The Eyes of Conspiracy Watch the Children
The Good: This is definitely the best cover for the series thus far. It's really intense and compelling, placing Batman in the skin-crawlingly ominous eyes of the ever-watching Talon. The city in blood underneath him and the way the metal bits on his headpiece blend into the sky are extra touches of brillaince that make this into a masterpiece.
Snyder does another incredible job using an extensively informative narration as a framing device. This one is MUCH more personal to Batman, and actually reflects my own feelings of last issue's conclusion.
After getting into Bruce's perfection last issue, Snyder is starting to show us what the deepest kinks in Batman's armor are. One of the most threatening ones is that he's naturally prone to obsession. Bruce has a problem and he won't admit it. It all began when he was a child, and I know I've seen people in an uproar over the 'changing' of Batman's origin, but those people completely missed the point. Sure, there's a long running conspiracy over the Waynes and The Court of Owls, but the death of Martha and Thomas was a genuine act of chance. But to a freshly born Batman in the wake of 'Bruce Wayne's' 'death,' obsession set in. This was a small child from a rich, gentle, and philanthropic family. In the eyes of a young child his parents were the utmost pillars of perfection. How could they be felled by a simple burgler? It just COULDN'T BE. THERE MUST BE A CONSIRACY. This is how many conspiracy theories get started. But he tells us outright that he found nothing but dust. When Bruce sealed away the notion that the Court of Owls killed his family, he sealed away the notion that they existed as well. To Batman, The Court of Owls represents all too far over the top conspiracy theories, as well as his childish notion that nothing can ever be so simple. Batman's parents death at the hands of simple mugging created Batman in the sense that crime IS random, and can destroy even the biggest pillars of perfection by the most unfortunate of chances. This is why Batman is so obsessed with disproving The Court of Owls. If they DO exist, then he would have to accept the notion that maybe they did kill his parents, and maybe crime isn't so random, and maybe Batman's built his entire being incorrectly.
THIS is how you do a flashback. Everything is glossed in the most amazing sepia tone, with curved edges and white lines. Basically, Capullo took a grainy old film filter over the entire flashback, and it looks so amazing.
The pacing is just as gripping and intense on every page as it has always been.
The Bad: I'm not 100% sure how I feel about the final page. It's dangerously close to putting the Court of Owls into cliche territory.
In Conclusion: 5/5
Scott Snyder. Greg Capullo. Court of Owls. Look at that cover and tell me you're not awed. Now just know that the issue itself is equally impressive. Now go read it.
