is some fantastic dialogue and some great art sequences.

[sixthreezy · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent beginning to a suspenseful tale. Bruce Wayne is "on the run" as he has been accused of murder, and is a wanted man in Gotham. Taking shelter in his alter ego, Batman, Bruce begins to worry those who love him the most with his behavior in his new situation. This is a really good story, and the book had the perfect ending to make me want to read more. Batman dealing with inner turmoil, while around him people are being affected by Bruce Wayne's disappearance, and Batman's unrelenting patrol of Gotham.

[Brian Hodges · Rating 2 out of 5]

After getting really into Batman via the cartoons I watch with my kids (The Batman and Batman Beyond) this is my first foray into the actual comic. And it was rather underwhelming. Lots of talking talking talking interspersed with action that just seemed to be dropped in here and there because, well, it's Batman so we should probably show him hitting someone here and there. I've got the next two in the series, so perhaps the action and drama picks up in those.

[Ben Truong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Batman: Bruce Wayne, Fugitive is a story arc that ran through the various Batman family comic book series that was published by DC Comics. The storyline centers on Bruce Wayne being charged and arrested with the murder of Vesper Fairchild – his current girlfriend. Unable to stay put, Bruce Wayne escapes from prison and abandons his alter ego and become Batman full time.

Batman: Bruce Wayne, Fugitive, Vol. 1 collects: Batman: Gotham Knights #27–28, Batman #601–602, Birds of Prey #41 and 43, Batgirl #27 and 29, and Nightwing #68–69.

Bruce Wayne is indicted for killing Vesper Fairchild and sent to Blackgate Prison only to escape, launching a citywide manhunt. Now Batman has now gone to ground, renouncing his alter identity of Bruce Wayne and operating deeper in the shadows than ever before.

It falls to his extended family, Dick Grayson as Nightwing, Tim Drake as Robin, Barbara Gordon as Oracle, Cassandra Cain as Batgirl, Stephanie Brown as Spoiler, and Alfred to figure out who really did commit the murder. While the clues point to a possible setup, no one can deny that those same clues might also point to Batman's actual guilt.

Devin Grayson, Chuck Dixon, Ed Brubaker, and Kelley Puckett wrote the majority of the trade paperback and for the most part, I rather enjoyed the narrative. Some issues were better than others, but overall it was somewhat well planned and written. It is an interesting premise, having Batman clearing the name of his alter ego – Bruce Wayne. It is also reinforced in the storyline that Batman is his identity and the billionaire Bruce Wayne is just his alter ego.

Roger Robinson, Rick Leonardi, Scott McDaniel, Phil Noto, Trevor McCarthy, William Rosado, David Ross, Sean Phillips, and Damion Scott are the pencilers for this trade paperback. With so many pencilers, it is rather difficult to grade the overall artistic flow. For the most part this hodgepodge of pencilers has similar styles with few exceptions and that the flow of the artistic style flowed rather smoothly with a few sudden jerks.

All in all, Batman: Bruce Wayne, Fugitive, Vol. 1 is a rather strong beginning to what I hope would be an equally wonderful story arc.

[Jimmy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Batman is supposed to be a detective, and I wished there were more stories of Batman where it’s actually a mystery and not just action. Do you want to read a graphic novel involving Batman that is a mystery story? This would be one that I would highly recommend! I have seen this book over ten years ago, but I finally got around to reading it for the first time now. I read it along with my daughters and they too agree with me to give this book a five out of five.
This story begins six months after Bruce Wayne has been accuded of killing his girlfriend, Vesper Fairchild. Bruce is a fugitive and even Batman's allies, Nightwing, Robin, Oracle and Batgirl aren't even sure if Bruce is not the suspect. They feel bad that they even think it can be Bruce. Thus begins the mystery of whether Bruce Wayne is a murderer and the quest to figure out who killed Vesper Fairchild. This part of the story is so good, the suspense from the mystery is so well built and the inner struggles of the allies of Batman was so insightful. Batman as ever keeps his emotional distance from others but it gets to the point that it is off-putting for the readers with so much on the line but Batman does make a pivot with showing his true emotions; for a short window, and in his own way. The mystery does get solved. Yet after it is solved, the graphic novel keeps going. I admit it felt like it was already done and as it keeps going it feels like they were fillers; but the twists with Bruce Wayne’s bodyguard’s faithfulness was such a surprised that in the end I thought it justified in the end why the graphic novel kept going. Then the actual suspect being defended by Batman from an assassin was also cool that in the end I also felt it justified with the graphic novel continuing for more panels and pages. Overall, it was a great story. Each night as I read portions of this book, I kept telling my kids I wished there were more stories of Batman like this. I recommend this with a five out of five!

[Brandon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book concludes the epic journey of Bruce Wayne as a murderer and Batman as a Fugitive. In another massive volume of over 400 pages we finally learn who killed Vesper Fairchild and all the loose ends are neatly wrapped up. The killer may not surprise the loyal fans of the Dark Knight, but to me, he came completely out of the blue. It was like an Agatha Christie novel where the killer first appears on the last page. Once the killer is exposed, though, the story does get stronger. There are fewer guest heroes and more Batman in this book. The core of this book - after the murder mystery - is how Batman denounces Bruce Wayne and goes it alone as the Dark Knight. Though it is never made clear how Batman can function with Wayne's money, the conflict created because of this makes this book one of the stronger Batman series. I don't recall the two iconic comic book characters, ever having a falling out like this. It may not quite be King Lear, but the bard would probably appreciate the concept of a man denying his own identity. They make up, of course, but the wedge created in the Batman universe was a new angle that sat well with me. The artwork is more consistent in this volume though it is nothing special. There are some good action sequences and the aftermath brings Deadshot into the story and gives Ed Brubaker more pages to work with. All that worked but this book will always rest on its strength as a Murder-Mystery and with the conflict created between Batman and Bruce Wayne, and in that aspect it excels.

[JD Comics · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the direct follow-up to the Bruce Wayne: Murderer storyline wherein Bruce and his bodyguard, Sasha Bordeaux, were accused of murdering Vesper Fairchild. I loved seeing the Bat Family try to resolve their doubts on whether Bruce was guilty, and figure out what really took place on the night of the murder. Cassandra Cain had another brilliant performance and I'm glad they gave Sasha her due. Finally! It's bad enough that she had to babysit Batman, something that she did not sign up for, but Bruce basically left her out to dry.

Although I think Bruce Wayne: Murderer is the better story, I still enjoyed this book. The only thing that I did not like is that some issues that were completely unnecessary. Overall, this book tied up all the loose ends. It provided an acceptable explanation of how the murder was executed and who was the mastermind behind it.

[Shaun Stanley · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first follow up to Bruce Wayne: Murderer is Bruce Wayne: Fugitive Vol. 1. Bruce Wayne has escaped from prison and believed to have fled the country. In actuality, Batman has deemed that Bruce Wayne is a persona that is no longer needed and continues to fight crime in Gotham. Nightwing, Oracle, Robin, Batgirl, and Alfred decide to go against Batman’s orders and work on clearing Bruce’s name. This is the beginning of the case with the team starting to investigate the case. There were some good issues here as well as the same 90s style art from the previous series. It hard to judge this one volume because it’s basically the conclusion to Murderer as well as the set-up for the rest of the Fugitive story.

[Heather Robinson (GFB) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read:
Bruce Wayne: Fugitive
Part 13 Batman #600
Detective Comics #768
Part 14 Birds of Prey #41
Part 15 Gotham Knights #27
Part 16 Batman #601
Part 17 Detective Comics #769
Part 18 Batgirl #27
Part 19 Nightwing #68
Part 20 Gotham Knights #28
Part 21 Detective Comics #770
Part 22 Nightwing #69
Part 23 Birds of Prey #43
Part 24 Batman #603
Part 25 Detective Comics #771
Part 26 Batgirl #29
Part 27 Gotham Knights #30
Part 28 Azrael: Agent of the Bat #91
Part 29 Detective Comics #772
Part 30 Gotham Knights #31
Part 31 Batman #605

I followed along using the dc wiki.

Overall the story was enjoyable I loved getting to see Spoiler (not a whole lot but more than I had expected) I loved the Batfamily working together.

[Dean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall this was an enjoyable storyline, although Batman here is little more than a guest star in his own book. Nightwing takes centre stage, with the other Bat Family members popping up here and there. The storyline originally ran across all the Bat books, which leads to a slightly disjointed feel. Not so much with the writing, Devin Grayson, Ed Brubaker, Chuck Dixon, and Kelley Puckett are all top notch, but more with the art, which can be quite jarring. Some of the more anime/ cartoony art I don’t really care for either
The storyline is solid, albeit slow-moving at times, and the cover gallery is nice.
Recommended.

[Vinicius · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eu gostei muito das histórias que realmente possuem ligação com o arco do Bruce wayne assassino, são histórias muito boas envolvendo a Batfamily tentando inocentar o Bruce. Entretanto, há histórias do Batman no meio do arco que são apenas ele agindo em Gotham e não possuem ligação com o todo. Isso quebra o envolvimento com a trama principal.

[Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Classic Batman comic book.

[Alejandro · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/4

[Keethan Sangha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay story and good art.

[Gabriel Llagostera · Rating 3 out of 5]

Qué bravo cuando arranca el estire...

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

eu esperava mais..... teve uns plots que eu achei que ficaram meio soltos, mas foi uma leitura ok

[the great wizard ella · Rating 4 out of 5]

barbara gordon for president

[Ryan Mishap · Rating 3 out of 5]

It says "Volume 1" but this starts with "Bruce Wayne Murderer?" Begins, here, with Bruce on the lam, shedding that identity and becoming Batman with a vengeance. Meanwhile, his body guard (and maybe someone Bruce cared about a great deal) is convicted of the murder and sent to prison. Batman has pushed everyone away and refuses to clear the name of his alter ego. It is up to the rest of the team to follow the evidence and do it, then.

Despite being a collection of stories from three or four different comic runs, this three volume set was fairly coherent. I'm usually dismayed by these collections because they make little sense if you haven't been folllowing the monthly comics, but the larger story arc here allows the casual reader access.

Some of the art is flat out amazing--plenty of good Batman poses.

[Victor Orozco · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice story. Basically after the events of Bruce Wayne Murderer in which Bruce is accused of murder and after several days of dead ends Bruce begins to see his wrongly accused state as the best thing that has ever happened to him.

Always having had a low opinion of himself since the death of his parents he has decided to stop fighting for his innocence and fight just for Gotham as Batman 24/7.

Its the rest of his 'Family' consisting of Barbara, Cassandra, Dick and Tim to find clues and it looks like their close.

Thankfully it ends amazingly well when someone very close to Bruce gives him the reason to fight on. All I can say is that its just as wonderful and promising as any superhero ending.

Yet its only just begun. B+

[Sean · Rating 4 out of 5]

As with most Bat-family crossovers, this has some meandering parts and questionable creative decisions but overall this is an interesting segment of Bruce's life. Not surprisingly the best issue was the Brubaker/Phillips collaboration. Its an idea that I'm not sure has been touched on before. My one main problem with this is that we didn't get to see the GCPD or even federal side of the "Fugitive" part of the story. Sure, the next volume could have it, but it shouldn't been in the first. That said, I look forward to reading that next volume.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Following on the heals of Bruce Wayne Murderer?, the bat family continues to try and figure out what happened and clear Bruce's name. This is made more difficult as Bruce has broken out of prison and decided that Bruce is dead and only Batman remains. This continues the good detective work started in Murderer, but the pacing suffers due to the tie-in books having many pages telling their continuing story and not relating to the main story

[Amalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first volume of the continuation story of "Bruce Wayne: Murderer?" story line. Rather than the action, this volume is more about the investigation process and on Batman's past.

Finally Batman breaks the law! ( besides being a vigilante...) when Bruce Wayne escapes prison. Or may be it was Wayne who broke the law not Batman? Good story.

[Edward Petersen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Continuing where Bruce Wayne: Murderer? left off. We're treated to the dark moments where Bruce has decide that only Batman exists - he has shed the Bruce Wayne "mask" and claims to now be free. Wonderfully dark. Meanwhile, his family is working against his wishes to find the true culprit.