All-Star Batman #10

Writers: Scott Snyder, Rafael Albuquerque, and Rafael Scavone

Artist: Rafael Albuquerque and Sebastian Fiumara

Colourist: Jordie Bellaire and Trish Mulvihill

Publisher: DC Comics

This series has been really finding its own over the past few issues, especially with the last arc, Ends of the Earth. From the looks of things, this arc just might be the best one yet. It expands the mythos in a fun way, isn't as focused on the villains, and seems to be telling a more personal story: one involving Alfred.

Rafael Albuquerque is a fantastic artist, and it's good seeing him in full form in this series. His last work at DC was on Batgirl, and it looked pretty great. His art gives the book a different feeling; the stories Snyder has been telling have been mostly dark affairs with very gritty art, most notably coming from John Romita Jr. and Jock. His art is more expressive and attentive to the face. Bruce and Alfred have normal conversation, which they haven't done so far in this title. The art is more accessible as a result, and Snyder has done a fantastic job working with artists whose art fit the story perfectly.

As for the story Snyder introduces; I was interested. It was a more colourful affair, made evident by the inclusion of some pirate lore and an underground organisation of art collectors. It's fantastic stuff, and I hope Snyder continues to have this kind of fun with the stories he tells in this title. A certain bandaged Bat-villain shows up, and plays quite an important role. He's one of my favourite villains and has been seriously underused lately, and I thank Snyder for including him. As I mentioned, Alfred's perspective plays a big role in the story, which just felt fresh. It isn't something we usually see, and lent a certain air of awesomeness and badassness to Batman when he appeared. It's a surprise to be sure, but a welcome one.

I wish this book didn't have back-ups so the price could go down, but a new back-up story begins here. It's a new arc, which was actually written by Rafael Albuquerque and Rafael Scavone. I was pretty surprised when I saw the credits page. I don't believe Albuquerque has written anything before, and I found the story to be pretty fun. The dialogue was nice and it moved nicely. I don't know how long the arc will run for, so I couldn't say if it has legs or not, but I'm excited to see what the Rafaels do with the story. My theory with this whole back-up thing is that Snyder used it to tell this parallel story, but he's not backed away from it and will use it to let other creators tell Batman stories. He mentioned letting one of his Writer's Workshop students write Duke, which I expect to appear in the back-up. If you're reading this, Scott, then let me know.

Snyder impresses with this fun, fresh Batman story set in Miami. It fits in with Snyder's aspirations for weird stories set within the DC Universe, but does so with a more accessible story and accompanying artwork. The back-up piqued my interest, and I hope the writers can pull it off.