Batman #21-27, 29-33 & DC Comics: Zero Year One-Shots (2023 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

(DC Comics Zero Year contains: Detective Comics #25, Batgirl #25, Batwing #25, Batwoman #25, Birds of Prey #25, Catwoman #25, The Flash #25, Green Arrow #25, Green Lantern Corps #25, Nightwing #25, Red Hood and The Outlaws #25 and Action Comics #25.)

When DC Comics rebooted its entire line-up in 2011's New 52 campaign, almost all of the major players seemed to be retooled. That is with the exception of the Batman. For one reason or another, most of the Bat-Family history was the same as before the change which occurred on August 31st. Making drastic changes to Batman, the publisher's most popular character, might have destroyed DC's loyal fan base. Another reason for keeping Batman's history from being completely rewritten as opposed to the newer, grittier version of Superman, was the need to keep some of the established DC characters from looking too different. Regardless, the ultimate decision was all about money.

Batman writers Scott Snyder and James Tynion IV both noticed the need to incorporate a little bit of New 52 backstory into the Batman Family. Not wanting to erase any of the amazing lore crafted about the legend of the Dark Knight, especially Frank Miller's Batman: Year One, the writing duo went even further back with Zero Year! 

DC Comics had already explored this 'zero year' in 2012 in commemoration of the 1-year anniversary of the New 52 in which all existing series were given an issue #0 that delved into the origins of these rebooted characters. In follow-up, Snyder and Tynion crafted an entire storyline based around the 'zero month' concept. 

Batman #21 would see Bruce Wayne returning to Gotham City after years of a self-imposed exile. This occurs 5 years before the beginning of the storylines of the New 52 lineup. Many believe Wayne is dead and Bruce wants to keep it that way. That is until the billionaire discovers that a menacing force known as the Red Hood Gang has infiltrated the Wayne family business and is using Wayne Enterprises technology and funds to organize a criminal vice over the city. 

Bruce Wayne attempts to stop the Red Hood Gang by acting as a standard ski-mask wearing vigilante. But his early attempts don't do much to intimidate crooks. Building upon his childhood phobia of bats, Bruce Wayne creates a high-tech suit resembling a giant chiropteran and begins to strike fear into Gotham's criminal element. 

As Bruce Wayne/Batman fights the Red Hood Gang, another player is working in the shadows. Edward Nygma has positioned himself as a trusted advisor to current Wayne Enterprises CEO, Philip Kane. This gives Nygma not only access to a vast enterprise of advanced technology, but also the ability to manipulate the Red Hood Gang after Batman seemingly kills their leader. 

With Gotham in a power vacuum and a deadly super storm hurricane zeroing in on Gotham, Nygma makes his play. Now touting himself as the Riddler, Nygma detonates scores of bombs, shutting off the metropolitan area's power.  Effectively Gotham is cut off from the rest of the world. 

It is at this point that a dozen New 52 series take a brief pause in their current storylines and revert back to Zero Year. Clark Kent learns that despite having god-like powers, he's nothing compared to an act of God. Rookie Keystone City policeman Barry Allen volunteers to beef up Gotham's depleted police force and learns that all saints are sinners and vice versa. Marine John Stewart assists in the evacuation of citizens that have flocked to the Gotham coliseum. These are all episodes that will define these heroes years later.

Meanwhile, the members of the Bat-Family are also learning important lessons on the eve of Zero Year. Barbara Gordon gets a first hand look at mob mentality and displaced trust when the public shelter she has fled to begins to flood. Dick Grayson learns about bravery and to never trust someone with the last name Falcone. Cassandra Cain gets her first taste of vigilantism while making a chance encounter with a member of the Metropolis police department. But most perplexing of all is the back story of Jason Todd. His story sees him infiltrating the Red Hood Gang and running afoul of an alluring member of the League of Assassins all for the chance at cheap thrills!

After the Zero Year one-shots, the regular storyline commences. It sees Gotham isolated with the Riddler ruling the megalopolis through the use of deadly drones and the only power source in town. Batman comes to grips with his past distrust of Jim Gordon and along with Lucius Fox, seeks to restore power and order to Gotham.

Zero Year was a unique crossover event. To only have to purchase 12 single issues, each comprised of a stand alone story that occurs with such devastation in a major location in the DC Universe was actually a rare thing. For example, if one wanted to read all of the material of 1988-86's Crisis on Infinite Earths, the first major multi-issue crossover event, they'd have to buy the 12 issues of the maxi-series plus an astounding 38 supplemental issues. Compare that to Marvel's 2015 Secret Wars event where fans had to purchase nearly 100 issues in order to complete their wish list. 

Though fans' pockets weren't as assaulted with Zero Year as with other in-house crossovers, the story itself was a bit jarring. There are flashbacks splattered all throughout the series, many of which don't get addressed properly, if not at all. The final issue takes place in 3 simultaneous perspectives; one of which is at least 5 years (or more) in the past, just as Batman seeks to finally wrestle control of Gotham from the Riddler while a team of Air Force jets approach with warheads armed and ready. 

Scott Snyder and James Tynion IV do manage to create a Batman origin story that does not contradict Batman: Year One. The whole idea of the coming super storm and Riddler's role in the crippling of Gotham City were plot devices used in 2022's The Batman. 2012's Batman: Death of The Family and other previous works might have established the Joker as the Dark Knight's most deadliest foe. But, a lot of that is personal vendetta type stuff. Batman: Zero Year establishes the Riddler as Batman's most destructive enemy, willing to sacrifice millions at the cost of saving face in order to prove just who is the smartest man in Gotham City!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Completing this review completes Task #35 (An Entire In-house Crossover Event like Civil War or Final Crisis) of the 2023 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

All-Star Batman Vol. 1: My Own Worst Enemy

A story as fractured as the mind of Two-Face. Scott Snyder and John Romita Jr. team-up for this unlikely pairing of the Dark Knight and the dual persona of Harvey Dent/Two-Face. 

Harvey Dent has a plan to put an end to his evil alter ego once and for all. It involves Batman taking Dent to an unknown location in order to exercise those demons of his. Two-Face has a counter plan to keep from being permanently erased by his good side. And the baddie's plan isn't secret like Harvey's. Instead, Two-Face has made a public decoration offering unknown riches if anyone can free the madman from the custody of the Caped Crusader.

As a result, villains and rogues creep out of the woodwork looking to make their fortune. Throw in the citizens of Gotham, Jim Gordon and even a sacred ally of the Batman and it's a mad mad mad world of trouble for the Dark Knight and Harvey Dent.

I thought the first half of this story was just awful. It had so many jumps in time and nothing revealed was ever truly explained. That was until the last third of the story. Plus, it's just so sad seeing the demise of John Romita Jr's artwork. You can tell the arthritis is getting to him as everything is gigantic. There's no tiny detail work which was indicative of his art in the 80s and 90s. 

One thing I was pleasantly surprised with was the addition of Duke Thomas: The Signal. First seen as a youngster in Zero Year, Duke has evolved from being just the latest in the string of Robins to a Batman sidekick in his own right! I used to think Tim Drake was the quintessential Batman assistant. But Duke Thomas might be taking over that title. He's that good!

There's two sides to this volume. A rough, disjointed opening half. A rushed but adequate closure.  Plus, Duke Thomas is highlighted in a short story that has him taking on Mr. Zsasz while dealing with the well-being of his jokerized parents. 

All-Star Batman offers an interesting twist to the Bruce Wayne/Harvey Dent history. However, I think if it wasn't for Duke Thomas, this book would've been a complete was of time.

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars

Batman Arkham: The Riddler

It only took 2 issues for the Riddler to return after his debut in 1948. Yet, it was almost 20 years before the man born as Edward Nigma would return to perplex Batman and Robin. Just in time for being the first villain to appear on the live-action Batman series from 1966!

This is a fantastic collection of Riddler stories. Many of which I've never read before. A lot of folks think that The Joker is the best Batman villain. And while the Clown Prince of Crime is his most deadliest rival, I think that it's the Riddler who is Batman's most cunning, most cerebral and most infuriating. 

I think that Batman looks at Joker as a side project. Someone to try and cure. I feel that it's Riddler who really gets up in Batman's crawl because the two are just so much alike. Both are detectives. Batman uses his brains to solve the crimes. It's Riddler who uses his intellect to craft those crimes. And for a very brief, but fun time, Riddler was also a real deal detective, playing private investigator for cash and glory.

There's two amazing stories in which Batman and Riddler are forced to team-up. While I thought that ending to both stories was contrived, the build-up was this awesome buddy-cop thing that had some great one-liners. (It's here where you really see E.Nigma rubbing the Dark Knight the wrong way, like a wedgie from Hell.)

I loved this collection of stories that feature art and stories from a fantastic line-up of talent including Bill Finger, Dick Sprang, Gardner Fox, Jim Aparo, Paul Dini and Scott Snyder. Featuring stories from every era of Batman comics, you get a perfect, yet incomplete glimpse into the psyche of one of the greatest Batman foes of all-time.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Dark Nights: Metal- Dark Knights Rising

This Dark Nights collection reprints the seven one-shots devoted the most evil Dark

Knights of the Dark Multiverse. 

This book read like a library of Elseworlds stories. Yes, I know that these origin stories

are canon. But they have that imaginary 'what if' kind of feel to them that I love so

much when reading those Elseworlds classics.

The most surprising element to this volume is the level of violence. Some of your most

favorite superheroes are taken down by an evil version of the Batman in gruesome

fashion. It's almost like Robert Kirkman took a break from The Walking Dead to pencil

these ghoulish adventures. 

While Kirkman didn't have a hand at these amazing tales, a number of DC talents did.

Scott Snyder, Peter J. Tomasi, Joshua Williamson, and James Tynion IV are just a

few of the many, and I do mean many, artists and writers who contributed. They all

did a fantastic job. Almost.

Along with the seven one-shot origin tales, there was also a one-shot that focused

on Detective Chimp and the efforts of a number of scientists on Blackhawk Island

to combat this coming Dark Multiverse crisis. I literally remember zero of what these

guys contributed to Metal. Perhaps it's time to re-read it. I was so lost reading Dark

Nights: Metal because I hadn't read all of the prelude material. But I've just completed

all of that by finishing this volume. So I guess I am doing something that I rarely ever

do and giving something I've already completed a second read.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Dark Days: The Road to Metal

DC Comics and the Previews solicits tried to warn me. In order to fully understand Dark Nights: Metal, you had to have read the Dark Days one-shots The Casting and The Forge. But I didn't listen.

If you are reading Metal, STOP! Even if you are only the last page- just stop! You will miss out of so much detail. Things like why is XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX all of a sudden appearing in Gotham City? And why is the reappearance of  XXXXXXXXXXXXX such a big deal? Plus, you will fully understand why Batman has been preparing for a war against unimaginable evil!

After reading this volume, if one is still in the dark about the Dark Knight's crusade, then you've got several back issues reprinted here that delves ever so much more deeper into the roots leading to Metal. Going all the wa back to 2008 and Grant Morrison's Final Crisis. Yes, that means DC Comics has been planning out the foundations of this epic miniseries for over 10 years- maybe even longer!

A slew of talent worked on this very much required reading. Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, Jim Lee, Andy Kubert and many more! While I love the work these guys have done, I will say that I am looking for some other great DC superstars to be given a chance to steer the ship. And NO- I am not talking about Bendis! I wanna see what Joshua Williamson, Mitch Gerads, Scott Lobdell and Jason Fabok have to offer the world's best superheroes on a much grander scale! 

DC has been getting raked over the coals for some very poor sales decisions that have resulted in cancellations, delays, firings, and controversial restructures. Well, no matter how badly the business side of my favorite comic book publisher has been run lately, I cannot fault DC's dedication to crafting the ultimate comic book universe mosaic. Metal and it's component parts has been fun to read. But let's face it, it's time for the DCU to be mapped out for more than just a select few who seemingly have a singular focus. 

It's time for the next great age of DC. Thankfully, this is the compass to get us there!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Justice League: No Justice

In defeating Barbatos and his Dark Multiverse minions, The Justice League broke the Source Wall. Now whatever the wall was trying to keep out of our universe is invading. First through the wall are four Titans that feed on the energies of Mystery, Wisdom, Wonder and Entropy. The first target of these ancients menaces is Brainiac's home world of Colu. 

Seeking assistance to prevent his world's destruction, Brainiac forms four teams of heroes and villains. To ensure that all will work together, the Superman foe has planted beacons that will make their worlds the next target of the Titans of old. Should these teams fail and Colu is destroyed, Earth designated next on the menu.

When I first read the teaser for this miniseries in the pages of DC Nation #0, I was extremely confused. Why do aliens such as Sinestro, Lobo and Starro even care to save Colu or Earth. Why is Harley Quinn on Team Wisdom? How did the Source Wall get damaged? 

That last one was my fault as I hadn't read Dark Nights: Metal yet. But once I did, that aspect of my confusion was cleared. But I still did not understand why Superman would be on Team Mystery and not Batman. Heck, a lot of things that happened in DC Comics in the last half of 2018 didn't make any sense to me. 

Why is Wonder Woman teaming with Justice League Dark? Why is hypertime dying? And what's with this team of heroes such as Cyborg and Starfire teaming with Darkseid in space? All of these questions are answered thanks to the events of this limited series. There's actually quite a few more surprises, but to expound any further would ruin a bunch of spoilers for fans excited for DC 2019. All I will say is this possible hint: The clock is rushing to midnight.

For a lot of fans, the second act of Metal was the best storyline of 2018 for DC Comics. Yet to me, No Justice is the defining storyline of all 2018 comicdom! While I did feel that a couple of characters contributed absolutely nothing to the storyline, I was in awe of the ubiquitous nature of this book. Plus it was incredibly refreshing to have a CRISIS type story be played out in so few issues and with relatively so few players (for this type of DC tale.)

Featuring an all-star cast of writers and artists including Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, Marcus To, and Francis Manapul. This collection of the Justice League: No Justice storyline was jammed packed to the gills with the very best the Distinguished Competitor has to offer!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Dark Nights: Metal

The DC event of the past 18 months. While most DC fans were clamoring for 'The Button' and the eventual meeting of Justice Leaguers and Watchmen in Doomsday Clock, those in the know hitched their wagon to Metal! 

Man did I pick the wrong storyline. 'The Button' was good but didn't really move the Rebirth Universe forward any. And Doomsday Clock has been a giant dud! If you want to learn of the origins of No Justice and the new age of DC superheroes, this is the title you will want to read!

This volume of the Scott Snyder penned tale contains issues 1-6 of Metal. The various one-shots aren't here unfortunately. But I am sure they will be collected together or have already and I just haven't run across it yet. 

This story pretty much returns the DC Universe to normal and I love it! It explains why there were only 52 universes for so long. Plus it introduces the dark multiverse. 

Most times when DC has a big metaphysical crisis such as Final Crisis or Infinite Crisis, I get really confused on the analytics. I understand what's happening, but I usually have to have a dictionary with me to understand all the $5 words! I didn't have here and that doesn't mean that Scott Snyder did a poor job either!

Metal was really an enjoyable read! The artwork by Greg Capullo was good and he had some very amazing and visually stunning moments. But the price of admission is all due to Snyder. How he ends this story is how I wish the Justice League movie would have ended. Plus, that unimaginable team-up! Holy Cow! You must see to believe. 

Dark Nights: Metal does perplex me in one way- how to rate it. It's one of the best multiverse crisis stories in DC history. But it still doesn't dethrone Crisis on Multiple Earths as the all-time best. I'm going to have to go down the middle on this one folks. It's rare, but I give this one a 9.5.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9.5 out of 10 stars.

Batman, Volume 10: Epilogue (The New 52!)

 
    Scott Snyder closes out his epic run on Batman in this final volume of the New 52! 
 
    As Gotham City rebuilds from Mister Bloom's reign of terror, Bruce Wayne returns to Wayne Manor. Has he also returned to the Bat Cave, as well?

    Featuring a wide array of tales that span Bruce Wayne and the Batman's past, present, and future, this was a fitting end to the New 52! era Dark Knight. 

   Worth Consuming!

   Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Batman, Volume 8: Superheavy (The New 52!)

   In the wake of Endgame, the threat of the Joker is over but Batman has fallen. Without its protector, the citizen's of Gotham City are in peril from the scores of gangs and members of the Dark Knight's Rogue's Gallery that are fighting for their piece of the pie.

      Enter the Powers Corporation, a conglomerate that has the crazy idea to fashion a new Batman. Combining the latest technology and the best of Gotham City Police Department's finest, Powers Corp hopes to create the ultimate Dark Knight. But when the members of the force wash out, the company's CEO has her wackiest idea yet- make Jim Gordon the new Batman!

       When it was revealed a few years back that Commissioner Gordon would be the next Batman, I felt like Gordon did: it was the stupidest idea I've ever heard! But writer Scott Snyder did a fantastic job explaining away how it was possible a 45-year old man, who smokes a pack a week, could get himself in shape to become the ultimate physical specimen, Batman. 

    Short answer: lots of implants, surgery, and intense training.
    Another classic segment of one of the few shining spots in the New 52. Superb writing. Excellent art by Greg Capullo. And tons of action and adventure.

    Worth Consuming

    Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Batman, Volume 7: Endgame (The New 52!)

   This volume collects the epic Batman storyline that changed everything you know about the Dark Knight!

   The Joker has returned to Gotham City and he's completely changed. He's more cunning, more insane, more deadly, and more powerful than ever before. Along with a newly reconstructed face, the Joker also carries a deadly virus in his system that has turned him into a walking biological weapon- along with now bearing seemingly instructive regenerative properties. 

   The Joker's virus has turned the people of Gotham into raving lunatics. With the sickness spreading, the Caped Crusader must call in all of the members of his Batfamily along  with some of Gotham's must dangerous to save the city before the America military carpet bombs the entire burg as a containment measure. But first, Batman must defeat his allies in the Justice League who have been infected with the Clown Prince of Crime's contagion.

   Issue #40 marked the final confrontation between Batman and the Joker. I had read it before as I received it as a gift during Free Comic Book Day weekend from my brother-in-law. I was so thrilled that I couldn't wait for this volume to come out. It was a good decision as I consider it one of the best issues of 2015. 

   But just as I read that issue with a little bit of confusion having not read issues 35-39, I was a little bit confused here when I started this book. During the Death of the Family storyline, the previous Joker appearance in the comics, the Joker severely beat Alfred. As a result, his daughter came to help him recover and fill-in as Batman's right-hand man. 

   Now, in issue #40, Alfred was in the hospital, so I figured that one of the chapters of Endgame (I didn't read yet) was when this mystery daughter came into the picture. Yet, she's almost on page 1 of volume 7 already helping out (and Alfred's recovering from the Joker's assault in Family.) So, where in the heck did she come from? She didn't show up in volume 6 of Batman, which is a collection of random tales, so again I ask, where did she pop up and what did I not read first before Endgame?

    Questions aside, this was a fantastic read that adds mystery to the Joker mystique and ushers in a new phase in the Batman mythos. 

   You don't want to miss out on Endgame!

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

American Vampire, Volume 1

   From the brilliant mind of Scott Snyder (New 52 Batman), trek through the mesas of the Old West all the way to Hollywoodland of the Roaring 20s as outlaw Skinner Sweet is on a mission to destroy the old school European vampires responsible for his transformation into a neck nibbler. 

   Assisting Mr. Snyder is the Master of Horror himself, Stephen King. This is the horror writer's first ever comic book effort and his skill level doesn't waver one bit. 

  It's actually fitting that Snyder chose the novelist to help with the writing duties since Stephen King's 1975 'Salem's Lot' is considered the work that modernized the vampire for the late 20th Century. With that novel, bloodsuckers were no longer viewed as just the Bram Stoker Dracula that spent it's days in the dungeon of Castle Dracul. Vampires were mean, cruel, and eerily able to blend into any situation or setting.

   American Vampire builds on that lore and the modern archetype established by King's masterpiece. Snyder makes this new world bloodsucker literally unstoppable unless it's a moonless night. It actually makes sense to retool the vampire for the superhero age. The Bela Lugosi-type vampires established in the Victorian Era were pretty vulnerable for being the king of the monsters. Mild sunburns are deadly. A misplaced pencil could be lethal. And if you worked at an Italian restaurant, you were probably going to live to see another day from a vampire attack because you reeked of garlic. 

    Series creator Scott Snyder crafted the American Vampire as the perfect vampire to the point it's enough for wrestling fans to chant 'USA! USA!' Stephen King takes Snyder's blueprint and weaves a sweeping origin tale that spans over 50 years of American history. Added to the mix is the deft artistic style of Rafael Albuquerque (Blue Beetle) which blends European gothic with American realism

    Needless to say, by the very last page, I was lamenting that I didn't have volume 2! I'll be rectifying that problem real soon, believe me. But this wasn't a bad investment of only $3 from the year-round book sale shelf at my local library and I wouldn't have been upset if I paid more for this either.

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

The Wake

  Scott Snyder (Batman- New 52) pens a tale that is one part deep sea thriller and one part high seas sci-fi opera. When an unusual underwater sound is picked up by Homeland Security, oceanographer Lee Archer is whisked to an underwater oil mining station off the coast of Alaska that would make some of James Bond's greatest enemies blush. There, she and a team of experts come face to face with a terror from the deep that is as old as the earth herself. It's big, it's bad, and it's mean AND it's calling for mother!

    The story then jumps 200-years into the future in which over 95% of the earth is now covered with water and the seas are governed by pirates, makeshift democracies, and the same underwater terror that Lee Archer meet underneath Alaska's shoreline. Our hero is a young girl name Leeward, who with her pet dolphin, undergoes raids on the merfolk, harvesting their heads for a neurotoxin that's being fabricated into a designer drug of the surviving elite. But Leeward's troubles are just beginning when she intercepts a radio broadcast from a woman asking for rescue from a sunken sub: one Dr. Lee Archer!

    I completely enjoyed this title, but the first act was my favorite. It was like Aliens meet the Abyss with some Peter Benchley thrown in for good measure. The second act was literally Waterworld- only there's not Kevin Costner, nobody drinks their own pee, and it was actually worth reading. There were some elements of Barbarella and Mad Max thrown in as well. But it's the chilling action of the first half that is just a little bit better than the metaphysical tone of act two.

   There's a bit of a mystery behind the radio broadcast from Dr. Archer and while it gets explained some bits of interest do not. For example, there's a massive tower of ice in the middle of the world's largest remaining supply of fresh water. It's not really explained what its purpose is nor why it attracts birds to their frigid doom. Maybe it was just filler or maybe Snyder hopes to one-day return to the Wake universe and explore it further. I just refuse to believe that this tower is just a mere set piece. A frantic ending to this story also make for some serious plot holes but to expound on them would reveal some major spoilers.

  Lastly, let's talk about the art. WOW! Rarely does artwork creep me out (sure I've been saddened on occasion by some tragic scenes but never scared until now), but these mer-creatures are truly frightening. They are some bad dudes that I hope never to swim across on my next trip to the beach. Kudos to Sean Murphy for giving me nightmares.

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Batman, Volume 4: Zero Year- Secret City (The New 52)

Zero Hour: It’s the New 52 equivalent of Year One. Many of the back stories of the characters of the DC Universe changed after Flashpoint. This DC event tries to explain those changes by staying true to the timeless legends we’ve grown up with while trying to be new and trendy for the next generation. Many long time readers hate these reboots. I for one am often in that boat. But, I’ve really liked the New 52’s Batman titles, so I decided to give this a try.

  In this volume, the main course of events occurs 6 years prior to the storylines that began in the very first issue of New 52’s Batman #1. Here, Bruce Wayne’s been declared legally dead, having disappeared 7 years earlier to go on his pilgrimage, training to become a master detective. Now he’s back in Gotham and operating as a vigilante while wearing rubber masks and plain clothes. Upon his return to his home, Wayne finds a that a gang of red hooded thugs have taken over, conscripting the citizens of Gotham into the Red Hood’s army whether they want to join or not.

   

  If you are familiar with the Red Hood’s origin, you’ll know that the Hood is what will become the Joker. Writer Scott Snyder does a fantastic job building from Alan Moore’s the Killing Joke to tie the origins of Batman and the Clown Prince of Crime ever so closer together. Snyder also does a fair job expounding on the manipulative exploits of Edward Nygma, AKA the Riddler, casting him as a rogue financial analyst for the corrupt heads of Wayne Enterprises.

While we see Bruce Wayne taking steps to becoming Batman, we also see a lot of rough edges. For example, Wayne flips off the Red Hood, definitely something the ice cold Dark Knight wouldn’t have stooped too. In another scene during Wayne’s first adventure as the Bat, a foe says that his will “gore him like a bull” to which the Caped Crusader jumps on top of the criminal and proceeds to yell out “Yee-ha!” It’s a funny moment but not characteristically Batman.

There’s still more of the Zero Hour story left to tell. I’m expecting to find it in the next volume of this title. But I would not be surprised to find it played out in the pages of Detective Comics or Batman: The Dark Knight. I’ll have to research more as to where to find the next chapter…

(Goes to Amazon)

(Returns) Okay got my answer. The next chapter to the Batman: Zero Year story is already out in Batman, Volume 5: Dark City. I guess somebody checked it out at the library. So, I may not have to wait very long.

Overall, this first volume was very good. The Red Hood was done superbly as was Riddler. It’s the rough edges on Bruce Wayne/ Batman that’s a little hard to adapt to. But, in previous volumes, Batman is his usual bad-ass self. So, I am sure that it’s going to take some spit and polish to get Bruce Wayne into proper crime-fighting shape.

Worth Consuming.

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Batman Vol. 1: The Court of Owls (The New 52)

My first foray into the New 52! and I love it! Batman was one of the few characters to not see a major overhaul during the reboot and it was a smart move. The Dark Knight is such a hot DC property that to mess with the formula now would be a big fiscal blunder.

Here, the Batman family are threatened by the Court of Owls, a Gotham City Illuminati. With tons of twists and turns, you question both Batman’s sanity and the alliegance of some of his most trusted allies AND dangerous enemies! I was a little confused at first. I expected Batman to run into his Earth 2 criminal alter-ego, Owlman and for some reason, I thought Knight & Squire were members of the Court of Owls.

The art was spectacular. I’ve never seen the Joker look more demented. I love the warm faces of the Waynes and their gritty masks as the Batman family. Writer Scott Snyder and artist Greg Capullo are the next Generation Batman’s team of Morrison and Quietly and I hope they are here to stay.

Bring on volume 2. 

Worth Consuming.

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.