BATMAN #9

• “NIGHT OF THE OWLS” continues here!

• Batman must stop the TALONS that have breeched the Batcave in order to save an innocent life…and Gotham City!

• In the backup story, learn more about the PENNYWORTH family and the secrets they’ve kept from the Wayne family!

Written by Scott Snyder & James T Tynion IV
Pencilled by Greg Capullo & Rafael Albuquerque
Inked by Jonathan Glapion & Rafael Albuquerque
Colored by FCO Plascencia
Lettered by Comicraft
Cover by Greg Capullo, Dave McCaig, & FCO Plascencia

Price: $3.99
iFanboy Community Pick of the Week Percentage: 56.1%

Reviews

UserAddedSpoilers
grassman05/12/12NoRead Review
TheNextChampion05/09/12NoRead Review
Rabbit1105/09/12YesRead Review
dix05/09/12NoRead Review
1661
Pulls
Avg Rating: 4.5
 
Users who pulled this comic:

Comments

  1. Very excited for this event. Only getting this and Nightwing as I get them already. Might pick up Robin and Batgirl digitally in a month if I hear good things.

    Other than Animal man, my favourite thing at DC at the moment

    • dude, batman and robin is just as good (maybe better) then this.
      and miles better then nightwing.
      trust me, pick it up, and then pick up the trade or hardcover.

    • Didn’t like the sound of The Nobody sounded silly, but have heard good things about were it ended so will probably get the trade.

      Have been loving this though, it scratches the Batman itch. The idea of Damian fighting a Talon sounds good though

    • Batman and Robin is good. But it is absolutely not better than this. Though now that they’ve established Damian a bit hopefully we’ll get more buttkicking.

  2. Odd that Batman & Batwoman switched places on the schedule. no biggie, bring on the Owls! (great cover too).

  3. I’m excited to see more Rafael Albuquerque in the backup story. This is one of the best Batman stories I have ever read and I’m sure it will be a must read for years to come.

  4. I’ve been loving this story, and I’m probably in the minority here, but issue 8 was by far my least favorite of this book so far.

    • I feel the same way. This started out so good, now all of a sudden the Talon’s are a bunch of wussy goons.

    • Exactly!! In the first 7 issues ONE talon can dominate Batman like he’s nothing but all the sudden he is beating the holy hell out of an army of them. I found that to be a very strange and sudden turn around.

    • I think he had a hard time with the first Talon because he tried to fight it as a regular man. Batman holds back when fighting non- metas. Now he knows better. He’s going all out.

    • Yeah that’s a good point. I also think the Talons are a lot less creepy now that they speak. They just don’t seem anywhere near as dangerous as the first one did.

    • Well when he fought that first Talon, he was pretty drugged up and had been down in the labyrinth for like a week without food and very little water. So I would imagine that he was too exhausted to fight a powerful assassin like the Talon. Now that he has had time to regain himself a little, he can actually take them on this time.

    • Yeah but even early on when he was touring his new building in one of the first couple issues the Talon completely got the drop on him and damn near threw him off a building.

    • Not alone at all… in fact I think it was the overwhelming majority in my LCS. This run is very good but to me it is pretty formulaic and there are some pretty big stretches and flaws at times. I definitely have a love/hate relationship with it. I have a feeling this run is going to ebb and flow at times and swing from awesome to mediocre time and time again. I think it would have made a great straight 12 issue arc, but now due to sales and popularity it is needing to be reworked and drug out and throwing things off. Just MHO.

    • Talons jobbing suddenly is lame indeed. The first Talon was this unstoppable force and Batman never even had time to rest after nearly dying at his hands. Not liking the return of the Batgod so soon after the relaunch.

  5. Batman a week early? Yes please! Can’t wait for this!

  6. i’ve been loving this series but i got fooled and bought the batwing and detective comics night of the owl issues last week. Man they were extremely disappointing. i also think DC needs to have a recap page, it was my first batwing issue and it was not user friendly.

  7. To everyone here noticing that its a week earlier this month im pretty sure its due to it being a 5 week month and the Batman Annual is coming out on May 30th for 5 bucks, so its a good month to be a Batman fan with the event and all.

  8. I just realized that because these guys are technically dead….Bruce can actually be fucking brutal in this arc. Cheers to Snyder!

    Also, very interested into reading more of Tynion’s work to see if he wasn’t a one hit wonder.

  9. Cool that Batman is out a week early but what happened to Saga and the Fantastic Four?

  10. holy shit, the pennyworth family?! i’m in

  11. This is a great book, and the Court of Owls stuff is totally amazing, but I love that the crossover is just “The Bat-People fight an Owl Person” in each of their books. Can that technically be called a crossover?

    Doesn’t matter. Batman’s all I needs… although I may take the opportunity to check out B&R, too…

  12. Love this title. Am not sold on the giant Hulk-busting armour, but apart from that can’t praise the creative time enough. Do you think we will see the other members of the Bat-family appear in the main title fighting the Talons, or do you think they are contained to their own books?

  13. Here we are Wednesday and my pull list has jumped to 21 coimcs this week and there are some really kick ass looking titles coming out this week. Wish me luck, plus I have all of my free comics to pick up too.

    K

  14. Totally loving this, Snyder is really weaving the Owls throughout Wayne history, especially in the backup. I keep hoping its going to give a nod to what Grant Morrison just did in his Batbooks, it always seems like its just about to. If you read the backup you’ll know what I mean.
    Anyway, great issue, I think I’m going to pick up that hardcover that just came out.

  15. I loved this issue, and I like the armor, reminds me of Dark Knight Returns, can’t wait for the next issue!

  16. I didn’t buy this because I’m tired of being raped over the price. I’ll wait a month for the digital copy to come down.

    – Pissed off consumer

    • I recognize everyone has to have their personal line in the sand on price (the few $3.99 books still on my pull list are always one passing whim away from being dropped), but if any title is delivering the goods for the price, I think it’s definitely this one.

    • Holy crap, paying an extra DOLLAR is considered RAPE now?! You are being Raped over an dollar?! tone down the language bro

    • hyperbole city. I hate the risings costs of comics pricing as much as the next guy, but $3.99 is nothing new. As others are saying this book is really worth it…you might be better off dropping/waiting on another book and taking the plunge on this one.

    • It’s $1.50 so it’s a rape and a half, bro

    • Avatar photo Paul Montgomery (@fuzzytypewriter) says:

      Complain all you want about the price. Please use different terminology. Equating it to rape is offensive and idiotic.

      Thanks.

    • Fisted than, jeez

  17. In my review I said that the pulls would be higher and so would be the community’s POTW…..Well both happened.

    Just another fantastic issue. I just want a silent issue with Greg Capullo on art. THAT’S how amazing his work is. Oh and that Scott Snyder guy is good too I guess. 🙂

    5/5 (POTW)

  18. Yup, this book just keeps rolling along and kicking ass. I knew I was going to love Albuquerque’s backup, but I think it’s even better than I imagined. I really love his style, and him on this book is a real treat. Capullo kills on the main story as welI; I like his regular Batman more than the Mech-Bat suit, Bruce having the 5 ‘oclock shadow-beard makes him look meaner, I dig it.

    Was this the first time we’ve seen the Batmobile? I don’t remember. I prefer the more stream-lined minimalst Batmobiles, but this one is still pretty badass, I just don’t care for the front end from what I saw in this issue. Overall, this was great as expected and I’m stoked for the rest of the NOTO.

    • @TurdSandwich…”Was this the first time we’ve seen the Batmobile?”

      I think so, at least up close. Remember that double page of the Batcave in the first issue? I checked it again and this might be the one on the far right but it’s hard to tell. Also in that spread there’s the Burton ’89 down front and the Nolan ’05 way up in the back.

  19. This issue really had me worried about good old Alfred, I thought for sure he was going to be a casualty; I could not handle that. The Batarmor barely made through for him this time, he may need to update that from what he has learned from these Talons; because next time he may not be so lucky using it against stronger opponents. I enjoyed the artwork in this issue and the story continues to be very fresh with each piece that is connected from the past.

    K

  20. I can’t decide whether Lincoln March is on the level, or if he’s pulling a Tommy Elliot

  21. Another solid installment of this story…i’m still a bit thrown by the dialog from the Owls. They started off being so creepy, now they just sound like typical minions saying really obvious stuff. Its kinda lowering the stakes of the whole thing for me, now that they no longer seem as menacing.

  22. Don’t get me wrong. This book is great. But the every single issue being over 60% POW thing is getting a little old, IMO. Again, it’s one of the best books going on right now. But it feels we’re falling into hyperbole territory just a tad.

    • Agreed. Snyder’s a great guy, and a great writer, but I think its already a bit much.

    • Ya I actually agree with this as well but for me I still have been consistently giving this book a 5 and it’s been great but even this week for example I gave another book my POTW which only has 1.5 percent of the votes and i thought it was way more deserving. Almost makes me second guess my own damn opinion sometimes haha

    • Avatar photo Paul Montgomery (@fuzzytypewriter) says:

      I wouldn’t call it hyperbole. It just so happens that 50+% of the community liked this book the most out of their books this week. If it’s a strong, 5-star book, why not deem it your POW?

    • Every single issue for 9 issues now have had over half the ifanbase give it POW. That’s unprecedented. In the past, high % POW’s were usually reserved for seriously special books that catch the comic world by storm. That makes sense for the first couple issues of this series. But after 9 issues, some of which have been good but not amazing, and every single one ends up with over 60%. After a certain point, it’s clearly a case of group think/preconceived greatness. Hey, nothing wrong with it. People are entitled to pick what they want. It’s just a little over the top, IMO. I’d most certainly put it in my top books right now. But not every single issue of it has been head and shoulders clearly the top book the week it came out. If we were to believe the ifanbase, that is the case. But as I said, it’s totally fine. Just thought I’d point this out. Been feeling this way the past 4 or so issues. It really feels as if, unless it’s horrible, people are going to automatically give this their POW.

    • Avatar photo Paul Montgomery (@fuzzytypewriter) says:

      But….it’s not like people are getting together and saying let’s pick this. It’s individual people saying this was my favorite. Which isn’t entirely irrational because….it’s been consistently strong. Not sure why you’re irritated/frustrated that people are enjoying what they enjoy and saying so. The POW, both the user % and the official review POW, are just for fun. It’s not like anyone’s getting grant money or anything.

    • Totally agree, Paul. Like I said, it’s not important. And most definitely just for fun. And who really cares. Was only making an trivial observation. But group-think most definitely exists on the internet. Be it a comic book web site, sports blog, news organization, movie site, etc. Hive-mind is most certainly a thing.. Having one’s opinion validated and influenced by others is something that didn’t happen before the way it does now in the internet age. Not that there’s anything wrong with it. But I’m just guessing that if POW %’s were private, we wouldn’t be at the every single Scott Snyder Batman book is unanimously the most amazing thing ever, month in an month out, point that we are. That’s perfectly cool. But I don’t think it’s beyond comment or observation.

    • Avatar photo Paul Montgomery (@fuzzytypewriter) says:

      Do you think POWs should be private?

    • Haha. No. Of course not. Just saying hive-mind group-think exists and holds influence. It’s cool though. Not like Snyder’s Batman is bad or anything. There are much worse books for something like this to happen with. 😉

    • Avatar photo Paul Montgomery (@fuzzytypewriter) says:

      Are there books more deserving?

    • Head and shoulders? Not necessarily. But there are books more deserving on a weekly basis. Or at least that deserve to have more than the 1 or 3% they get. Batman is great. But not 60% to 2% great in comparison to books that are at least in the conversation.

    • j206 has an interesting point. i had a similar post when issue 7 came out. i have read people straight up post that batman was going to be their POTW on a monday. well before the book even came out. like batman is a sports team or something and wednesday is when the big game is. batman vs wolverine. dc vs marvel. whatever.
      is it a conspiracy? are people hiding behind rocks and saying “pick batman”? of course not.
      does batman deserve it this week? sure. it’s not my POTW, but it’s good enough to be. but, that’s not the case with every issue.
      it’s kinda like how i often want a book to have a higher or lower average star count. or a higher number of pulls, like it’s a game or something and pulls or star count are equivalent to points in my mind and i always want my team to win. has this ever affected the star rating i’ve given a book? i would like to say no, but i realize that it’s hard to be completely objective when you’re emotionally invested in something. it’s silly and a lil’ immature, but it’s there despite how meaningless it ultimately is.

    • I agree that j206 raises an interesting point but at the same time the logic seems flawed. If the hive mind mentality is as prevalent on the internet as your post assumes then shouldn’t we have seen this kind of thing before on ifanboy? You say hive mind mentality in common online but also state this many high percentage POTW is unprecedented. How can a thing be unprecedented and common? Don’t get me wrong, I’m ont picking Batman every week. It’s been my POTW maybe 2 or 3 times since the Snyder run began but that’s it. I actually haven’t really liked these past two issues very much.

      I think the Batman POTW thing is not hive mind but more of a unique phenomenon of the right book at the right time. Not everyone was really enjoying Batman prior to the New 52 relaunch, there was the whole Bruce Wayne reborn event followed by the Batman Inc. rebranding. Add on a rotating cast of writers and artists and people were just not loving it. Then the new 52 comes along and Batman is given a great new writer and artist, a long ongoing story arc, and it just clicked with people who were ready to love Batman again. I think that feeling as continued throughout the run. At least that’s the way I see it.

    • @uspunx

      i’ve noticed that you use the word “logic” more than anyone else i’ve seen post here. like waaaaay more. i just have one question: are you a vulcan? 🙂

    • there is something to be said for the herd mentality and i think this does add to the escalation of hyperbole side of things. Yes this Batman run has been very solid every issue since the relaunch, but sometimes you see comments that make it sound like each issue is the greatest piece of storytelling ever created by western culture. The book is high profile, you hear about it when its great. Its like in sports, you really don’t hear much about a player on a small market team having a great game, but you hear about a star on a big team having one awesome play.

      Personally, i think its a really good run..to the point where i don’t have much to say about it…its just consistent and a great story. Its got that Ultimate Spiderman quality thing going for it.

    • Haha, I guess I do use that word a lot. The point I was trying to raise here, and often when I use the word logic on this site, is that people seem to change their stance from post to post. It makes it rather hard to have a discussion when there is no internal logic (damnit!) to a person’s stance. For instance, in his second post j206 said the Batman POTW thing is unprecedented. Then in his next post he implies that hive mind mentality is common on the internet and this hive mind is responsible for the constant Batman POTW. It just struck me as odd that something could to be common and unprecedented. I just wish more people would keep their logic (you’ve got to me kidding me) consistant from their initial post through their follow up posts that flesh out their initial statement. I find it makes for better and deeper discussions.

      And to answer your question I’m only half Vulcan. Spock is a hero to me.

    • Knowing for a fact Scott Snyder is going to be perusing the posts about his book probably adds a bit to POW score goosing. The book has been very solid though. Perfect internet storm of high celebrity recognition (the RT factor) plus a quality product.

    • @USPUNX – Where did I fail to apply logic? Internet group-think and hive-mind can exist all over the internet while at the same time this run of huge % pow’s for one book can also be an unprecedented thing for this particular site. It in fact is. The things you seem to be impressed to point out as contradicting one another are by no means one in the same. They most certainly can be mutually exclusive, and are two different points.

    • To keep it simple. Common on the internet. Unprecedented on this site. An observation of the internet as a whole and iFanboy on it’s own historical merit can be two different things. Is that deep enough for you? 😉

    • See, that was much clearer! However I still disagree with your point based on the points I raised in my first comment.

  23. I am a little confused by the back story it seems to be saying that Aflred and Bruce are both kids around the same time??
    Jarvis address Alfred as a child in the letter while recounting his time with Martha and Thomas Wayne’s son.

    If this isn’t a never before mentioned brother then the timeline is seriously messed up- even if it is that
    it makes Alfred marginally older than Bruce which would be a big question mark also.

    • Avatar photo Paul Montgomery (@fuzzytypewriter) says:

      Although he addresses him as “My boy” Jarvis never references Alfred as a child. There’s nothing that says Alfred isn’t in his 20s or even 30s at that point in the story. Which would make him 50 to 65 today.

    • “Never see you laugh or perform on the stage, never see you marry or raise children of your own.”
      Sounds like he is pretty young.
      But
      I suppose you could still be right.

    • Avatar photo Paul Montgomery (@fuzzytypewriter) says:

      He mentions being absent from Alfred’s life for several years. Presumably he’s never made it over to England while Alfred’s been at university. His memory of Alfred is as a boy, so that’s what he’s picturing as he writes the letter. But it also alludes to his acting, so Alfred’s potentially at university or living in England post-university doing some acting. And since Alfred never did marry or raise kids, there’s no reason to set a minimum age here. A parent could say that to a son in their 40s (though he’s likely younger than that).

  24. Also in previous history Alfred served Thomas and Martha Wayne before Bruce was born
    But- I guess that was the “old universe”

  25. Awesome book. I keep waiting for it not live up to the hyperbole – but it delivers month after month.

    I was lukewarm on the back up story for an extra buck idea but I am really enjoying them. I like how it relates directly to the main narrative. Also Rafa is just great. Well worth an extra 100 cents.

    Speaking of Rafa – my local comic shop has a huge sale on right now and I picked up a first printing of American Vampire number 1 for $2! How good of a deal was that! Also got first print Animal Man number 1 for $5.

  26. What a book. Love this run so much, i am really enjoying it and i haven’t been a regular reader of Batman fince the 90s. I have picked up trades but not monthly on a regular basis. the art the story, It is just really great comic book creation.
    “And hell is coming with him” roll on next issue.

  27. I guess his tank bat suit wasn’t as badass as he thought? Still, a very good issue. I couldn’t put it down.

  28. I’m still not loving Capullo as much as most, some issues have been good (with 5 being the obvious standout) other issues (like this) just look like his mid 90’s Spawn work. Dated by current standards. He can handle the big action fine, but the subtler non-costume characters are not his best work and just come off as the same sorry template he has always utilised.

    Now if (or when) Albuquerque comes over full-time this book will be near perfect.

  29. Enjoyed this as usual, but I think I enjoyed the backup even more this time around. Something about Albuquerque’s work strikes a cord in my dark and twisted soul. Also, when was the last time we had a Jarvis P. tale? Awesome. Really looking forward to seeing Bruce take the fight to the owls. In all of comics, there are few things cooler than a pissed off Batman out for a Round 2 after a bit of preparation.

  30. These past two issues have done very little for me. The backup isn’t interesting, the art is great though. The main story has dropped off and the art has too. This was going so well and then DC got greedy tried to stretch things out and make a rushed “event” and with the price hike I did the unthinkable and removed Batman from my pull list.

    • I don’t think they got greedy. They saw an opportunity to capitalize on a success and took it. It’s just business. It’s not like they’re printing extraneous tie-ins. I would argue that this is a crossover done right. Sometimes a crossover event comes about it an organic way. Gotham’s elite are being targeted by an undead army. It makes perfect sense for the entire Bat family to be involved.

    • The story has taken a noticeable dive in overall quality these past two issues, it has stretched out – artificially – a story that was steamrolling along just fine and it has affected what was one of my top picks each month. I think the whole thing was rushed in planning and that is why it doesn’t feel like a crossover… because it really isn’t. It was a way to try to help sell a few of the flagging books by tying them into a popular title and storyline. It pushed me away from something I was really enjoying and I’ll hop on again once this all gets sorted and if it doesn’t continue to slip. I think this was a big mis-step personally.

  31. Great book, probably the best in the New 52. Synder and Capullo are taking Batman to places that are re-defining Bruce Wayne and Batman at the same time. So many times, companies and the titles, talk the talk about re-definition, but have very little follow through. “Night of the Owls” has me excited every single page, and the surprises keep coming like the suit at the end of issue #8 and the back story of the Wayne family.

  32. Another great issue of Batman, and the backup story was much more interesting than it was last month. My question is, how did the dinosaur stomp like that? Did Alfred or Bruce cause that, and has that been done previously in Bat- history? Cuz it seemed a little contrived, too convenient… kinda lame.

  33. While the main story was all about tying it all together for those who followed “Night of the Owls,” the backup feature was probably the best part of the issue. Adding Alfred’s dad to Bruce’s early years, plus his statement about Martha Wayne, were quite balssy moves.

    Please check my mini-review here:

    http://bit.ly/MgbHZ8

    Comments and feedback are always welcome!

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