Comic Review: BATMAN #1

By Jamie Slough / September 21, 2011

Book: Batman #1 Written By: Scott Snyder Art By: Greg Capullo Publisher: DC Comics Price: $2.99 Pages: 32 In Comics Stores Now! With the recent conclusion to his run on Detective Comics and the superb miniseries Gates Of Gotham (which set the groundwork for a grander picture in future Batman stories), fan€™s have been desperate to see what Writer Scott Snyder has planned next for The Dark Knight. The time has come for Snyder to take full control of Batman in his new #1. So far Snyder has dipped into the history of Gotham, who actually built the city, the families who were truly in power and how they controlled the soul living on the island, all through the eyes of former Robin and temporary Batman Dick Grayson. This time Bruce is back in Gotham and it's his turn to see what Gotham truly "is". Snyder works at his best when he is showing off the true underbelly of Gotham and what it does to people. The next clear step is to see what happens when Gotham itself turns a stone eye towards Batman and tries to flick him away. This book works extremely well for hardcore readers and first timers to Batman who may have only ever seen The Dark Knight. Snyder quickly and subtly establishes all key players and even has time to give newly established villains like Professor Pyg and James Gordon JR a quick spotlight. There is so much established and set up over these 24 Pages of story, my excitement for what is to come next is almost at bursting point, especially with the cliffhanger that is sitting on my lap. This book handled the dual identities of Batman & Bruce Wayne very well. Transitions between Bruce being the cities forward thinking entrepreneur and Batman being the worlds greatest detective clicked seamless together and flowed more smoothly than other recent attempts at Dual Identity characters in the new 52 (such as Grant Morrisons Action Comics #1 where the transitions between Clark and Superman felt clunky at times). While reading I felt the nostalgia of watching Batman The Animated Series as a child, a strong detective and gothic vibe was struck throughout and was well balanced by the somewhat cartoony style of Greg Capullo. Capullo has toned down his art style slightly after his recent run on Image Comics Haunt, bringing a cleaner and more cartoony feel to his art. Some people may be turned off by the term cartoony but they really shouldn't, the style keeps the books tone in check and contrasts exceedingly well with Snyder's very imaginative approaches to violence and gore throughout. Inker Jonathan Galpoin and Colourist Fco Plascenscia do a great job bringing Capullo's art to life and add a high level of detail to his work. There are real elements of Frank Miller and Jim Lee's Batman in this book which help bring very iconic feel to the story. This is without a doubt one of Capullos best books in years. In last weeks review of Batman & Robin #1 I said it was "without a doubt one of the best from the New 52 so far". I'm proud to say I think we may have a new champion on our hands. Simply a flawless book.

rating: 5