The new DC Comics reboot is organized around a handful of groupings or families, or as they call it, "world building." There are, for example, four books in the Green Lantern family (plus a Green Lantern of some kind is connected to a few additional titles), and Superman is another connection point to everything from the Justice League to Superboy. But the world that reaches the furthest in the DCU is the collection of titles surrounding arguably its most popular character (Super-who?), Batman. Batman himself is the focus of three books, "Batman," "Detective Comics" and "Batman and Robin." And then if you follow the Batman family, you get "Batwoman," "Batgirl," "Nightwing," "Catwoman," "Birds of Prey," "Red Hood and the Outlaws," and, technically, you could extent this to include "Teen Titans." Add to that some new DC ideas: "Batwing" (a Batman for Africa), "Batman Inc.," and "All-Star Western," and you've got over a dozen titles plugged in to the caped crusader, and that's not even mentioning "Justice League" and "Justice League International," which also feature Batman.
Needless to say, I wasn't about to lay all of my money down just to keep up with Batman. I've always been a huge Batman fan - ever since I was a little boy - but Batman became a little cliche to me because everyone started to like him so much. So after the first few Tim Burton films, I sort of ditched him a little in favor of my Green Lantern books until Christopher Nolan made him so important again. And I'm telling you, I used to read Batman NOVELS (like with no pictures) when I was in high school.
My decisions as to which titles to try out with the New 52 in the Batman world have been hit-or-miss, as I'm told that two books I decided not to follow are among the best in the whole 52; everyone in the comic book store says that "Batwoman" is the most beautifully-drawn book of them all, and whenever I ask people for their three favorite titles, "All-Star Western" makes every list. I might have to go back and catch up on those two.
In the meantime, I thought I'd launch my study of the Batman reboots with the flagship title, "Batman" itself. And before I summarize the first ten issues, I will tell you right now that of what I've read so far of the New 52, this is easily the best thing out there. THE BEST. (Sorry, Hal Jordan and Geoff Johns.) In fact, the story they've got going here is so good that I'm drooling to see which director can take over after Nolan to give us a new trilogy. Just when you think there's nowhere else for Batman to go, writer Scott Snyder takes the existing mythology and -without changing it or forgetting it - fills in every crack with stunning new details. That infamous night when Bruce Wayne's parents were killed, launching him on his quest to protect Gotham City? There's more to that story. Alfred? Wait until you hear about his father. And Dick Grayson? He was supposed to be one of the bad guys until Bruce screwed that up. All of this and more have been packed in to just a small handful of issues, making "Batman" a must-read title.
The what-the-hell? stunners start flying at you right away with the first issue, in which Batman appears to be fighting alongside the Joker, and the issue ends with the revelation that the person trying to kill Batman is Dick Grayson. Nothing is, of course, what it seems, and you should read #1 yourself to find out what was really going on. Two things that are established right away that have me captivated are Snyder's interior monologue writing and Greg Capullo's brilliant art, which pays reverent tribute to the classic images of the Batman world but gives them sharp new angles.
"Batman" #1 also clarifies the revolving door of Robins that mucked up the DC universe prior to the reboot, but instead of eliminating any of them, all of them remain. In one frame of the issue, Bruce is seen with the original Robin, Dick Grayson, who we know is now Nightwing, Tim Drake, who then became Robin and is now Red Robin of the Teen Titans, and Bruce's own son, Damian, the current Batman. Each of these guys, of course, has his own, separate book.
In #1, Bruce Wayne announces plans to revitalize Gotham City by renovating and reconstructing everything from abandoned buildings to public transportation, and is introduced to Lincoln March, a charismatic candidate for Mayor of Gotham.
Right away in issue #2, Bruce is introduced to a new foe so fantastic that none of the other famous Batman villains is mentioned again through issue #10. Again, via fantastic plot structure, we first see Bruce being thrown through a window of Wayne Tower with small knives penetrating his pressure points, and then go back 24 hours to find out how that happened. The attack is courtesy of the Court of Owls, an underground crime syndicate deeply embedded in Gotham's history that has been waiting to come out into the open to take control of the city. And the juicy subplots that continue to unfold demonstrate just how far-reaching the Court of Owls is, and how many people close to Bruce have connections to it. Add to this a level of brilliant symbolism courtesy of the relationship that owls have to bats in the animal kingdom, and I'm hooked!
Bruce begins to zero in on The Talon, a name he knows from an old folk song who turns out to be a primary assassin for the Court of Owls. He traces leads to find an "owl's nest" in one of his own buildings, and then shockingly connects the Court to his great, great-grandfather, Alan Wayne, who died in a sewer. Bruce believes that those behind this murder were also behind his parents', and before long finds himself trapped in one of the Court's locations, where he's told he'll become their next kill. For a brief moment, he believes that he sees his parents among the Court, possibly still alive. Issue #6, at the halfway point of the story so far, centers completely on Batman's near-death experience with The Talon in the Court and his escape.
Bruce transports the body of The Talon to the bat cave for examination but learns that members of the Court of Owls have a special tooth implanted containing a conductive element that bonds with their cells to provide for regeneration. He explains this to Nightwing and then drops one of the biggest bombshells of the title so far, that The Talon is William Cobb, Grayson's great-grandfather. Offended, Grayson engages Bruce in a fistfight, and when Bruce knocks Dick to the floor, an "owl tooth" falls out of Dick's mouth. Bruce tells Dick that William was meant to pull Dick away from the circus and train him to be the Court's next great assassin, but Bruce took him in before Cobb had the chance, thus deepening the history between the two men and their families.
In issue #8, Wayne Manor comes under attack at the hands of the Court of Owls. The Talon has regenerated, and a weakened, still-healing Bruce must fight him off. Alfred is attacked, and once to safety discovers a list of the Court's targets, which includes most of Gotham's public officials, some of whom are already being executed as Alfred makes this discovery. Commissioner Gordon puts out the bat signal to assist the now-under-attack city, and is worried that Batman is not responding, though as we head into issue #9, the entire team of Batman support players is headed in to assist.
Issue #8 also begins to devote a few pages toward a backstory focusing on Alfred's father, Jarvis Pennyworth, and his relationship with Bruce's parents. Told in a letter written to Alfred, Jarvis reveals his knowledge of the Court and how Martha Wayne fought to have a school built for children with special needs because Bruce had a brother who apparently died of such complications. And I don't want to give away the biggest shock of all so far, which links this backstory to not only Bruce but to Gotham mayoral candidate Lincoln March and the Court of Owls itself.
So I've already said too much, but the good news is that I saved some of the juicy details, and there's also some incredible artwork to experience in "Batman," so don't be satisfied with my feeble attempt at summary. The Court of Owls storylines is one of the most exciting things I think has ever happened to Batman, and I can't wait to know what happens next. It is, if you ask me, non-negotiable reading for anyone who seeks to experience the New 52. I should also mention that the "Night of the Owls" story arches over into "Nightwing" and a few other titles, and you should know that there is also a "Batman Annual #1" issue that sets up the history of Mr. Freeze. Will he become the first of the classic Batman villains to get worked into this new Batman reboot? I'm eager to find out. This, as I said before, is from what I've read so far the most exciting, intense, and artistically stunning title in the DC New 52!
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