(w) Scott Snyder
(p) Greg Capullo
And here I thought "The Court of Owls" was a big story. Silly me. "Death of the Family" gets expanded big time this week in Batman #14 (and in Batgirl #14). Scott Snyder reveals, with this issue, how well he knows both Batman and the Joker. Obviously, the Joker's absence from the 'New 52's first year was purposeful, but Snyder isn't letting the cat out of the bag all at once. But unlike the Clown Prince of Crime of the past, "Death of the Family" feels like it's going to be chaos with a meaning.
Joker is a villain who has always been unpredictable. So what's the best way to make a terminally unpredictable character even more unhinged? Make him do something Batman can see coming. Last month, Harley Quinn orchestrated a scenario to drown Batman in the same chemicals that turned the Joker into a psychopath. Bruce picks up on the hint and realizes that Joker is recreating their old encounters. Fans and critics alike have been debating for years whether Batman's crusade is effective, if he's actually making a difference in Gotham City, or simply abetting more crime. This is what speaks to Snyder's ability with the Dark Knight -- drudging up the past is the best way to get under Batman's skin, and Joker knows it.
Batman #14 is a stellar issue from beginning to end. Never before has Bruce's 'extended family' been such a focal point of a Batman story to such a degree. Obviously, Alfred Pennyworth was taken from Wayne Manor at the end of Batman #13, and Jim Gordon gets hit his month with a blood-thinning poison. Even without the big reveal at the end, I would highly recommend this issue. The final pages, though, change everything for Batman and the Joker. Scott Snyder is leading the march on a new era for Batman and his allies, and it's going to be a frightening, sadistic, horrifying, absolutely entertaining road.
GRADE
9/10
(W) Scott Snyder
(P) Greg Capullo
(I) Jonathan Glapion
"What?! You've heard this one, too?"
Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo have brought back the Joker. I have a feeling this plan to keep Batman's archnemesis out of sight and out of mind for a full year was completely deliberate. There have been interviews where Snyder explains how he wanted to do the "Court of Owls" first, but the opening pages of Batman #13 might suggest differently. Not once in the entire "Court of Owls" arc was I as terrified as I was during this issue. Somehow, Snyder has tapped into the most frightening, pathological version of the Joker ever seen, and it's comic book dynamite.
The opening scene revolved around the Joker returning to Gotham City to retrieve his face from the GCPD. If you remember last year, in Detective Comics #1, Joker allowed his face to be cut off by the Dollmaker, a symbolic gesture towards Gotham and it's citizens more than anything, a sign that he was gone but not gone. It's when the lights go out and a mysterious figure stands in the doorframe that Jim Gordon understands what is happening, and he does everything he can to stop the Joker from going on a rampage through the police department, snapping necks as he goes. The entire scene is absolutely chilling. It's hard to write blackout dialogue - the use of darkness makes it hard to discern who is speaking to whom. But the lettering throughout this scene is what makes it so damn scary. The Joker's word balloons are scratchy, jagged, and nearly broken, much like the man himself. It not only makes it easier to read, but it adds that extra layer of creepiness.
The rest of the issue is mostly dedicated to Batman searching for the Clown Prince of Comedy. First, Bruce is forced to field a volley of communications from Nightwing, Red Robin, and Batgirl concerning Joker's return. Batgirl's the only one Bruce is reluctant to contact, but soon gets chewed out by Barbara herself when she discovers her father was attacked at his job. During the investigation, Joker takes over TV broadcasts and forces an innocent civilian to proclaim the Joker's return before he's shot in the temple. Snyder is amazing at writing horrific melodrama, and this might just be some of the best work he's ever done.
I usually don't discuss artwork too much because visual art is so often in the eye of the beholder. There are, of course, times when it's appropriate to discuss the panels and pencilling because they have some important connection to the story in general. In Batman #13, Greg Capullo works overtime to make sure Snyder's gritty scripts are coming across correctly. Without Capullo's intricacies, the scene with Joker in the GCPD wouldn't have been nearly as haunting, and his Joker re-design is simply the most horrifying he's ever looked. Again, without this level of visual quality, Snyder's words wouldn't have nearly as much impact.
One of the best things about Batman #13 is how much Snyder is able to stuff into one issue without coming across as detail-obsessed (William Faulkner, anyone?) The murder of a man on live television and the claim that Mayor Hady would be dead at midnight all connects back to the Joker's first appearance (according to Batman) and must have some importance in the present. Then there's the Harley sequence! Yes, Harley Quinn adorns the original Red Hood outfit - worn by Joker before he was Joker - to confront Batman, hoping to catch him off-guard and get him away from his cave. That's all I want to give away because the final pages are just so damn amazing.
GRADE
9/10
