Thursday 23 January 2014

Batman #27

I offer my thoughts on Batman #27, written by Scott Snyder with artwork from Greg Capullo, published by DC Comics.




Zero Year has been going on for a while now but the storyline has never showed any signs of losing momentum. The only real problem with this series is that like with Forever Evil, we have to wait a month for each issue and when this issue was delayed an extra week it starts to feel like both events are being dragged out forever, which doesn't help as Zero Year is already the best part of a year long in length anyway. However, if you can put that aside, the story being told within this comic is great, and although this particular issue slows down in pace it still allows for a great exploration of the forming of the friendship between James Gordon and Batman, which is the main talking point of this issue.

The big question of course will be how will Snyder manage to keep this fresh? He's treading old ground that's been explored multiple times before, most recently in the Christopher Nolan movies, but he manages to present it in a way that feels refreshing and awesome to read. Like with a few of the previous issues this one relies on text to provide some heavy information, but it doesn't feel like you're getting info-dump after info-dump. The character development between Batman and Gordon and the building of a friendship really shines here - as you start to see the two characters learning to trust each other. I'm starting to get the feeling that like Wonder Woman, Batman will read better in trade format but despite that this series is too epic not to ignore- it is the flagship Batman book after all and as I don't buy hardbacks I will have to wait extra longer for the series to be released due to DC's schedule, and I can safely say that I just can't wait. I've shown more restraint in Wonder Woman but that's never going to happen with Batman, and it's great to see Snyder and Capullo proving just why I can't wait delivering a great issue after another great issue. It's a week of excellent books like All New Invaders, Hawkeye, Star Wars Legacy and Deadly Class and the quality on offer across the medium is really making it hard to pick a best comic of the week - I've enjoyed every single book I've read so far this week and it's been another great week for comics.

The issue itself explores both of Gordon and Batman's motivations. Up til now we've only seen one side of the antagonistic relationship between Gordon and Batman and that is from Batman's perspective - and it was a nice moment here when we got to see Gordon explain his side of the story through flashbacks. Gordon explains why he's siding with Batman following a rescue and it's something that works - with some stellar artwork provided by Capullo that really enhances this book's overall quality.

If you're thinking that Zero Year has no surprises to offer then you are mistaken because Batman #27 continues to deliver a fresh feel to the series with the wonderful Greg Capullo on art and the amazing colours from FCO Plascencia are as great as usual. However now the only problem is that we have to wait until next month to read more.

VERDICT: 4.5/5

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