batman, vols. 1 & 2

batman, vol. 1: the court of owls
batman the new 52 issues 1-7
batman, vol. 2: the city of owls
batman the new 52 issues 8-12
scott snyder, greg capullo & jonathan glapion
graphic novels/crime
dc comics
published 2012

After a series of brutal murders rocks Gotham City, Batman begins to realize that perhaps these crimes go far deeper than appearances suggest.  As the Caped Crusader begins to unravel this deadly mystery, he discovers a conspiracy going back to his youth and beyond to the origins of the city he's sworn to protect.  Could the Court of Owls, once thought to be nothing more than an urban legend, be behind the crime and corruption?  Or is Bruce Wayne losing his grip on sanity and falling prey to the pressures of his war on crime?

Who knew owls could be so dang creepy.  Well, I guess a lot of people, but I never really thought of owls that way until this book.

Scott Snyder writes a great story.  Bringing us into Bruce's past to pull the story tighter and making everything suspenseful and creepy.  Revelations abound and no one is quite safe in their knowledge.  He writes a slightly arrogant Batman, but then isn't that what he is.  No one can do the job better than he can and he knows it.  He needs no help from anyone, or at least that's what he tells himself.  Yet without Alfred and the others he probably wouldn't still be alive.  Speaking of Alfred, I really enjoyed the stuff with Jarvis and the letter he wrote to Alfred.

The art is clean and detailed.  I'm not a huge fan of the shadowy panels that you see in a lot of comics.  I want to see the details and be able to get more of the story from the art alone.

Monster Batman is the way too amazing.  Thanks for that Mr. Capullo.