“.. I get more of a dreamy thing from the audience – it’s more of a thing that you go up into. You get into such a pitch sometimes that you go up into another thing. You don’t forget about the audience, but you forget about all the paranoia, that thing where you’re saying, ‘Oh gosh, I’m on stage – what am I going to do now ?’ – Then you go into this other thing, and it turns out to be like almost like a play in certain ways” – Jimi Hendrix

In some cases 2nd issues are better then the 1st. The pressure is off and spotlight has dimmed somewhat – giving the writer/artist more leeway to dig into the “meat” of the story. Like a band playing that first song at concert: feeling things out, testing the vibe of the crowd, and getting into the groove. Then they bust out with that 2nd song and build the momentum towards the encore.

Batman #2 is 2nd song on the playlist. The band is just warming up.

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“Just don’t pretend you know more about your characters than they do, because you don’t. Stay open to them. It’s teatime and all the dolls are at the table. Listen. It’s that simple.”
— Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird

Again, Snyder is constructing a fabulous Batman tale. Just as in his stellar Detective Comics, where he gave us a look into Dick Grayson’s life not just has Batman but as a man trying to fill the huge shoes left behind, he is doing the same here with Bruce Wayne – letting us see more of the billionaire playboys interactions with the citizens of Gotham. Making this character read more like a man and not a god. It’s clear Snyder loves this character and respects it and the creators that came before him. After all, a man should respect his elders.

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“There are painters who transform the sun to a yellow spot, but there are others who with the help of their art and their intelligence, transform a yellow spot into sun”
― Pablo Picasso

Greg Capullo has breathed new life into DC’s New 52. He is working to the beat of his own drum and not afraid to follow that beat away from photo-realistic drawings that seem to be all the rage these days. He is not afraid to embrace the cartoony side of the medium and remind us that we are reading a comic book – not watching a movie.

You know what I loved the most about Batman #2? There wasn’t a single SPLASH PAGE in the whole comic. Thank you Greg Capullo!