DC’s Black Label imprint is still very much in its early days. With only one other title launched (Batman: Damned) coming and seemingly only getting some hype because of a questionable inclusion in some of the art work. It’s hard to be ringing the bell with hype for another series, that is, any other series that isn’t from Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo. The pair alongside Jonathan Glapion and FCO Plascencia have given us nothing but great Batman stories before so that hype was definitely there coming into issue 1 of this series.



This first installment has a very different vibe from the get go, from the dark alleys of Gotham, to the mysterious narrator, who’s identity comes on the last page immediately provoking another read through. This really does feel like the last of Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo together on Batman, and given that Scott has said that this final story is inspired by a chat with Grant Morrison where the famed Batman writer told Scott to have a definitive birth and death to his run on the character, it’s good to know that this story carries the weight of that pressure throughout. If this is going to be the last Batman book, at least for a while, we can take some solace in knowing they want to take us on one last wild ride before they hang you the cowl.



The art in this book goes above and beyond what we’ve seen from Greg Capullo in the past, and that’s saying something. The story moves so fast between environment that it could be very easy to miss some of the artwork, but Capullo, Glapion, and Plascencia has done such an amazing job that I found myself taking in every page like it was the last. The colors and landscapes are so varied in the story yet they are given such attention to detail and it really stands out and shows the hard work and passion put into the pages. In the close up panels pencil work by Capullo is outstanding, the emotion on the faces and details on the costumes has always cemented Capullo as one of my very favorite artists but in this book the work of the creative team stands out as some of the best in recent memory.



So how about the story you ask? Well Scott has really cemented himself as one for the best writers across all genres of comics in these last few years. Between DC and Image, we’ve got some amazing titles. This feels like Scott’s Batman, the one we grew to love in New 52, yet it also feels like something different. Something more important.



There’s no time wasted getting into the meat of this story, and that’s a strong point of this first book. There’s no hand holding or laying down of backstory here. We’re going through this with Bruce. The uncertainty, the questions, the fear. Seeing out hero helplessly strapped to a gurney, questioning himself and his reality, and barely able to string together a sentence might be the most vulnerable we’ve seen him in a story from Scott Snyder. He’s stripped Batman down to his core. The most powerful thing Batman does is turn our fears in strengths, it’s how he’s down it all before, and it’s what’s at the core of any great superhero story. Someone who can find the will to drive forward where everyone would fall short. Here we see some of the heroes who Bruce has always stood shoulder to shoulder with, but they can’t do that here. They’ve already fallen or lost hope. Bruce is the last one left who still has the courage to try to fix things and save everyone.



I’ve read through this book a few times in preparation for writing this and each time there was one sentence in particular that stood with me. Near the last page a young child approaches Bruce, he’s one of the survivors that Wonder Woman has managed to save. He’s scared for himself and his brother. He approaches Bruce and asks if, as a bat, he can see in the dark and if he is willing to teach him as he doesn’t want to have to live in the dark when they move to a safer location. Bruce responds by telling him that bats can’t actually see in the dark, they use their voices and they use echoes. That’s how they find their way through.



Those words stuck with me since reading. It feels like Scott is trying to tell us that this is a story where everyone else has failed, yet Batman is the last one left and the only one capable of finding a way through this, not because of something he can do, some superpower he was born with or chosen for, or ability he’s spent years sharpening. It’s because Bruce has something inside him, something that has allowed him to live this war on crime, something that has allowed him to stand toe to toe with beings stronger than him. That something might be the very last hope for saving everyone.



I personally have always been a huge fan of Scott and Greg, especially when it comes to Batman, and I was very pleased to see that this first book lived up to but also surpassed the hype. I’m not fully sure where this story might end up, and I’m not sure anyone else outside of the creative team does either, but I’m extremely happy to be on one last ride.



Thanks for reading.