Batman #1 – Review

By: Scott Snyder (writer), Greg Capullo (pencils), Jonathan Glapion (inks), FCO Plascencia (colors), Richard Starkings & Jimmy Betancourt (letters), Katie Kubert (assistant editor), Janelle Asselin (associate editor) & Mike Marts (editor)

The Review: All the “in the know” comic fans had really high hopes for this issue because it is (a) written by Scott Snyder who is fresh off the best Bat-story of the last decade or so and has never written a bad comic in his life and (b) drawn by Greg Capullo who is one of the best and most underappreciated artists in the comic industry.

This is an outstanding comic book. Not only is it a wonderful comic for fans who have read hundreds of Batman comics, but I think it’ll also be accessible to new readers. Of course, only a moron doesn’t know who Batman is, but they might not know who his rogues are and who all the supporting characters are. So…. Snyder takes us on a quick who’s-who of Gotham residents. And he does it all within the context of his story and using a nifty bit of new technology that makes the introductions better than mere caption boxes. That’s what I really love about Snyder: He never takes the easy way out with his writing. By the end of the issue, you know the players, what they’re like and where they fit in Gotham. I hate to compare to other titles, but when you look at how much ground Snyder covers in this issue, it really makes Justice League #1’s pacing seem sloth-like.

Oh, and in addition to all of that, we get our first mystery too. The story looks to be a little twisted and knowing Snyder’s facility with horror-ish material, I’m really looking forward to the next issue.

There are also all kinds of bones thrown to long-time readers. For example, the Bat-cave has Dick and Damian’s flying Batmobile. So, that’s still there. We also get a really neat group shot of Bruce, Dick Grayson, Tim Drake and Damian Wayne in one picture that illustrates how they’re all slightly different ages, but that they’re all one family and all have “high” level access to the Bat-systems. Of course, the coolest thing is when we learn that Alfred has “highest” level access: As much as Dick/Tim/Damian are family to Bruce, Alfred is his real father-figure and truest partner, so it makes sense that he’d be the most trusted.