Bad Seeds: Streets of Gotham #1: Bad Seeds Week 8 Part 1 Review
Writers: Mariko Tamaki & Matt Fraction
Artists: Bruno Abdias, Rossi Gifford, Gretel Lusky, Jorge Fornés, Brian Ching & Steve Lieber
Colorists: Pedro Estouco, Miquel Muerto, Gretel Lusky, Dave Stewart, Adriano Lucas & Lee Loughridge
Letterers: Ariana Maher & Clayton Cowles
Cover Artist: Javi Fernández
Variant Cover Artists: Dustin Nguyen & Javier Rodríguez
Editors: James Reid, Ben Meares & Rob Levin
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $5.99 US | Variant $6.99 US (Card Stock) | Variant $8.99 US (Foil)
Release Date: October 14, 2026
Batman has battled Vandal Savage’s TUCO squads to prevent the Police Commissioner from killing untold thousands of Gotham’s citizens. Along the way, he detected a way to defeat Poison Ivy’s superbloom. As Batman seeks to end the world-threatening crisis, the Bat-family goes to work.
Batwoman helps keep the Bat-coms operating. Batgirl Cassandra Cain, her brother Tenji Turner, and her friend Jaya Jayesh protect the patrons of Bà Bao’s Noodle Shop. Officers Jim Gordon and his partner Espinoza protect Dr Annika Zeller from a psychopath who escaped from Arkham Towers. And Nightwing races through the night to prevent a grieving father from becoming what he hates.
What of other members of the Bat-family? And how do the residents who remain in Gotham fare? Let's leap into Bad Seeds: Streets of Gotham #1 and see!
Story
In "The Party," Lenny's friend doesn't want Lenny to think. The thief wants him to follow instructions. But as they split up to burgle empty apartments, someone else draws Lenny into her web. In "The Lock Walk Home," Beth's date has ended in disaster. As she stumbles home, Beth meets someone who distracts her from her troubles. In "The Stand," children await their mother's return. With monstrous plants taking over the streets, two of them battle over who best embodies their inspiration. But when they hear a scream, the girls rush off to see who they can help.
In the second trio of stories in Bad Seeds: Streets of Gotham #1, "Primaries" takes readers into the mind of a TUCO soldier. It demonstrates the qualities Vandal Savage sought for his private army and how they protect the city. "Balladeers" shows how an aspiring newsmaker can inspire a disillusioned veteran. The story also shows how, when people's lives are in danger, heroes prioritize protecting others over their happiness. Finally, after Gotham’s Police Commissioner urges the inhabitants of a free society to become informants and Mayor Pamela Isley forces a news anchor to follow her script, “The Pitch” introduces readers to the people who shape the news.
As Mariko Tamaki and Matt Fraction hand off storytelling duties, their stories highlight our need for friends to help us through tough times. The writers also muse on what makes a society function. While selfish people prey on their neighbors or commit seemingly victimless crimes, Gotham’s inhabitants help and protect others. Some people look down on anyone who doesn’t share their values and outlooks. These groups even use the emergency to cleanse the city of corrupting influences. Gotham may be suffering through its latest catastrophe. Still, people reach across the generational divide to help their elders, protect children, and guide lost young people in Bad Seeds: Streets of Gotham #1.
Art
In “The Party,” residents light candles and activate flashlights. A glow surrounds them as they gather food and gravitate toward the roof. While Lenny looks up to his friend with a bandaged nose, the man swats his head and points at him. As Bruno Abdias portrays Lenny's unhappiness, Pedro Estouco links Lenny's balaclava with the red night.
Rossi Gifford opens “The Long Walk Home” with a close-up of Beth’s heels navigating dense plant life. An overhead shot reveals how vines and foliage have taken over a playground. But as Beth trips and falls, a boy perches atop a jungle gym covered with plant growth. Miquel Muerto imbues the air with a magical quality, as purple, pink, and yellow-green fill the sky. While Beth's red blazer and green blouse link her with the surrounding greenery and red flowers, the boy's lavender hoodie ties him to the sky.
In "The Stand," Martha displays her bat-gear on the coffee table. Amid Gretel Lusky's round, expressive faces, Martha's brother Lenny wears square glasses. Compared with the darker colors and fluorescent sky of "The Long Walk Home,” Gretel Lusky lavishes pastels on her art. Lenny's green shirt links him to his sister's bat-gear, while her yellow gloves and shirt emblem bind her to hanging-loose Corp's yellow mohawk.
Silhouettes frame the soldiers. Lightbars fill the air with red-and-blue. Vandal Savage's black suit and white shirt link him to his black-clad TUCO squads. In "Primaries,” Jorge Fornés’ art suggests that the voracious plants have moved on after damaging buildings and vehicles. But amid Dave Stewart's green, gray, and orange, people hang in green webs in Bad Seeds: Streets of Gotham #1.
In a liquor store, two men and a boy gather around a radio. A candle in a bottle illuminates the batteries surrounding the radio. As Brian Ching fills “Balladeers” with action, Jack Dean and Huston Gray take to the streets wearing jackets and balaclavas. But amid Adriano Lucas’ blue, green, and red palette, orange intensifies the action, while yellow signals a person in need.
“The Pitch” begins outside, as Steve Lieber portrays the damage-strewn street, then repeats the scene after the streetlights go out. A branch moves through the air, spewing yellow-green liquid, and suggesting how the plants damaged buildings and vehicles in “Primaries.” Lee Loughridge paints an office in beige and tan. Among the men, James' orange shirt links with their leader's hair. But as the three men struggle to get along, Sarah keeps the peace in a violet dress with pink dots.
Lettering
While Ariana Maher places black uppercase letters in Mariko Tamaki's stories, offscreen dialogue fills white and colored narrative boxes. Enlarged dialogue pierces the night in "The Stand," while sound effects accompany the plant attacks and Lenny's burglar friend.
While Clayton Cowles also fills white balloons with black uppercase letters in Matt Fraction’s stories, white letters in colored narrative boxes reveal thoughts and off-camera dialogue. Larger words in white or black boxes proclaim time and space. Balloons grow spikes amid heightened emotions and intense situations. But only in "Primaries" do sound effects enhance the TUCO's battles with plants and their targets. Thanks to DC Comics for sharing this story with us.
Final Thoughts
Gotham is Batman's city. Yet it's a city in which he wants everyone to flourish. While Mariko Tamaki portrays the inhabitants' relationship with their city, the Bat-family looms large for children, while adults take their protection for granted. Matt Fraction's stories let secondary members of the Bat-family shine, while also training the spotlight on their supporters. Yet in all six stories, both authors remind us why, despite all the reasons to leave, we choose to plant our lives in imperfect places in Bad Seeds: Streets of Gotham #1.
Rating 9.8/10
To look inside see Bad Seeds: Streets of Gotham #1 Preview.
For more of the Bad Seeds Event, see
Poison Ivy #48: Bad Seeds Week 6 Part 1 Review
Batman #14 Bad Seeds Week 7 Part 1 Review
Batgirl #23: Bad Seeds Week 2 Part 2: Preview
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