Batman#3
Story By: Scott Snyder
Art By: Greg Capullo
Review Score: 9.5 / 10
Scott Snyder continues to show that he’s not done adding layers to both Gotham City and Bruce Wayne’s troubled family tree. It’s as if he’s been plotting Batman stories since he was five years old . Snyder takes us to Gotham City circa 1922 where we are introduced to Alan Wayne who has become delirious and is muttering about Owl’s and how they are nesting in his home. Unfortunately for Alan his crazed state causes him to misstep an open man-hole cover and fall to his death.
Snyder has an amazing talent of using history and bits of dialogue to tie into his story beats happening in the present. Batman has decided that the only way The Owl from last issue could have infiltrated his building was through the train tunnel lines . Which leads to a brush with the Whisper Gang . Snyder spends most of the fight explaining why the Whisper Gang are a very serious threat to Batman. Mean while Capullo’s pencils continue to prove that he has an amazing grasp on what makes Batman so imposing . The fight is kinetic and fast paced . Capullo draws Batman like a force of nature . He fights with reckless abandon , and Snyder’s always coming up with creative toys for Batman to use. Each issue thus far has had a holy s#!t moment , this issues moment involves a passing train and a well placed magnet. I don’t want to spoil it for you but I was smiling from ear to ear .
Bruce realizes that the tunnel’s are a dead-end in his investigation and heads back to the Bat Cave. In the cave Alfred informs Bruce of his Ancestor Alan and his obsession with Owl’s in his last years. Snyder tells us that Alan was a superstitious man , in fact he was one of the first men to decide to cut the 13th floor from each building he built. However being the superstitious man that he was he made sure to leave one small floor in its place in each building. This bit of information along with Batman telling us the readers about the territorial habits of Owl’s makes for one hell of a twist ending to this issue. It appears that the Court of Owls have set up shop in the vacant 13th floor of every Building built or funded by Alan Wayne since the early 1920’s
You get a sense that Batman is in over his head , and Capullo draws the last scenes of the book with great attention to detail. Seeing Bruce slowly realize that he’s in over his head is a great way to end this issue . Snyder and Capullo continue to tell a very entertaining and satisfying story. Whats more incredible is that the two compliment each other extremely well. This book is fun , creative and is worth every penny of its $2.99 selling price. Highly Recommended!
Mike DeVivo
Follow me on twitter @pandasandrobots
