BATMAN #0
by Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo, James Tynion, and Andy Clarke
Uh, yeah. For the first time ever, I think that Scott Snyder has disappointed me.
So, the setup to this issue doesn't sound too bad. It's one of the first few nights of Bruce's crime fighting career. Then he tests out a few gadgets. This isn't really the story you get with this issue. The issue starts with a pretty harrowing robbery sequence, reminiscent of the opening of Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight". Sadly, it's all downhill from there. After that, Bruce meets Commissioner Gordon on a rooftop, testing out a Batarang, and they have a particularly uninteresting conversation. That scene is then followed by A CLIFFHANGER, when all of the #0 issues are supposed to be standalone stories. This entire issue felt like a waste of space. It was all just to build hype to the upcoming "Death of the Family" arc, and it didn't even do a good job of it. Snyder still manages to nail the voices of the character right, and even gives the Red Hood the dialogue that is just a few steps away from becoming the Joker's. But that's the only good thing about it.
However, I can't solely blame Snyder for everything. Greg Capullo's art doesn't seem to be as detailed or good looking as usual. His expressions look rushed, and his facial expressions have a slightly rougher look to them. I prefer Capullo's more cartoony style to this sketchy/hurried one.
Thankfully, the backup of the issue, written by James Tynion with art by Andy Clarke is better than the main story. Tynion is able to tell a great story about the night the Bat Signal first lit up, and how it affected the future Robins (and Batgirl) in 4 short vignettes. Tim's and Jason's stories stand out among the pack. The 4 different shorts show how brutal and satisfying crimefighting in Gotham can be. Even Dick's scene is a nod to the original Nightwing costume. It even foreshadows his origin in a quote that a Nightwing fan will recognize ("We'll be performing for Bruce Wayne himself on Saturday! Isn't that cool?"). Somehow, even Andy Clarke (who drew the last 10 pages of Batman #12 last month) is able to stay up to par with his usual detailed work. His hair-thin lines of shadowing, and the high amount of detail are all present here, unlike Capullo's work, which does not look as good as usual.
So, Batman #0 is not worth your time or money, unless you want to fork over $3.99 for a good 10 pages. Plus, I'm going to try adding the BACKUP story as its own separate rating category for this issue's verdict.
STORY: 2/5
ART: 2/5
BACKUP: 4/5
VERDICT: 3/5
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