A bat-tastic beginning
Spoiler free
This issue was really good. Let's hope Scott Snyder won't do like his other story arcs where he gives us a great beginning but an unsatisfying ending (like Court of Owls, but that's just my opinion).
The good:
There was so much good in this issue that I don't know where to begin. Let's start with the cover. At first, I thought the cover was not very original until I saw it with my own eyes. It's an embossed card stock cover. It's satisfying to hold it in the hands. It feels like a small graphic novel.
Greg Capullo's art was very beautiful, especially on the first four pages where we see an older Gotham and... (I'm not going to spoil who, you'll have to read it yourself) for the first time. I liked the masks of those thugs at the beginning, they were cool.
I love how Scott Snyder set up so many mysteries in only 22 pages. It makes you want to read the rest of the story. This was my favorite aspect of the book. Sadly, I cannot say much more without spoiling.
The Red Hood is a very good bad guy, he's evil, his identity is secret (even if we might have a good idea of who is under that helmet), he's very smart, and wants to take control of the city. What else could we ask for? I can't wait to see Batman take him down.
Beware spoiler. If you do not wish to know details from the book, go directly to the backup.
I really liked Batman's Zero Year costume design.
The Backup:
There was also a very cool backup co-plotted by James Tynion IV containing Rafael Albuquerque's art. The colors were beautiful. It was an original story of a 19-year-old Bruce. It is something I've never seen done before.
The bad:
There wasn't that much bad in this issue.
Beware there will be spoilers. If you do not wish to know what happens in this issue, go directly to the verdict.
Bruce saves Red Hood's hostages from a van by throwing them in the water. There's only one problem with this plan: he has to count on those people being able to swim with their hands tied.
The verdict:
It's a really good beginning to the Zero Year arc. Any Batman fan or somebody who wants to start reading Batman should pick this up.
I give it a perfect score: 5 on 5.
