Two names got me back into comics when I was a sophomore in college: Lemire and Snyder. It was through both of their vertigo series (Sweet Tooth & American Vampire) that I fell back into a world of great writing and art that was equally as good.

I’d always been a huge Batman fan but had been turned off by the generic superhero stories being told at the time or the interesting but ultimately uneasily accessible arcs (Batman R.I.P. was a bad time for me to try delving into the series). But when I read that Snyder had written an arc for Detective Comics I was instantly intrigued. What resulted was a return to form, and a rekindling of my love for the character I’d first been introduced to in Mask of the Phantasm (yes I know Dick was Batman in Black Mirror).

Flash forward two years and we’ve just seen the release of Snyder’s twentieth issue of Batman now that he’s taken on the flagship series, and rightly so. Say what you will about the hype of the previous arcs, what cannot be argued is that the man writes a fantastic Batman book. Even naysayers who dislike the longer runs will be at a loss to find something negative here.

(Oh yeah, this is the review starting) What we have is the conclusion of the two issue arc that serves as our breather before delving into Zero Year. And what a blast it is! There’s plenty of action, a beautifully realized motorcycle chase (Capullo is a ferocious talent and Danny Miki’s inks are clean and let the art shine, any word if he’s staying on the book?), a classic baddie brawl, and a visual reference to something that will make every Batman fan squeal in delight.

There’s so much to love here, it’s almost sad to see Snyder depart this era in Batman’s modern timeline. Not everything in this issue is perfect though. Some of the dialogue falls flat or feels long winded but the overall narrative is never effected and is still given many moments to shine. Especially the conclusion which gives us a rare insight into Bruce’s emotional core.

Jumping to the back-up, we have the second part of James Tynion’s supernatural pulp story. It’s fun to get such a radically different narrative in the back-up. Unfortunately this conclusion isn’t quite as strong as the previous installment. Mainly due to some of the dialogue feeling out of character, or perhaps too forced. It’s nothing big enough to halt the story but definitely sticks out when attempting to read Batman with the classic Conroy voice. All in all it’s still a great read.

I feel like I’ve rambled enough for one review. It’s safe to say that if you pick this issue up (assuming you’ve read the previous one, and if not it too) you’ll find something to love.