I think John Romita Jr. just got out-John Romita Jr.’ed. Artist Greg Capullo just nailed this book. That’s the first thing I wanted to say. Next is that this book feels like it’s on a scale with my all-time favorite comic – All-Star Superman. Writer Scott Snyder seems to seamlessly work with Capullo’s classic art style to create a very iconic superhero tale. But let’s go back to the art for a second. I’ve never read anything of Capullo’s before, but much like R.B. Silva from last week’s Superboy, I now want to get my hands on everything he’s ever done. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a depiction of Batman I’ve liked more than what weget in Batman #1. He’s somehow both blocky and cartoony. It’s like if John Romita Jr. and Chris Bachalo birthed a new form of artistic story telling. Batman looks like the type of character who would terrify his enemies and yet have a general appeal to children. I fell in love with his depiction of Batman (along with some great renditions of his rogues), but was really dazzled by his normal human faces. They’re incredibly expressive, and both Bruce and Commissioner Gordon are great to look at.

Of course all the art in the world couldn’t save a book if the story is no good. Luckily Snyder begins this new Batman series with several awe-inspiring set pieces that play off the contrast between Bruce Wayne’s and Batman’s lives really well. However, instead of completely separating the two, they’re deeply intertwined while existing in very different worlds. Snyder does a great job of pulling those disparate threads together throughout the whole thing. A really easy way to pull me into a story is to introduce some great characters, and with #1, Snyder throws several very engaging personalities as us. He’s great at dialog and, when combined with Capullo’s facial expressions, the story jumps off the page.

Finally, there’s one very specific moment almost exactly halfway through the book that had me full of smiles. I like solo heroes, but there’s something about a family that faces all these trials together that will always get me. Father and son relationships have an even more powerful effect on me. I almost didn’t expect to see a page like we do in here in any comic ever, so it was a very heart-warming moment that had me so excited to see where this book will continue to take this group of characters.

While I enjoyed Batman and Robin #1 last week, Batman #1 just feels so much more epic and iconic as a Batman story. It hits all the right notes and will likely be all the Batman I need from month to month. It’s a fantastic starting or re-entry point into the world of Batman. It also just so happens to be my favorite book out of the entire relaunch so far.