Batman Eternal Vol. 1 (The New 52) Review

"Hey buddy! Wanna buy a supporting
character?"

Writers: Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, John Layman, Ray Fawkes, Tim Seely and Kyle Higgins.

Artists: Y'know what? There's a lot- let's leave it at that.

Collects: Batman Eternal #1-21

Background Information:

Every now and again, DC will release a weekly series. If they have faith in it, that series will last 52 issues. If not, It will end around the 40-45 mark. By the time Batman Eternal was in full swing, DC were publishing no less than three of these series; the aforementioned Batman title, The New 52: Future's End and Earth 2: World's End. These were all billed as big deals for the DC universe, but only one series found people who actually cared about it. Guess which one it was?

...the Batman one. It was the Batman one.

Review

There have been complaints aplenty made about Batman Eternal; it's chaotic, there's a lot of plots going in different directions at any one time and there's more filler than the teeth of a sugar addict following fourteen consecutive Halloweens. These complaints though, are best attributed to all DC weekly series and it seems a bit harsh to slag Batman Eternal for doing what series like 52 were already doing. That said, Batman Eternal's major selling point is that there's a lot of it- even if some of it isn't all that good, which is worrying considering how much they're asking for a trade paperback.

We currently have no idea what's happening here and we read
this scene twice!

So Forever Evil has just finished and Batman is back to his old games again- chasing criminals, recruiting minors to fight dangerous battles and trying his best not to refer to Alfred as "mummy" when a train accident finds Jim Gordon arrested for causing the death of hundreds. It's at this time when Gotham's criminals decide that when the cat's away (I'm not making a reference to Catwoman- she's in this one) the mice will.. well, start a massive gang war and cause death and destruction everywhere... y'know- typical mouse stuff.

This leave various Gotham heroes frantically running around the city to do typical hero stuff; Batgirl and Red Hood search for whoever set Jim Gordon up for a fall, Red Robin and Harper Row track a nanobot virus that's doing all sorts of evil things and Batwing joins up with the Spectre to set up Gotham at Midnight investigate strange going-ons at Arkham. This leaves Batman having to deal with the gang war and I have to say that it's cool to see old Bats with white-knuckles as he frantically rushes from one place to another to just barely avert disaster. You really get the impression here that he hasn't slept in days, which is great because I don't think we ever see the line "I haven't slept in days". It's show-don't-tell at it's finest.

Oh, and Stephanie Brown is in this one. Yep, that character that people demanded be brought back has indeed... come back. Honestly, that's all I can say about her at this point, because Batman Eternal seemed only interested in doing that with her character. She constantly pops up to remind us that she is indeed there and that DC are very sorry; please take them back, they love you and really that fling with the new readers didn't really mean anything! To say that she propels the plot forward in new and interesting ways is like saying Thomas the Tank Engine runs on Coca-Cola and Mentos; It's something we may really want to happen but when it comes down to it, we need to accept the fact that reality isn't going to pander to us in that way.

Weirdly, the most interesting plot seems to be that of Vicki Vale and new detective Jason Bard. There's a lot of solid detective work done by these two and seeing their relationship is absolutely the books sweet spot. There's enough space to argue that these two people matter more to the plot than any of the superhero characters combined. You know how people are all impressed that Batman's on the Justice League even though he has no powers? Vale and Bard, in this sense are Batman Eternal's Batman- no intense combat training (beyond what a cop can do), no high-tech gadgetry and yet they rattle cages like a blind parakeet on a sugar rush.

One day, I'm going to find whoever gave Red Hood's helmet
that stupid mouth and maim them.

With a book that has 13 artists, do I need to say that the art is a mixed bag? Or remind you of an idiom about too many cooks? None of this is to say that the art is bad for a weekly series (except for Ian Betram's, who makes every character look like they gained 20 kilos just for the issue and have blackheads all over their faces), But you're more likely to notice the change in artist than the change in writer. Otherwise, it looks how a Batman book should- dark, gritty, and intense as anything.

Now, as I mentioned, this is a 52-issue weekly series which means that the old weekly-series problems still apply (sing along if you know the words): Many issues feel like they're there to fill in gaps in the publishing schedule, there's no sense of a complete story arc in this volume, and too many things are happening at once. That's not a fault of Batman Eternal so much as it a fault of the weekly format; the book is very much a slave to its publishing schedule, so there isn't that feeling of tightness you get from an monthly ongoing. Batman Eternal does its best to still make those problems somewhat enjoyable, even if it can't negate them completely, but fair warning; I'm not anticipating a fully satisfying plot until the end of the series.

Thankfully, as I said, there's a lot of it, so you will be kept busy reading a series that is actually okay. Batman Eternal gets a three out of five Coca-Cola/Mentos-powered steam engines.

***
+ Chaotic in the best way.
+ Bard and Vale.
+ A lot of story.
+Stephanie Brown is in it...
-... but she's just "there".
- Not all art is good
- The usual weekly series problems.

Alternate Option: 52

Takes a MUCH broader swing at the DCU, even if the book itself isn't as good.

Batman Vol. 3: Death of the Family (DC) review

Batman Vol. 3: Death of The Family (The New 52)

Joker takes the worst selfies.

Writer: Scott Snyder

Artists: Greg Capullo and Jonathan Glapion

Background Information:

Do I need to explain the Joker?

No? Good.

Review

This is actually the second Death of the Family tie-in that I’ve read. My first was Nightwing, which I wasn’t particularly impressed with. Batman’s foray into the crossover gave me a greater understanding of what was going on in Nightwing, but its best achievement seemed to be making me enjoy Dick Greyson’s story more.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a stellar story; but as with all stories that have been hyped to the nth degree, there’s been a fair bit of hyperbole that has infected a lot of the writing regarding the volume.

What? Oh yeah! The story. Sorry, this is a review, after all!

That awkward moment when...

The Joker is back in town and he has his eyes firmly set on destroying the Bat-family of Nightwing, Red

Hood, Red Robin, Robin and Batgirl. Joker’s of the mindset that Batman should only work alone, that he’s at his prime when he doesn’t have all of these darn kids to worry about!

The Joker here is many things, and it’s really the strong part of Snyder’s work. For starters, there’s a bit of Batman fanboy in the Joker. Go online and you’ll see plenty of comments about how the Robins/Batgirl are the weakest parts of the Bat franchise. How Batman’s always better as a loner. How having a partner just cheapens the effect of caped crusader. Snyder captures that attitude perfectly in the Joker’s character, and thankfully proves it wrong by the end, showing a Batman who becomes greater than ever for his ability to care for his Batkids.

Then there’s the idea of Joker being Batman’s court jester, with other Batman villains represent the “bat-kings” other court members. It’s here that Snyder really gets to the heart of things; why are these incredibly dangerous and terrifying villains after a man who, lacking any actual superpower, shouldn’t be seen as a threat at all? It’s not a question that we get to see answered, unfortunately, but at least Snyder doesn’t pretend that the question doesn’t exist.

Finally, and perhaps most interestingly, there’s the idea that Joker has a kind of “love” for Batman. This has been criticized by the Comic Book Journal as being reflective, and encouraging of, a perceived “gay scare”. The argument seems to be that because the Joker can be interpreted as being homo-erotic, the book seems to have some unwitting homophobic agenda behind it.

Because, apparently, the LGBT community must only be victims- THAT’S the sort of uninspired typecasting a forward-thinking man can get behind.

Sarcasm aside, I really don’t think that there’s much to these claims (shocking, I know). See, if we are to perceive homosexuality as normal and as present in all factors in our society, we must assume that it extends beyond misunderstood heroes. We must be ready for the idea that there are gay villains as well, and, supposing that we can really read Joker as a character with any sexuality at all (he even implies that he never found Harley Quinn attractive, which is by far one of the most poignant scenes in the volume), that a homosexual villain would express his sexuality as rampantly as heterosexual ones.

But I don’t think there is much of a sexual love in Jokers obsession with the Bat. To me, Snyder’s Joker takes the role of 50s television housewife, whose function seems to be less romantic, more domestic and motherly. Sure, he uses romantic terms like “darling” and even calls one action by Batman a sign of “love” (I won’t spoil it, though), but that seems to be a weapon more than anything- a tool to disgust Batman not because Joker’s another man, but because Joker’s a murderous psychopath. In this way, Joker’s romantic references are no different to say, Poison Ivy’s sexualisation of multiple dangerous scenarios. All up, though, it makes for a read that it truly terrifying.

Like I said in the beginning, though, the real value of this volume is that it makes me appreciate Nightwing’s crossover into it all that much more. There’s some substance to it now; substance that wasn’t there when I read the volume on its own, and that was greatly appreciated. The problem though is that I found myself liking Batman less here. He doesn’t develop at all in this volume and considering how the character grew in the first two volumes, that’s pretty disappointing.

That even awkwarder moment when your butler is
creepier than your nemesis.

Batman fans should be warned that the best scene in this volume, the emotional core of it, really doesn’t feature Batman at all, but rather focusses on Alfred and the rest of the family. I won’t give it away, because it’s a rather odd inspiring moment in a book that is otherwise chilling and terrifying, but will say that it places Alfred firmly as the bat-family’s “mother” figure. A scene where the whole family is picking itself up around the butler is evocative of a “family hug”. A great moment, but one that seems wired as the true hero of the book doesn’t seem to be its titular character.

That said, though, the family truly is dead by the end of this volume, or at least seems to be. I wouldn’t be surprised if we didn’t see many Batman family crossovers for a while. This is something that actually gets me excited for the few volumes of the bat-books.

Batman Vol. 3: Death of the Family gets a four out of five bouts of uninspired typecasting.

****

+ Joker is characterized brilliantly

+ Makes me appreciate Nightwing’s crossover more.

- I can’t say this book does much for Batman.

Alternate Option: The Joker: Death of the Family

All you really need to read are the Batman titles, but this one will definitely help you appreciate the impact of the story more.

Talon Vol. 1: Scourge of The Owls (The New 52) Review

Talon Vol. 1: Scourge of The Owls (The New 52)

I thought Superman was the one who was
unchained

Writers: Scott Snyder and James Tynion IV

Artist: Guillem March

Collects: Talon #0-7

Background Information:

The final review in Scott Snyder week!

If you want to know more about this character, it’s best you read the Batman Vol. 1 and Vol.2. It deals with a group known as the Court of Owls who rule Gotham City from the shadows. Talon is the name they give to their main assassins who they lift directly out of Haly’s circus. In Snyder’s Batman, the court was handily defeated, but not destroyed, and that’s where we take our mark.

Review:

It’s hard to get people on board with a new superhero. It’s the reason there have been so few genuinely new names in comics for the last fourteen years. Unless the name was seen in the nineties, you can pretty much kiss a new character goodbye. Such has happened to Talon; which is a pity, because the book is really an amazing read.

Scourge of The Owls introduces us to Calvin Rose- an escape artist adopted by the Court of Owls to be the next Talon. It’s a mantle that his better nature wins out over, however, and he flees the court; hiding for years until he hears that Batman has dusted the clocks of various Court members. Coming back to Gotham, Calvin meets Sebastian Clark. Clark is a former member of the Court and he has a job for Calvin; become the Talon again, and use his skills to take down what remains of the Court of Owls. This means hitting places that hold a large amount of the Court’s wealth, and taking on a few of the sixteen remaining Talons.

Now, if you haven’t read any of the New 52 Batman firstly... what got you interested in this character in the first place? Secondly, and more importantly, you should know that most of the Court’s Talons have developed healing factors. Calvin, unfortunately has missed out on this upgrade and therefore has to fight a little harder for his life as he sneaks into various court strongholds. This has the potential to result in a no-holds-barred gorefest, or even worse, Wolverine-style violence. Thankfully, Calvin doesn’t fight like that. For him, fighter harder means fighting smarter; Calvin uses diversion tactics, his environment and basic physics to outwit his opponents and it makes for battles that are actually more satisfying than anything seen in Batman.

Equally admirable is the fact that Calvin is a good person at heart. Instead of trying to kill opponents, Calvin tries to negotiate with the remaining Talons; more interested in turning them to his side than killing them. It would have been so easy for Calvin to become a tough, grizzled soldier, but amazingly Snyder and Tynion move away from that and give Calvin a real human side; one that doesn’t want to take a life- something that actually formed the basis of his escape from the Court. The comic book industry has enough Wolverines, and it’s refreshing to see a nice guy who’s also really good at dishing out pain.

The only problem I have with Scourge of The Owls is where Calvin has his obligatory meet-up with Batman. Batman had a huge part to play in the fall of the Court, but I think more could have been done by having Nightwing meet Calvin instead. Both of them have pasts that are directly connected to the Court and Haly’s Circus, and both have worked hard to reject the heritage that they were “supposed” to embrace. I really think a great team-up book could have happened here (were both titles not cancelled or getting cancelled), and it feels like a missed opportunity.

The art by Guillem March is fantastic, using a lot of browns and greys. It looks different to any of the bat-books out there now. In most bat-books, grittiness is achieved through use of shadow and dark tones. It’s effective, but March’s approach is significantly more clever. March creates darkness and grittiness by making everywhere Calvin goes look dirty and unsavoury. It’s a nice touch and real helps Talon feel like its own series. The pity though, is Calvin’s costume design. It looks great from the toes up, until you hit that mask, which looks more than a little silly. Considering that this book has a lot of dialogue, and therefore focuses a lot on Calvin’s head- that’s a problem.

Overall though, Scourge of The Owls is a brilliant read that fans of Snyder’s Batman should definitely pick up. It’s sad that this series ends with the next volume, but don’t let that stop you from reading one of the best original characters to come out in a long time. It gets a four out of five nice guys.

****

+ A nice character who’s awesome because of it

+ Smart, satisfying fight scenes

+ Art is distinctive from all other Bat-books

- Batman scene feels unambitious

- Talon’s mask looks silly.

Alternate Option: Nightwing: Traps and Trapezes

A story about the Court of Owls and Haly’s Circus- if Scourge of The Owls sounds good to you, this one should, too.

Swamp Thing Vol. 3: Rotworld: The Green Kingdom (The New 52) Review

Swamp Thing Vol. 3: Rotworld: The Green Kingdom (The New 52)

"Okay, you go get 'em... you've got a
gun..."

Writers: Scott Snyder and Jeff Lemire

Artist: Yanick Paquette

Collects: Animal Man 12,17 and Swamp Thing12-18

Background Information:

Number Four in  Scott Snyder Week!

Swamp Thing is the avatar of The Green, which give life to all plants. Animal Man is the avatar of The Red, which gives life to all animals. The main villain in Rotworld is Arcane; the avatar of The Rot which is the force behind death and decay.

That’s basically all you need to know for the set up- to this book, but you should also know that this volume contains only half the Rotworld event. The other half is contained in Animal Man Vol. 3: Rotworld: The Red Kingdom. If you’ve just been reading the Swamp Thing stories, though, there isn’t a whole lot you need to know from Animal Man.

Review:

Rotworld marks the end of Scott Snyder’s run on Swamp Thing, and it’s an immensely satisfying end. I’ve rated Snyders work pretty highly in general, but this is a book I would prefer even over Snyder’s Batman. That’s right, DC, I would sooner see more of a creature from the black lagoon than stinkin’ Batman Eternal. In fact, even though this Swampt Thing volume isn’t perfect, it’s damn-near close.



In this volume, Swamp Thing and Animal Man follow Arcane into The Rot and become trapped in it. When they finally emerge, it’s one year later, and the world has gone to hell. I say that almost literally, as now The Rot has all but taken over the earth. It’s infected all humans who have no connection to The Red or The Green, turning them into zombie-like rage creatures. It falls on Swamp Thing and Animal Man to amass armies strong enough to take down Arcane, and stop The Rot’s stranglehold on the world, all the while saving people who are very dear to them.

In Swamp Things case, that person is Abigail Arcane, the girl voted most likely to become zombie queen in high school (okay, there’s some artistic licence there, but she is meant to be the next avatar of The Rot). I won’t go give away the ending, but when Swamp Thing and Animal Man finally meet their loved ones, it’s a crushing blow to both characters. I would argue that the moment probably damages Animal Man more than it does Swamp Thing, but the moment is still fraught with emotion.

If you’re writing for DC and you do a big, alternate-world story, you have to reference some of DCs bigger names, and Lemire and Snyder do a good job of that by presenting us with “rotified” versions of Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and other more celebrated DC heroes. This isn’t a new idea- Geoff Johns did it a while ago in Blackest Night, but here it makes more sense here. Here, heroes joining The Rot is inevitable, so it’s natural that the Justice League would fall to it. Those characters who don’t join the rot mostly make sense- Poison Ivy is naturally connected to The Green and how could Beast Boy not be connected to The Red (like his new... skin tone[?]... didn’t give it away already)? It’s cool to see these b-list characters save the world.

The art here has been pretty consistent with the previous two volumes. There’s not much difference to notice between the Swamp Thing and Animal Man issues except the page design of Animal Man seems a little too neat in comparison to Swamp Thing. But that’s a small qualm when the art is just so damn enjoyable. The Rot are characteristically disgusting and there are plenty of awesome moments to look at.

Rotworld: The Green Kingdom finishes Snyder’s Swamp Thing run brilliantly. It gets my first perfect score of five out of five most-likely-to-become-zombie awards.

*****

+ Emotive story

+ Good use of A and B list characters

+ Art continues to be gorgeous

Alternate Option: Animal Man: Rotworld: The Red Kingdom

The same story from a different perspective.

Swamp Thing Vol. 2: Family Tree (The New 52) Review

Swamp Thing Vol. 2: Family Tree (The New 52)

Eww... Don't touch them, Swamp Thing!
You have no idea where they've been!

Writer: Scott Snyder

Artists: Yanick Pquette and Marco Rudy

Collects: Swamp Thing #0, 8-11 and Swamp Thing Annual #1

Background Information:

Number three in Scott Snyder Week!

Okay, so if you missed my review of volume 1, Swamp Thing is the avatar and warrior king of the Green. He has control of plant life and is able to make all kinds of things from it. He fights the Rot- a force of death and decay. In essence, you’re looking at a cooler version of Plants Vs. Zombies.

In the last volume, Swamp Thing’s civilian identity, Alec Holland developed a bio-regenative formula which helped plants to grow- that’s a major factor in both this and the next volume of Swamp Thing, so don’t forget it.

Review:

When I read the first volume of Swamp Thing, I was half-expecting an eco-story that was going to point out the dangers of global warming. I was pleasantly surprised when I found a horror story that was going to live longer than whenever we find out the next way that we’re destroying the planet. Instead, Family Tree is part of a three-volume epic that definitely has the potential to outlive present-day concerns, and that’s the mark of a classic.

That said though, Family Tree is still a relatively weak middle for such a strong run. Mostly because the structure of this story is nowhere near as tight. Essentially, you’re reading two stories; the first sees Swamp Thing, having finally made the transformation from Alec Holland, setting out to rescue love interest Abigail Arcane from becoming a servant of The Rot. It features some amazing action sequences that feel brutal and terrifying. Up until now, we haven’t seen the full extent of what Swamp Thing is capable of, and this volume shows that brilliantly.

The second arc, though, is really a collection of flashbacks that connect Swamp Thing to The Rot, and, more particularly its avatar Arcane. There are some interesting origin stories told in these issues, but reading them at this late stage in the story feels like a distraction, and not a fun one. While reading you get the feeling that something much better is happening in the present that Snyders not letting us see. Even the best writers can sometimes write unsatisfying stories, and this is an example of this principle in practice.

What this volume does well, however, is set up the third volume in this series rather well. By the end of Family Tree, we are genuinely scared of Arcane, even though his motives seem to be little more than “because he’s evil”. Things are still looking hopeless for Swamp Thing, and here, it’s a very good thing, since the next volume is an amazing crossover with Animal Man.

The art here is just as good as the previous volume. Thick, ungraceful lines and chaotic panelling work fantastic here. There are some more guttered pages in the collection’s 0 issue, but it’s easily forgivable considering that this issue references an era when Swamp Thing was still Doctor Alec Holland. It’s a stage where his life was calmer, more organised and the page layouts show it well.

In both Family Tree and the last volume, Raise Them Bones, Snyder has treated his artists to some truly spectacular locations to draw- ones to match the bizarre creatures contained in the book. High foreign mountains, hellish pits and wild jungles abound in Swamp Thing, and the team of Paquette and Rudy do an excellent job of making these environments so easy to immerse yourself in.

 Family Tree is an essential read if you are intending on reading anything in the upcoming Rotworld crossover, but it’s hardly the most exciting of the series. It get three and a half out of five Plants vs. Zombies.

*** 1/2

+ Great first half that shows off Swamp Thing’s abilities

+ Amazing location art

- Second half of the book feels like it doesn’t need to be there.

Alternate Option: Animal Man: The Hunt

The Animal Man series directly ties into Swamp Thing, so reading this one is well worth it.

Swamp Thing Vol. 1: Raise Them Bones Review (The New 52) Review

Swamp Thing Vol. 2: Family Tree (The New 52)

Also known as "The Monster at the End
of This Book"

Writer: Scott Snyder

Artists: Yanick Pquette and Marco Rudy

Collects: Swamp Thing #1-7

Background Information:

The second in Scott Snyder week!

I’ll admit, for too long I had dismissed Swamp Thing as a book that was “too weird” for my tastes.  And yeah, it’s pretty weird- Swamp Thing is listed under the “horror” subsection of DC’s New 52, along with Animal Man and Justice League Dark. But don’t dismiss it- Swamp Thing is every bit the superhero that Superman or Batman are.

Alec Holland was a brilliant biochemist until a lab experiment killed him. Post-death, Holland was found by an entity known as the Parliament of Trees and chosen to become the Swamp Thing. Swamp Thing is the avatar of the Green- the life force that controls plants. As such, Swamp Thing can also control all plant life- creating anything out of vines, like his wings, or a large, tough-looking blade.

Review:

If there is a book that makes  a good argument for not having more Batman titles, it’s Swamp Thing. It’s kinda ironic, considering that the series is written by Batman writer Scott Snyder, but it goes to show that a great comic is more about who’s writing it than which character’s name is in the title.

So in this title, Alec Holland has been Swamp Thing before and well and truly believes that he’s finished. Not so, a life-force known as The Rot is resurfacing with a young boy as its avatar. The Rot is the force of death and decay, and it’s starting to build its own kingdom on earth. In response, the Parliament of Trees calls on Swamp Thing to defeat it.

But Alec is done being Swamp Thing. He has too many haunting, disjointed memories of the experience and never wants to take on the mantle again. There’s a great message about personal sacrifice here. We want to sympathise with Alec- being Swamp Thing is a living hell and nobody would actually want to be him. At the same time though, there is a zero per cent chance that the human race will survive if Alec doesn’t take on the Swamp Thing mantle, so we also end up seeing him as somewhat selfish for his reluctance. It makes for a deep, multi-layered character that none of the Justice League has really managed to pull off just yet.

Equally interesting is Alec’s love interest Abigail Arcane, a woman with a deep connection to The Rot. Snyder somehow manages to balance Abigail’s part as both a love interest to be rescued and as a strong female character who is more than capable of handling things herself. It’s fascinating to see this line walked so well and by the end, you are cheering for both Abigail and Swamp Thing equally.

There’s some brilliantly dark dialogue in Raise Them Bones. Snyder gets the horror comic genre perfectly, allowing the dialogue to be highly entertaining without it being funny in the least. There’s a weird belief around comics at the moment that in order to be entertaining, a book has to have humour. DC’s been regularly attacked for not having enough humour in their books. While there are some titles about which I could say that’s a fair comment; Swamp Thing isn’t one of them. It’s appeal comes from visiting that dark side and being completely removed from your comfort zone while going somewhere rather disturbing.

And at the end of the day, it’s the art that really drives that disturbance home. Undead humans with twisted necks, zombie pigs with soulless eyes and other twisted creatures made of rotting flesh abound in this collection and they look as unnerving as they sound- possibly more. Okay, sure, some of the creatures of both The Green and The Rot look like rejected pokemon, but  they’re scary rejected pokemon. The book also benefits from the total lack of gutters in the page design. Panels are separated at odd angles with blood-splatter and vine shapes and give the book a chaotic feel that suits a horror story like little else can.

My one gripe with Raise Them Bones is that for a book in a series entitled Swamp Thing, you see a lot more of Alec Holland. Swamp thing only appears at the end of the book which is a problem when that’s the title of the book. If the book was called Scary Rejected Pokemon, I’d probably be okay with it, but I imagine you buy a comic called Swamp Thing, you want to see Swamp Thing.

But all the same, Raise Them Bones is an excellent look at the horror genre and it gets a four out of five scary rejected pokemon.

****

+ Well-developed characters

+ Dialogue that is great despite a lack of humour

+ Art is gorgeously creepy

- Swamp Thing doesn’t actually show up that much

Alternate Option: Batman: The Court of Owls

Another great one by Snyder, and if you’re worried about a book about a swamp monster being good, you can at least check out Snyder’s talent here.

Batman Vol.2: The City of Owls (The New 52) Review

Batman Vol. 2: The City of Owls (The New 52)

Batman's football team is going all the
way this year.

Writers: Scott Snyder and James Tynion IV

Artists: Greg Capullo, Jonathon Glapion, Rafael Albuquerque and Jason Fabok (Phew!)

Collects: Batman #8-12 and Batman Annual #1

Background Information:

Welcome to Scott Snyder Week! 5 books by Snyder over five days!

If you haven’t read Scott Snyder’s spectacular Batman Vol. 1: Court of Owls, then this is book might go over your head. What’s worse, though, you’d be missing half of one of the greatest Batman stories of all time!

But, if you’re stubborn, the Court of Owls are a group of wealthy Gothamites who secretly rule Gotham from the shadows. They also have a penchant for sending assassins named Talons to kill people they don’t like. In the last Batman volume, the court uses a special regenerating formula to bring back the Talons from the last two hundred years with Wolverine-like healing powers (theory: the dude’s in so many books that he’s spilling over into DC) to boot and sending them out to “take Gotham city”.

Review:

For a book called The City of Owls, this collection spends a lot of time either in Wayne Manor, or in Gotham after the court has been defeated. When Gotham is a city of owls, we’re not in the city and when Batman is in the city, the Owls have pretty much vacated. But that’s okay, because The City of Owls is a brilliant end to one of the best Bat-Stories you’re likely to read in years.

So after Batman’s escape from the court, Bruce is left emotionally broken. The Gotham that he once thought was his city doesn’t exist and in its place is a dark entity in which Bruce is just a guest. It’s precisely at that moment that an army of Talons comes to Wayne manner with the intent on murdering the billionaire playboy. It seems like overkill, but Bruce was able to avoid a Talon before (and not as Batman), so I guess the Court really wants him dead.

The Court of Owls established themselves as great villains in the last book, and here is no different. The whole concept of the Court is unnerving. It’s great to see that Snyder understands that the best Batman stories are only 50% action at most- usually only about 30%. The rest is usually equal parts mystery and horror. The City of Owls pulls this off by giving us villains with emotional complexity and a serious mental problem.

Central to the last volume was the theme of control. That theme doesn’t play out as strongly here, instead, themes of privilege and secrecy are central to this one. I won’t give too much away, as it’s pretty essential to how this story plays out, but it ties the Wayne family directly to the Court of Owls.

While there are some pretty dark moments in this collection, they somehow don’t hit the mark the same way that they did in Court of Owls, instead, we’re mostly getting an action story. It’s a pity to see the element of psychological horror that made the previous volume so awesome left out, but the action here is more than satisfying enough.

Admittedly, some of the book tends to drag on a bit, and none so more than the Batman annual that revamps Mr. Freeze’s origin for the New 52. I love Mr. Freeze. When I was a kid, the best news I got was that Mr. Freeze would be appearing in Batman And Robin back in ’97 (don’t judge me). But by the time I got halfway through the annual, I was ready for it to be over. They aren’t moments that make the book awful, but they break the momentum of an otherwise perfect book.

One of the things I’ve been complaining about with the New 52 is the artwork. It’s generally very good, but there seems to be too much that looks the same. Ivan Reis, Doug Mahnke and Jim Lee are all excellent artists, but their art tends to look the same. That’s not something I can say for Batman’s main artist Greg Capullo. The dude has been drawing Spawn for years, and some of that creepiness and gritty lines has rubbed off on Batman. Thanfully, it suits the Dark Knight like a glove and, more importantly, it’s a book that I can say looks like Batman and not like Justice League or Green Lantern.

Overall, this is a series that if you’re not reading, you should be. I now can’t imagine anyone other than Scott Snyder writing Batman (and for the record, I have read work by Grant Morrison and Tony S. Daniel). The City of Owls gets a four and a half out of five Wolverine appearances.

**** ½

+ A seriously well-developed villain

+ Art is distinctive and looks fantastic

+ Works well thematically

- Some parts of the book drag out a bit

Alternate Option: Nightwing: Night of Owls

This book ties directly into City of Owls, so it’s definitely worth a look.