Batman #40
Writer: Scott Snyder
Penciller: Greg Capullo
Inker: Danny Miki
Colorist: FCO Plascencia
Throughout Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo's action blockbuster/horror run on Batman one constant idea has been that Bruce Wayne doesn't fully understand his city or his villains. He knows them well enough to be a great Batman, but there's just something that is missing that constantly causes him to struggle eternally against the tide. If he did fully understand them, and was as well prepared as everyone likes to make him seem, then would he ever really have a problem cleaning Gotham's streets? Endgame could have been the end to a near perfect run on Batman. All of Batman's trials and tribulations with the city, his family, his villains, it all culminates in the final issue. It's an issue about love, hate, and acceptance of fate. About excepting the absurdity of a situation and allowing it to exist without skepticism. This is an issue (an arc, really) laden with ideas and themes that is too difficult to tackle in a spoiler-free review. So I'll be doing a follow-up essay on the entire arc that will be detailed and full of fun spoilers!
This issue isn't only a triumph from a written perspective (this issue has some of the best Joker lines I've ever read). From an artistic standpoint, Capullo, Miki, and Plascencia are a monster of an art team providing us with the most beautiful Batman book of their entire run. Colors are full of a subdued vibrancy that draws from Zero Year, but meshes with the grittiness of Death of the Family and Court of Owls. The inks are tight, providing a solid titanium frame to Capullo's heavy hitting pencil work. You can feel damage being caused and the insanity of it all because of their work. It's evocative, and action packed, like Interstellar was while being filmed by indie cinematographer Hoyte Van Hoytema. It's a combination of a higher aesthetic and the low blow punch to the gut. It's beautiful and dirty.
I can't recommend this comic enough. This team has defined a Batman that will be remembered for a long time. While it might be the end of one story, it's opening up so many options for the future of Gotham.
Penciller: Greg Capullo
Inker: Danny Miki
Colorist: FCO Plascencia
Throughout Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo's action blockbuster/horror run on Batman one constant idea has been that Bruce Wayne doesn't fully understand his city or his villains. He knows them well enough to be a great Batman, but there's just something that is missing that constantly causes him to struggle eternally against the tide. If he did fully understand them, and was as well prepared as everyone likes to make him seem, then would he ever really have a problem cleaning Gotham's streets? Endgame could have been the end to a near perfect run on Batman. All of Batman's trials and tribulations with the city, his family, his villains, it all culminates in the final issue. It's an issue about love, hate, and acceptance of fate. About excepting the absurdity of a situation and allowing it to exist without skepticism. This is an issue (an arc, really) laden with ideas and themes that is too difficult to tackle in a spoiler-free review. So I'll be doing a follow-up essay on the entire arc that will be detailed and full of fun spoilers!
This issue isn't only a triumph from a written perspective (this issue has some of the best Joker lines I've ever read). From an artistic standpoint, Capullo, Miki, and Plascencia are a monster of an art team providing us with the most beautiful Batman book of their entire run. Colors are full of a subdued vibrancy that draws from Zero Year, but meshes with the grittiness of Death of the Family and Court of Owls. The inks are tight, providing a solid titanium frame to Capullo's heavy hitting pencil work. You can feel damage being caused and the insanity of it all because of their work. It's evocative, and action packed, like Interstellar was while being filmed by indie cinematographer Hoyte Van Hoytema. It's a combination of a higher aesthetic and the low blow punch to the gut. It's beautiful and dirty.
I can't recommend this comic enough. This team has defined a Batman that will be remembered for a long time. While it might be the end of one story, it's opening up so many options for the future of Gotham.
A Look Inside
