Pick of the Week
What did the
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Pulls
Backup story by Scott Snyder & James Tynion IV
Art by Greg Capullo & Jonathan Glapion
Backup art by Rafael Albuquerque
Colors by FCO Plascencia
Backup colors by Dave McCaig
Letters by Richard Starkings, & Jimmy Betancourt
Backup letters by Dezi Sienty
Cover by Greg Capullo, FCO Plascencia, & Rafael Albuquerque
Size: 40 pages
Price: 3.99
I think it might be time to rename “The Captain America Problem.”
For those unfamiliar, this was the term we coined on the Pick of the Week show many years ago to describe the difficulty in talking about a book that was great month in and month out. (This was back when Captain America was one of the best books out there. Oh, those were the days.) If every month a book is head and shoulders above most, if not all, of the other comic books out there, it becomes a challenge for the reviewer to find something new to talk about and praise. You usually have to wait for an inciting incident within the plot to hook onto. Believe it or not, I can’t just write “This was great again” and call it a day. From the book’s point of view, it’s a good problem to have, but it’s a problem nonetheless. Wonderful titles like Scalped and Chew perennially suffer from “The Captain America Problem,” but there perhaps isn’t a book right now that is afflicted more so than Batman, which is currently the best superhero comic book being made today.
We’ve known about the thrust of the story that writer Scott Snyder has been planning for a long time now. He wanted to take the one thing that Batman feels most confident about — Gotham City and his mastery of it — and upend it. He wanted to show that perhaps Batman isn’t quite as in control as he thinks he is. That’s what you do with good compelling writing: you find your protagonist’s greatest area of strength and you turn it into a weakness. Snyder introduced us to The Court of Owls, a shadowy and powerful organization that has secretly been running Gotham City, seemingly from its very beginnings. They’ve had enough of Batman’s meddling and for the past 9 issues they’ve been trying to take him out of the picture.
Batman #10 reveals a good many things, not the least of which is that this entire time that we’ve been watching the Court of Owls try to destroy Batman, there was someone working from within the Court to manipulate, and ultimately destroy, them for his own purposes.
That man? Mayoral candidate Lincoln March. Or is he Thomas Wayne Jr.?
The big twist in this penultimate issue in the Court of Owls storyline is that Lincoln March — the man who we met in Batman #1 as he was running for mayor of Gotham City, who looked so much like Bruce Wayne that people complained and blamed artist Greg Capullo, and who was thought to be murdered by a Talon in Batman #9 — is not only alive, and has not only killed most of the Court of Owls in Gotham City, but is also claiming to be Bruce Wayne’s long lost young brother Thomas Wayne Jr.!
Dun dun duuuuuuun!
This is the point in the story where I became giddy with delight because I love it when a high profile creative team on a high profile book makes a big, bold move that is sure to be polarizing. It takes guts to pull something like this with a character of Batman’s stature.
What did Scott Snyder and team pull here, exactly?
Thomas Wayne Jr. did exist at one point in the comic books. It was revealed in the pages of World’s Finest #223 (1974) that Thomas and Martha Wayne had a second son, Thomas Jr., and that he went insane and was committed to a mental hospital. (Credit iFanbase member Mike Graham for digging up this info way back in 2008 as a way to explain the character of Dr. Hurt in Grant Morrison’s “Batman R.I.P.” storyline.) Thomas Wayne Jr. popped up again in JLA: Earth 2 (2000), the excellent original graphic novel by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely. There he was a member of the evil Crime Syndicate of America going by the name of Owlman.
Ah ha!
Right?
What Snyder has pulled here is he has taken the old Bronze Age story about the secret, insane Thomas Wayne Jr. and combined it with the version of Thomas Wayne Jr. from JLA: Earth 2 to give us this insane person claiming to be the long lost Thomas Wayne Jr. who, by the end of Batman #10, has donned an armored owl costume to take on Batman mano-a-mano.
FAN-tastic.
Batman’s strength comes from his certainty. He’s certain that he is the smartest and most capable person in any given situation. He is certain that he will persevere, no matter what the stakes or how strong the adversary. He is certain in his own abilities. This Court of Owls storyline has taken many of Batman’s certainties and thrown them out the window. He wasn’t in charge of Gotham City? The Court of Owls was? He’s not the sole Wayne family heir? This guy is claiming to be his crazy younger brother? At this point in time, everything that Batman was once so certain of can now be called into question, and dramatically speaking, that’s the best place to put a character like Batman.
There’s a lot of talking and a lot of information in Batman #10 but you’d almost never know it because of Greg Capullo. He is Batman’s (not so) secret weapon. Capullo’s art is all about dynamism. He controls the flow of the story like an old master—framing the action at interesting and extreme angles, and pulling way out or pushing way in depending on how much tension he wants to create. Batman is a tour de force, artistically.
Speaking of an artistic tour de force, I haven’t even mentioned the backup story which is co-written by Scott Snyder and James Tynion IV and drawn by Snyder’s American Vampire collaborator, Rafael Albuquerque. Here we’ve gone back into the past with Jarvis Pennyworth, Alfred’s father (and yes, that was his original name back in the Golden Age before there was an Edwin Jarvis), as he has his hands full dealing with running the Wayne household that includes a rambunctious toddler named Bruce and a pregnant Martha who is being threatened by the crooked mayor. Oh, and there’s also the mysterious figure in the owl costume who not only caused Martha’s car accident (the one that supposedly caused Thomas Wayne Jr. to be born premature and then sent to Willowwood Hospital), but is also actively trying to murder Jarvis. It’s a great story in its own right (though I’m not sure that I love the idea that someone else raised Bruce as a young child, I always liked that it was Alfred who was Bruce’s second father for his entire life) that is wonderfully drawn by Rafael Albuquerque. I’ve missed him on American Vampire lately but the trade off is that his work here has been exemplary. The painterly quality of his art evokes times passed and naturally feels like a flashback without being gimmicky.
Between the two wonderful stories and the art from Greg Capullo and Rafael Albuquerque, there really isn’t a better bang for your buck out there in comic book stores right now.
And now the long hard wait for the final chapter in the Court of Owls story begins.
Conor Kilpatrick
The owls are not what they seem.
conor@ifanboy.com
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oh wow…that little bit of DC history makes me appreciate this story a whole lot more now. Good stuff.
Agreed!
This just goes to show how committed Scott Snyder is to his craft. It’s amazing to me the amount of research as well as love that Snyder expertly showcases month in and month out on this book. Truly the top superhero book on the market.
Totally agreed. While I really liked the issue, I thought the whole “He’s your brother (maybe)!!” thing was a bit cliche. To know that it actually has old roots makes it a lot more palatable as a story device.
Loved it. This book has been on another level from issue 1 page 1. That much is clear now.
It says a lot when a book like this makes me jump in glee while reading this on the train ride home (I’m not kidding – I think I scared the person standing next to me when I jumped).
There is so much to love about it. I love Snyder’s long story arcs – it never drags and keeps you on edge. And Capullo is just killing it – even in the quite scenes. Best comic on the stands hand down.
And by quite scenes, I also mean quiet scenes. He’s good at those too 🙂
Jumping with glee? My heart was racing as I read every panel!!!
My heart was thumping when I was reading the dialogue between Bruce and Alfred (after finding the Court dead), half expecting that Alfred was the one pulling the strings but that would’ve been brutal. The internet would tear in half if that was the case. Anyway this deserved being POTW. Team Batman is on fire!
Totally thought the same thing about Alfred!
But don’t forget that if Jarvis’ letter did in fact make it into Alfred’s hands, he knew about Lincoln/Thomas Jr. So Alfred is not entirely innocent in all of this.
Amen to that. Best book by far. Amazing twist by Snyder!
Great issue, I am looking forward to the conclusion and the new story arc to follow, great x-force this week as well but this will probably end up being tops for me as well.
Thanks Scott you continue to help DC get 10 dollars from me a month, and not regret a penny of it.
I hope Bruce and Barbara will at some point compare notes on how to deal with crazy siblings.
Knew it had to be Conor’s turn this week becuase it always takes super long to post…lol…Great Pick though 🙂
Super long? It was up before 7pm my time.
Yeah, this was up faster than usual for all three. Well done Conor.
sorry thought is was 9pm est must of been a browser issue…oh well, no worries I know it takes time to read all those issues in one sitting…
I live in California.
Thus far, Is this the BEST 10 issues of any comic in the last 10 years? I don’t know for sure. Up until about 2 years ago I hadn’t read anything in close to 20 years. I’ve done some massive catching up for sure… But I can’t compare Snyder’s and Capullo’s Batman to anything I’ve read besides the canonical work of Moore, Miller etc.
How about y’all?
In my review of this issue I echoed Conor’s words: Best Superhero book going. Period.
I gotta give serious props to Conor and the rest of the iFanboy crew. I’ve never followed the Batman comics for any considerable length of time, so a lot of the history you explained above really opened my eyes to a lot of stuff. Thank you so much for taking the time to educate many of us who otherwise wouldn’t be able to enjoy these stories to the same degree. Your passion and hard work does not go unnoticed! Absolutely loving this book!
i dropped batman inc because i have to say snyders Batman is the only batman i want to read. this was just a great book. woe
In such a big grand story it is the little things this creative team do that make the book so perfect. Take the image on page 4 of Batman jumping off the building, Because of the angle of the shot it makes him look like he is flying instead of falling, it’s not until you look at the background do you get the full impact, just great composition.
I’m not sure how I feel about the reveal, but there is no question that the team is executing the story they want to tell perfectly.
Well, now I’m even more looking forward to getting this in trade. Sounds amazing.
Even though it’s a miniscule amount, I hate the shit Snyder is getting for the “reveal”. The 9 1/2 issue journey to get here is what matters. I’m looking forward to the wrap up of this story, to see how Batman deals with it, but I have no reason to worry and think this will go down as one of the best comic arc’s I’ve ever read.
I love what Snyder is doing and I liked the reveal. The only thing that took away from it was that Morrison just used Thomas Wayne jr. as Dr. Hurt and explained his stay at Willowood Asylum as well.
Yeah this was what confused me. So Dr Hurt never stayed at Willowood?
I’m pretty sure he did, but with the New 52 I’m just going to count Morrison’s Batman story as its own thing.
Don’t think the Morrison story had that in it at all. Am I remembering that incorrectly?
Yes.
Guys – I cannot tell you how much it means to me, personally, to see so many of you pick Batman #10 as the POTW. Conor, I love you, brother!:) But all of you – I’ve said it before; iFanboy has a special spot in my (twisted) heart, as it’s where I got my very first reviews on the one-shots I did to get started. To have this issue get such a positive response overall – the issue that takes the biggest risk, and makes the most radical move out of the stuff I’ve done so far – to have this one get such a high percentage of POTW votes…. it means the world. B/c for me it means you trust me to try things in service of story I believe in on this character you love as much as I do. It means – to me – that you have faith in us, and the big stories we want to tell with Bruce. I can’t thank you enough. And thanks from all of us on team Batman. All I can do, by way of thanks, is to tell you that the best is coming. Thanks again.
No sir, THANK YOU 😀
Keep up the good work! And keep the checks coming to the iFanboys 😉
You know that feeling you get when you walk out of a theater and you’re not quite what to make of the film you just saw so you keep going over it in your head? You know it was an amazing movie but, even though the story was cathartic , you don’t ever really achieve a finality to the story because of the questions running through your head? Well, that’s what’s happened to me with this book.
Better than the theater feeling though, I can flip back through it and enjoy the minute again and perhaps discover more to think about. This is truly an amazing piece of comic art and a great piece of literature. I just texted my comic buddies to be sure they had read it or will read it soon because iFanboy isn’t enough for the conversation I need to have. After I’ve talked this out with friends, and read about it on iFanboy, I’ll find a sense of that catharsis I know is there and I’ll make it mine.
Thank you and the entire team for a phenomenal run that has culminated in such a fantastic issue. Also it’s been a while since we have had a great Joker story (just trying to plant a seed for the future). Keep up the great work!
You sir have made me a very very happy 21 year old nerd. I jump at the chance for batman. Thank you this book is why I love comics.
I’m sure Batman was good or whatever, I dunno because I don’t read it, but it was all about The Massive for me. That shit was super awesome. It’s not a first issue that blows your ass off with excitement or anything, but it does a great job of setting up the universe and letting you know where everything stands. After reading it I was really excited to see where the book goes from here. The art’s pretty too.
Go read Batman already. Geesh.
Yo Taylor, I’m really happy for you…I’ll let you finish. But Beyonce had one of the best videos of all time! One of the best videos of all time!
This was a great issue as always…..BUT I didn’t find the reveal that shocking. Quite frankly I find the character who does the reveal a bit suspect. Even though the back up, wonderfully done by Tynion/Albuquerque, does give the man some evidence it is true….I don’t know, it’s a 5-star book but it didn’t wow me like everyone else to make it POTW.
Now Batman and Robin #10? That’s ‘holy shit’ level of praise. FANTASTIC issue and I will be flabbergasted to find anyone who didn’t make it a 5 star book. How anyone can look at Gleason’s art and say it’s ‘okay’ will make me shake my head.
Yep, Batman and Robin 10 was fan-freakin’-tastic, no doubt! I gave that a 5 as well. Wasn’t expecting that.
Mike, I agree that B and R is completely underrated book. Pete is doing masterpiece work there. S
Thanks guys!
Also, thanks for being understanding there Scott. It’s a fantastic issue of Batman all around even if I didn’t make it my Pick. But hey, I don’t run the site so what do I know? 🙂
i wasn’t “shocked” either, and i kind of saw something like that coming a few pages before…i actually thought it was going to be a “luke, i am your father” (who was reanimated from a cryogenic sleep) kinda thing. That being said, i still really liked the twist. I liked how it was right under his nose and he never put it together. Sometimes it works that way. I’m expecting more twist built upon the twist though….
haven’t read this issue of B+R yet, but i’m really looking forward to it from the buzz!
Different strokes…I didn’t find B & R #10 all that great. Yes it was 4 star issue, but something about the way Tomasi writes Damian just irritates me a little too much.The ART? Five start all the way. In my review of B & R #10 I say that Gleason’s art is probably the real reason I keep reading Batman and Robin. I’m just glad that there’s enough quality books out right now for us to have these discussions.
Not reading many monthlies at the moment but I heartily agree with Conor regarding the Best Superhero Book title going to Snyder’s Batman (I’d say Mark Waid’s Daredevil gets a *very* close second). Loved this issue and didn’t have a problem with the twist at all. It’s difficult not to peg Lincoln as the bad guy from the beginning but the execution was wonderful and the back-up was a gorgeous companion. Can’t wait for more. Thanks Scott!
I woke up in the middle of the night to download and read this right away. It was worth it.
I could be mistaken, but I think Greg capullo is the only artist of the new dcu to have drawn every issue of a series so far
Considering the quality, that is an incredible achievement
I’d love it if the New 52 Eart turned out to be the Crime Syndicate’s Earth and the whole thing was one massive story just to mess with people’s heads. That’d be a pretty bold move.
Between ‘Batman’, ‘Batman & Robin’ and ‘Batman Inc.’ there really hasn’t been a better time to be a Batman fan. DC just needs to sort out the other two Bat-books (to be fair, I dropped them a while ago so I can’t honestly judge their current states).
Glad to see Snyders check cleared 😉 . Loved this btw, ill admit having had the twist spoiled for me at my local comic shop the first thing I thought was “wow he’s going that route”. However its all in the execution, what could have turned into a cliche long lost relative story was executed so well that even knowing what the end result was had me going “oh hell no”. The issue made me go back yesterday and reread all the previous ones, and sure enough the hints were all there.
I’ve been loving this so far but I had the exact opposite reaction to issue 10. I felt the “new character revealed as villain” was a little too obvious and reminded me of the Hush reveal. I did like the family twist to it but the “evil relative” was already done in Black Mirror, and the evil Thomas Wayne was already done recently enough in Batman RIP. It seemed a little like a greatest hits package of very recent material.
Maybe my hopes were too high but I felt it was a little underwhelming. That said I’m holding out hope that the final issue will win me back over. I’m a big fan of Scott Snyder’s writing, and American Vampire is one of my favourite Vertigo series ever. If anyone should get the benefit of the doubt it’s him.
I’ve enjoyed this run but I think so many are blowing its epic-ness out of proportion. There’s been other stories that upend Gotham, but I guess those are from the old (and better) DCU, so they never happened. Oh well. I have some core beliefs on what makes Batman Batman, and within 10 issues, even with connections to past story lines, this team has broken just about every one of them, but I suspect the last stand out will be broken soon.
Oh well, I hope those enjoying it continue to do so, and I hope it catches my interest more so I can enjoy it as much as the fanboys 🙂
What are these core beliefs that were broken?
I hard a hard time buying the reveal, but no one can deny what Conor’s saying here. This has been a hell of a ride. And the fact that (apparently) this team will continue on for the foreseeable future makes me happy beyond words. Two of my favorite creators on my favorite superhero’s title. In this business, it just doesn’t get any better than that.
“The owls are not what they seem”
Kudos.
Just finished it. Loved it!! Can Snyder just write Batman forever.
Was also worried that it was going to be Alfred who was in on it. Then thought Snyder would really come out of Left Field and it would be Gordon. Love that Snyder always keeps us guessing and is not predictable. Between the final chapter of Court of Owls and Dark Knight Rises – Bring on July!
Snyder’s use of suspense in this Batman story is unparalleled. Gives it a great horror story vibe.
I had completely forgotten about Thomas Jr being Owlman back on Earth 2, that made this issue click a lot better with me
so I’m guessing he’ll be the main character on the Talon book, right?
No. The Talon book centers around the only man ever to escape the Court of Owls. He uses his Talon training for good.
Not my cup of tea. The book is well written and the art is fantastic, but the reveal…….. kinda left me a bit cold.
I’m with you. I rolled my eyes and groaned audibly at the reveal. The New 52 – where everything old is new again. I’ve loved Snyder’s run on Batman, and it seems I’m in the minority, but dragging up a previously unknown, long lost brother reeks of daytime soap opera.
Guys, it’s only a reveal. It’s what comes from that reveal that is so much more important. While acknowledging the connections to past stories is fair — did anything substantial come from Thomas Wayne Jr back in the 70s or in Morrison’s run? Not to my knowledge.
I like that Snyder is using this as an opportunity to not just tell a one-off story with this character, but maybe even move Batman into some new ground as a character. He did a similar thing with Jim Gordon and James Junior at the end of Detective — mining the past continuity but bringing it to the present and giving it some added depth.
I know the New 52 makes all the continuity of the The Black Mirror/Year One a bit squishy for some folks, but I think we’ll see James Jr again — how great could a James Jr/ Thomas Jr team-up be? Snyder writes such a great Jim Gordon I’d love to see a whole arc of him teamed up with Batman to take down their dysfunctional family members!
Just curious – how do you “reveal haters” feel about Morrison’s Batman work? He kind of did the same thing, like, a lot.
I feel like the guy at a movie when it’s over and everyone is reaving about it and I just don’t get it.
I have read every issue of Batman so far from the reboot, but did not read it at all before. I was super excited to get onboard with Batman with the reboot. The book has been very good but it’s constant POW makes no sense to me. The art is good not great and the writing seems to be on par but not excellent.
I feel that if you need to go thru an explanation of Earth 2 and the bronze age from before the reboot to explain how big the reveal is and why it’s so awesome then you’ve slightly failed at bringing in the new reader and making them feel welcome. I will continue reading Batman as I think it’s a solid 3.5 star book every week but I still think there are a few better books in the DCU right now.
Glad that lots of people are loving it but I’m just not getting the INSANE amounts of hype.
Don’t get wrapped up in the Silver Age connection. Its a fun bit of trivia but it really doesn’t carry anymore weight than that. I knew about the various incarnations of Thomas Wayne Jr./Owlman going into this, and I’m pretty sure I would’ve had the same reaction regardless.
Yeah, I liked this. Four-star comic; one of the best issues of the run.
Still, this really really reads like Morrison/R.I.P. lite to me.
It’s a weird feeling. I enjoy pretty much every issue of this when I read it. Then I go on the internet and, judging from the glowing comments I read, I can’t help but think, “You guys know this isn’t THAT original or impressive, right?”
Again, I like it. I’ll buy every damn issue of this run and hope it never ends. But there are SO many parallels to what Morrison did, that this really does read like the “For Kids” version. So, I dunno. I still like it. It just seems like most people forgot or didn’t really understand the themes that R.I.P. actually played with. Subversive rich organization behind the scenes? Death assassins? Shadowy mastermind who turns out to be a “Thomas Wayne”. It’s alllll already there.
Hmmm. Interesting. I prefer Snyder’s delivery more than Morrison’s on his run. I hadn’t thought about it in that way, though. Thanks for pointing that out.
Snyder deserves POTW (again!), but not for this. AMERICAN VAMPIRE was incredibly written, and Nguyen continues to be awesome.
Yes, but Doctor Hurt was pretending to be Thomas Wayne Senior.
“the best superhero comic book being made today.”
I disagree, plus it seems very early in the run. I mean, for one thing the only consistent supporting character so far has been Alfred, with Nightwing getting a little focus briefly. Even Gordon is mostly absent. So far it’s all focused on this one arc, and well… yeah, just sayin’, judging on just these 10 issues for me it has yet to show a lot of what would make it the best. Still, a very cool book.
I’d give it to Invincible, or Savage Dragon.
“…plus it seems very early in the run.”
I’m not talking about posterity, I’m talking about right now, this month, currently.
I hear ya, just pointing out what has been built here and now for me isn’t quite enough or showing enough range to be the best.
Batman has been hot and cold for me. I really didn’t like what they did to Freeze, but I respect the hell out of Snyder for being so active in taking the jabs as well as the pats on the back. It is because he reaches out to the fans that I continue to cut Batman some slack, even when it is going in a direction that I don’t particularly agree with. Hard not to like a guy like that.
Finally got around to reading this and thought it was fantastic. More than likely my POTW (still have a couple books to read), between this and Batman and Robin it was a great week to be a Batman fan!