10 Reasons Why New 52 Batman Was The Best Ever

3. Scott Snyder's Writing

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DC Comics

How wonderful that a writer with such depth of feeling, with respect and rebelliousness in equal measure, should find the world of Batman in his hands. Call Scott Snyder wordy, but at least when you shell out for an issue you get your money’s worth. Besides that, he absolutely avoids the cardinal sin of comic writers— allowing one’s words to be made redundant by the art. His scripts add meaning to the art, and vice versa.

His tendency to end arcs with pages-long concluding speeches may be divisive. I find them satisfying in the way hearing a detective explain his conclusion is satisfying: the mystery plot you’ve spent all this time reading is imbued with significance and clarity. He’s also good at letting images speak for themselves, as at the end of “Dark City,” with a hopelessly defeated Batman intercut with the child Bruce Wayne screaming “HELP!” up at the reader.

He has a great sense for voices— Bruce Wayne’s inner monologues ring true, Gordon is self-deprecating, Alfred is emotional and florid. Interestingly, the closest we get to Snyder’s own voice seems to be through The Joker. Notice how gleefully Joker explains the meaning behind his outrageous plots, and compare that to the enthusiasm with which Snyder explains the thinking behind his stories. 

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Nathan Hastings hasn't written a bio just yet, but if they had... it would appear here.