Snyder continues to impress.
Scott Snyder's run on Detective Comics has, admittedly, been the first time I've ever felt myself seriously drawn in to this particular bat book. His penchant for writing Batman more as a crime drama than a whizz-bang super-hero comic makes his stories both compelling and grounded in what feels like a chillingly real world, and it shows in what is building to be the ultimate culmination of pieces he's been laying down for the past few months.
The Good: This is the best Batman storyline out there right now.
Jock's art is incredible. I could see it perhaps not working with some storylines, but it's a perfect fit for Snyder's spine tingling story. It's dark, atmospheric, and in some places downright disturbing - such as his interpretation of The Joker, which has to be seen and therefore will not be mentioned in detail in this review. Dave Baron's colors do a wonderful job of evoking a downright horrific feeling in every page, meshing well with Jock's art to create a dreadful spread of chaos and tension.
Snyder's writing is, of course, what facilitates all of this. He knows how to draw you in, and he knows how to make you both uncomfortable and fearful in all the right places. His characterization of the bat-verse is wonderful. Writing a Batman story is easy. I'm pretty sure most of us have done it, even if it's just making up a little fan-fic in your head. Writing Batman, letalone his supporting characters, as interesting and compelling characters you actually care about, that's a real challenge, and Snyder delivers spot on. I go back to the point of this issue's Joker. Joker, like Batman, is not hard to write. In fact, Joker's easy to cheat with, due to his fluctuating personality being a canon plot device, but writing The Joker in such a psychologically frightening way is something else entirely. The Joker here isn't funny. He's scary. He's delusional. He reminds me almost of a child throwing a temper tantrum. This is a man you would not want roaming your streets. The worst part? He's not even the scariest person in the book for once.
Which leads to the James Gordon Jr. storyline. I'm not going to spoil anything, but suffice to say, you're going to want to pick up issue 881.
The Bad: All good things...
I'm struggling to find any huge faults in this issue. Maybe the fact that come September, Scott Snyder will move on to other things. I suppose we'll just have to wait and see.
The Verdict:
Get this book. If you are a Batman fan, you owe it to yourself. Hell, if you're a crime drama fan of any sort, you owe it to yourself. There's really not much more to say on the matter.
