One Thursday morning my sister and I sat down for a random conversation. We spoke about our lives and what we have been up to. In the midst of our conversation, I told her me and my girlfriend were going to the movies that night and that I was glad I was off from work the next day. We then continued to talk about movies and both came to a conclusion that all movies based on books, are usually better in their written form.

That night, my girlfriend and I went to see the midnight premier of Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight Rises”. I loved the previous two Batman movies from Mr. Nolan and was super excited. After watching the movie I was in awe. I loved the movie and thought it was put together brilliantly. The characters were awesome. Bane was a real amazing villain. Not the corny Bane we saw in the movie “Batman & Robin” with George Clooney. This guy was amazing. My favorite part of the whole series was the fact that they were believable. They had a realistic aspect to them.

Than night (or morning) when I was in bed thinking about how awesome the movie was, I remember the conversation my sister and I had that morning. Right then and there in my bed, it hit me. If movies based on books are better in written form, then comic books must be amazing! I loved Christopher Nolan’s Batman Trilogy. I loved “The Avengers” movie and all the movies that lead up to it. Therefore, I need to check out comic books and put our theory to the test.

The next day I did some research and found my local comic book store. When I arrived, I was so overwhelmed by how many comics actually existed. I had no idea what I was looking for; but when looking at the DC Comics section, I noticed some Batman comics. I decided that if I was going to start reading a story, I wanted to start from the beginning. I also didn’t want to spend too much money because I was not sure if I was going to enjoy these comic books. That day, I left Wade’s Comic Book Madness with the first three issues of Batman.

After reading the first three issues I was very impressed. The “Court of Owls” story arc had me extremely anxious to continue reading. I returned to Wade’s two days later and purchased the rest of the story. I was missing only one book, #4. I needed to continue reading but I was missing an issue in between the stories. I couldn’t find the book anywhere except online and did not want to pay an inflated price. I also didn’t want to wait for it to come in the mail probably a week or two later. Instead I skipped #4 and continued reading. I must say, what an amazing story “The Court of Owls” has been. The detailed art work and intense writing astonished me. I was so impressed by these books; I have since become a comic book freak. I have continued reading the Batman series along with “Red Hood and The Outlaws”, “Nightwing”, and “Batman & Robin”. I love how although these stories are written by different individuals, that all have connections. The all work together to create a DC Universe. It really amazes me and I cannot believe that I have waited to get into comics this long. Although I have since read the #4 Batman issue, I have not been able to get a copy for myself. Disappointing… I know…

Victor Torres Jr.