Batman as a character has been around since May 1939. Considering the amount of stories told about Batman in all different forms of media including comics, television, movies, video games, and whatever this is from Prince, fresh stories are hard to come by after awhile. The solution? Enter: Scott Snyder.

Scott Snyder appeared on the comic radar starting in March 2010 with his first ongoing series, American Vampire. The critically acclaimed American Vampire garnered Snyder a chance to write Batman, starting with Detective Comics issue #871. Bat fans for the most part loved his story with Kyle Higgins, Batman: Gates of Gotham. In September 2011, DC Comics decided to relaunch all of their titles back to #1, Snyder taking the helm with artist Greg Capullo on the main Batman title. The following post has some spoilers through Batman #20.

Issues #1 – 11: The Court of Owls

The Court of Owls storyline forced both Batman and the readers to question a fundamental given about Batman, his knowledge of Gotham City. Snyder’s first story for the main bat title involved Batman squaring off against a mysterious group that has apparently ruled Gotham since it’s beginning. This mysterious group is made up of some of the most powerful families in Gotham, and their influence has been unseen in Bruce’s life up until this point. In a time when Bruce Wayne is trying to change the status quo of the city with new projects, the Court is attempting to keep the city chained to its past for its future.

The Court’s grasp on the city makes Batman question everything he previously thought about Gotham. Snyder does a wonderful job of summing up the city itself (as Snyder seems to consider her a live entity) in the first issue with the opening inner monologue about the Gotham’s Gazette of “Gotham is…” Snyder also does an excellent job of tying together the Court of Owls with the Batman mythos. One of the more particular touches I enjoyed was the comment made by Bruce that owls themselves are the natural predator of bats.

Another thing I throughly enjoy about Snyder’s Batman is that he actually uses detective work alongside his fists. This is something that I feel a number of Bat writers have missed in the past. I also have to say that Snyder knows the voice for both Bruce and Batman, which he makes quickly apparent with some fantastic inner monologues by Bruce. I also liked how the Court of Owls themselves are an enemy that requires all of Bruce’s strengths (physical and mental) with the inclusion of the Talons. Perhaps my favorite issue of the entire New 52 and Batman itself is issue #5 when Batman is trapped in the Court’s labyrinth. I won’t spoil what exactly happens, but it is certainly one of the most creative things I’ve seen from a comicbook in quite some time.

Snyder also does a good job of tying everything together, which isn’t easy considering the number of threads he creates. As for the usage of supporting characters, I liked the introduction of Harper Row and Nightwing is always a fine inclusion. The issues that took place in the Batcave were always clever.

One of my favorite things about Snyder is how much detail and effort he puts into the smallest details of each issue. The little things that not all fans may catch, at least on the first read, are quite the welcome addition. I also throughly enjoyed the backups included with the main stories, and I felt their inclusion was worth the extra dollar. Some people may not like the ending of the arc, but I found it to be a satisfying conclusion. I also have to say that Snyder does a wonderful job of making the reader believe a conclusion, but then completely turning it on it’s head. I’ve quickly learned reading his Batman story to be weary of everything. I’m looking forward to seeing the Court again in the future, despite a little bit of what I like to call owl fatigue by the end of the arc.

As for the art, I could write an entire post alone about how wonderful the art is for Batman. Greg Capullo does such an excellent job, and the amazing thing is his work only gets better throughout the arc. He draws what might possibly be my favorite Batman ever, and I’ve probably read over 600 different various issues of Batman, if not more. His attention to the smallest details are not only impressive but they add so much depth to the book. His covers are simply amazing as well.

The cover for Batman #6 might be one of the scariest covers I’ve ever seen. I was throughly impressed by each of his covers. I was also impressed by something in the covers that made me enjoy these issues even more. Batman #4 (pictured above) shows one of the Talons looking through his glasses at an unaware Batman. Meanwhile, the cover of Batman #9 has Batman looking at the Talons. The hunted (prey) has become the hunter (predator). There’s also something about the artwork in Batman #1 that I won’t spoil which ultimately became a huge plot point which I found stellar after.

One other thing I will mention is the major criticism for the Court of Owls I’ve seen online. Some people I think unfairly compare Court of Owls to another recent Batman story, Batman R.I.P by Grant Morrison because they say it’s unoriginal due to it already being done. However, I would say that the two stories are different to a large degree unless you wish to paint with such large brushstrokes that one can easily then say that Batman R.I.P. is a ripoff of Batman: Hush. It’s not like Batman R.I.P has a monopoly on stories that involve Batman dealing with a mysterious figure that knows his identity.

Overall, if you haven’t read Court of Owls then do yourself a favor and pick it up. The only real issue I had with it is towards the end (as previously mentioned) there was a bit of “owl fatigue” but overall it was a really well thought out story that deserves a great deal of praise. The artwork was also fantastic.

Batman Annual #1: The Return of Mr. Freeze

The following contains some spoilers for Batman Annual #1. Skip to the next section if you wish to avoid spoilers.

Batman Annual #1 is technically part of the Court of Owls storyline, since it takes place during “Night of the Owls”. However, the issue deserves a section all of it’s own. This annual may be the most controversial issue of not only Snyder’s Batman but Batman in general for the New 52. Even more than One-Face. The reason for this is changing the character of Mr. Freeze.

Victor Fries (Mr. Freeze) had his origins changed in Batman: The Animated Series from the 90’s that made him into a more sympathetic figure. His wife, Nora, came down with an illness that required her to be frozen. Freeze worked hard to find a cure for her, but ultimately failed. Due to an accident, he became Mr. Freeze and vowed to avenge Nora. I personally enjoyed the changes to Freeze’s origins in this annual.

It makes sense for Freeze to be a sympathetic character the first couple of times he appears after his wife is frozen. However, Mr. Freeze becomes far less sympathetic after he continues to kill hundreds of people all in the name of avenging his beloved Nora. At this point, all he becomes is a character with a sad backstory. In this new backstory, Mr. Freeze ends up killing his mother after she has an unfortunate accident that changes her mentally for the worse. It also turns out that Freeze was never married to Nora, instead she was born in the 40’s and frozen long before Mr. Freeze was around. Freeze wrote his doctoral thesis on her and he became obsessed with her.

As for the issue itself, the storytelling is really good once again. Capullo is unfortunately not doing the art for this issue but Jason Fabok does a wonderful job filling in. His art is simply gorgeous. I throughly enjoyed this annual.

Issue #12: Harper Row

Issue #12 serves as the real introduction to Harper Row, a character we saw briefly during the Court of Owls saga and a character that is sure to have future importance. We get to know Harper some, and find out she was at the Gala all the way back in issue #1. There is a funny moment between her and Alfred that is worth mentioning. After an incident, Harper becomes obsessed with Batman but it turns out she’s quite skillful. The issue also serves the purpose of showing what Bruce Wayne does for the city outside of just his time in the cowl as Batman. Overall, it’s a fantastic issue storytelling wise.

The art is also fantastic. Becky Cloonan makes history as the first female artist for the main Batman title. Keeping in mind that the main Bat title has been around since 1939 for a moment. Becky does the art for most of the pages with Andy Clarke filling in the rest. James Tynion IV also helps write some of the final pages, appearing once again after co-writing the Annual.

#0: The Beginning

Batman #0 takes place six years ago when Bruce Wayne was just starting out as Batman. This Batman is far less experienced and it quickly shows as the issue progresses. The issue itself serves as a great companion to the Batman: Zero Year storyline currently going on in Batman at the moment. There’s a great moment between Gordon and Bruce Wayne in this issue that was great to read. We also get to see the younger versions of people like Barbara, Dick and Time which was great. The art was also top-notch as always.

Issues #13 – 17: Death of the Family

Death of the Family certainly solidified Snyder’s place in Batman history and Capullo drawing arguably the creepiest Joker ever. Death of the Family gets its name from A Death in the Family, the 1988 story that saw Jason Todd as Robin get killed by an explosion due to the Joker. Joker also beat Jason Todd with a crowbar before tying him up to the chair in the building that was going to explode. We haven’t seen the Joker since Batman: Detective Comics #1 when his face got cut off. However, now he’s back.

The arc starts off with a bang, Joker arrives back in Gotham and goes straight to the police station. The power goes out and he starts snapping the necks of cops. It’s one of the more creepy scenes I’ve read in any comic, and Capullo’s art pulls it off beautifully. The return of the Joker is certainly more personal, especially for Jason Todd and Barbara Gordon (who was put in a wheelchair for some time by the Joker after The Killing Joke).

One of the more interesting things about Death of the Family is how the Joker takes all of his old crimes (which Snyder references beautifully) and changes them slightly to use them. The Joker is no longer the guy in the room who’s simply out to make Batman laugh, instead he’s a man on a mission. His mission? He wishes to kill the Bat family, the people who he feels have made Batman go soft and lose sight of his mission. Joker tells Batman “Your kingdom rots beneath you.” Of course, the Joker’s words are interesting since they mirror what a number of fans have felt in recent years as Batman’s family and allies grows larger.

The Joker considers himself Batman’s “faithful Court Jester” since the Court Jester was the one who would tell the King the worst news. He considers Batman his “Bat-King”. The Joker’s seemingly insane rants do have a point behind them, and Batman quickly realizes that Joker was planning while he was away for a year. The Joker has been recruiting some other villains to use in schemes.

The trust between the Bat Family falls to pieces as Batman refuses to let the others confront the Joker in fear that their emotions would get the better of them. This creates tension between Bruce and the others as they feel he doesn’t trust them. There’s also the issue that they feel that Bruce is holding back secrets from them about the Joker. This is especially critical since the Joker makes the claim he knows who they all are after kidnapping Alfred.

The fight ends up at Arkham Asylum at one point and Snyder doesn’t disappoint. The Joker’s schemes are both clever and horrifying at the same time. The tapestry that the Joker creates for Batman is wonderful due to all the references to prior Bat stories but at the same time terrifying. The Joker ends outsmarting Batman at one point in quite the clever way as well.

The last issue for Death of the Family may disappoint some readers as they might have been expecting more from the issue itself. My opinion is that the long-term lasting effects of what happened in the last issue are far more important. The dialogue between the Joker and Batman is also fantastic. I actually throughly enjoyed the ending for Death of the Family despite one small spoilerish thing that irked me about it.

The backups for Death of the Family were also fantastic. It showed some of the thinking behind Joker’s plans. It also showcased a wonderful conversation at one point between Joker and Two-Face. There was also a wonderful scene between the Joker and The Riddler that makes me excited to see more of the Riddler written by Snyder in the future.

The art is fantastic and commendable. Capullo really outdoes himself with the covers, particularly for Batman #15. Once again, it’s the smallest details that make the biggest difference for the art. I throughly enjoyed watching the art as Joker’s cut off face slowly begins to come off during the arc, eventually resulting in flies around his face as it falls more and more off. I really can’t say enough good things about the art. Death of the Family has certainly become one of my favorite Joker stories.

Issue #18: Requiem

The requiem issue is the perfect example of why DC should sometimes think about adding a recap page. For those who are unaware, Damian Wayne was killed in Batman Incorporated, and many of the Bat books had a story that revolved around the fallout of that. My favorite of the bunch has to be Batman and Robin’s but Batman’s is my second favorite. The issue primarily features Harper Row once again returning.

The issue deals with Harper eventually confronting Batman with his grief, as he has begun to go out in the daytime and has become a risk to himself. Overall, the issue itself is quite touching and deals with grief beautifully. I also have come to like Harper Row as a character more and more. The ending was definitely my favorite part of this. As for the art, couple of different artists involved but great work as always. The cover is one of my favorites in the New 52.

Issue #19 – 20: Clayface

These two issues of Batman deal primarily with Clayface attempting to use Bruce Wayne’s identity to steal a lot of money and Batman still dealing with his grief over the loss of Damian. Clayface’s origin is explained a bit in the issue and I thought it was well done. I also thought it was clever the way that Batman dealt with Clayface when he accidentally discovered he was Bruce Wayne. I also loved the reference to the Batman Beyond suit in issue #20. The ending of issue #20 was also quite touching.

The backup involving Superman was something totally unexpected but enjoyable. It’s nice to see Batman and Superman be friends, something we haven’t really seen too much in the New 52. The villain was also something different but enjoyable to see. The art of course was top notch as always.

Zero Year: Going Forward

The current arc taking place in Scott Snyder’s Batman is Zero Year. It takes place six years in the past and we the reader get to see how Bruce Wayne became Batman. Issue #21 came out in June and issue #22 came out this month. The arc is expected to run for between 10-12 issues from what I recall reading, so Batman’s origin story in the New 52 is certainly getting the full treatment. I’ve throughly enjoyed the first two issues of Zero Year so far and look forward to seeing what else Snyder & Capullo bring to the table. As far as I’m concerned, they can write Batman as long as they want. This book is certainly at the top of my pull list every month and will continue to be.