I am not making this an "appreciation" thread since those, by definition, are not intended for negative comments. But a discussion thread? Let's go!

I am starting this because Dan Jurgens current storyline is impressing me. When it started, I thought it was same-old-same-old: Bruce goes to Arkham. The lights go out and a very different acting Bruce emerges. No mystery there: a substitution has occurred and I figured that Terry & crew would figure it out (while Bruce saves himself from Arkham) and the only suspense is what to do with a villain that knows about the Cave and all their identities. Ho hum, snore.

But the story has gone waaaaaaaaay beyond that and it reflects many of the things I like about Batman Beyond. While there are some ties to the current DCU, it isn't slavishly bowing to the present storylines (heck, it isn't involved in any way with the tedious retread "Year of the Villain" event)(seriously, didn't we have Villains United not all that long ago? Are we that short on ideas that we re-do things every five to ten years?). The main villains in the current BB story (False Face and Splitt) are an interesting mix of old (but forgotten) and new--with ties to Derek Powers, for gosh sakes! Every fan of the animated series has to love that! The plot twists involve the extend Bat Family of the Beyondiverse, with Ten getting some well-deserved spotlight. And as for Terry...well, as of issue #35, I am not sure how this is all going to play out. Surely Barbara will play a part in straightening things out? But they would have to catch Terry first!

Jurgens has laid a number of plot threads down that could keep him and future writers busy for Quite Some Time. This is the sort of comic that got me into reading comics way back when. So, yes, I really really enjoying the current run of Batman Beyond, but this is not an appreciation thread. It is a discussion. What do the rest of you think?