Batman #51

DC Comics

Written by: Scott Snyder

Art by: Greg Capullo

It seems like only yesterday as I waited with baited anticipation outside my comic shop for the arrival of Snyder and Capullo’s Batman #1. I remember how nervous I was to embark on this new Batman adventure with this new creative team, and how easily my worries washed away as I read the issues first few pages. Snyder and Capullo nailed it. The end of this epic run is now upon us and while the team moves away from the main Batman title and Snyder sticks around to write the new All-Star Batman, I still found, as I finished the final pages of Batman #51, a sense of loss.

Batman #51 story is a standalone story that perfectly bookends the tremendous run of Snyder and Capullo. As Batman sets out on his nightly patrol, the city of Gotham is plunged into darkness. Naturally Batman thinks some nefarious plot is a foot and goes about rounding up the usual suspects. While the actual story is some what inconsequential, Snyder uses it as a recap and farewell to his epic run. We get some great call backs and glances to the future as Snyder has Batman scouring the city for the would be villain. Capullo even gets the opportunity to dazzle us with a new Bat-mobile. My favorite moment of this book is probably the call back to issue one as Batman enters Arkham Asylum to ensure his Rogues are still locked up tight. It’s the perfect reminder of that great scene in Snyder’s first Batman issue and it also allows Capullo to draw those awesome villains one last time. Snyder and Capullo work perfectly together on Batman and issue 51 is just another example of why this is one of the all-time great Batman comics.

Batman #51 is the perfect end to the perfect Batman run. Snyder and Capullo send us off the same way they hooked us, with some great story telling and tremendous art. If there was ever a dynamic duo in comics, Snyder and Capullo are arguably it as they became the Dark Knight writers we deserved. If you have been reading Batman from the beginning then I don’t have to tell you this is a must read issue. If you haven’t read Batman from Snyder and Capullo, there is no better time to start than now and when you reach this final issue, hopefully you will feel the same way I did. I’m sad to see them go, but excited to see what comes next from both creators.