ARC REVIEW DC Universe Rebirth Batman: The Court of Owls Saga

BATMAN: 

The Court of Owls Saga

DC Essential Edition

by Scott Snyder

Story: Bruce Wayne has plans for Gotham. A plan for the betterment of the city new housing more jobs but it's not completely altruistic he has several hidey holes and caches planned throughout all the new buildings all over the city. Not everyone agrees with Bruce's plans for the city and now he has gained the attention of an ancient society, The Court of Owls, the court has sentenced Bruce Wayne to death but Bruce doesn't die so easily. Finding the court becomes an obsession for Batman just as the court becomes obsessed with him.

Art: I really enjoyed the art by Greg Capullo. It's dark and it's gritty which fits in with the story but it's also very pretty it's easy to tell what's what especially in action sequences. The covers alone standout in my mind they captured the feel of the story. Great lines, great colors, it's fantastic art to go with a great story

Review: Overall, I really enjoyed the story. I always found the Court of Owls storyline intriguing. I mean how can a secret society of the richest most influential people run Gotham and Bruce Wayne not know anything about it. Granted he knows something about it, he has always suspected they had something to do with the death of his parents but at the time he found something but nothing and they have been silent for years until Bruce's proposal to improve Gotham. I loved the progression of the story. The torment of Batman and how he was able to compartmentalize everything and focus on what needed to be done. I love it when Batman gets this dark and emotional. 

ARC REVIEW DC Universe Rebirth All Star Batman: vol 2 Ends of the Earth

All Star Batman

Vol 2 Ends of the Earth

Issues 6-9

DC Universe Rebirth

By Scott Synder

Art by Jock (Illustrator), Tula Lotay (Illustrator), Giuseppe Camuncoli (Illustrator), Francesco Francavilla (Illustrator), Matt Hollingsworth (colorist), Dean White (colorist), Lee Loughridge (colorists)

Story: In a vignette style, each issue focusing one baddie at a time but all connected through one over all final boss who wants an epic cataclysmic end. Issues 6 Batman tracks down Mr. Freeze who is about to let lose a virus he thinks can bring back his wife. He’s wrong. Issue 7 Batman needs Poison Ivy’s help to find a cure to Freeze’s virus but a group of mercs is out to prevent that from happening. Issue 8 gets a little cheesy with the Mad Hatter, who is the final link to finding out who is behind the whole thing. Issue 9 is the final boss Batman must outsmart before he destroys everything. There is also more on Duke’s storyline after all that where he goes up The Riddler.

Art: Issue 6 is illustrated by Jock colored by Matt Hollingsworth, a fantastic job with the stark and barren Alaska landscape and the eerie setting for Freeze’s laboratory. Issue 7 Tula Lotay bring to life a beautiful Poison Ivy and a Death Valley setting great coloring and imagery. Absolutely breathtaking my favorite in this volume. Volume 8 Giuseppe Camuncoli with Dean White coloring the muggy swampland of the Mississippi Delta and the hallucinogenic visions created by the Mad Hatter, what I really like was how the lettering and the hallucinations worked together. Issue 9 the finale is again illustrated by Jock and Lee Loughridge colors it has great illustrated action and a wonderfully illustrated D.C.. The Cursed Wheel the continuation of Duke’s story is Francesco Francavilla an illustrated battle of the wits between The Riddler and Duke.

Review: The overall storyline of Ends of the Earth I really enjoyed it had three of my favorite villains. Mr. Freeze is so focused on what he’s found he can’t see what it’s actually doing. Poison Ivy once again a villain who ultimately does the right thing, a beautifully illustrated Ivy, I loved the lines and the coloring. The Mad Hatter’s story is always cheesy no matter what it is, i.e. video games, animated series, comics. But it is the Hatter he's supposed to be out there, I like the character even if he is cheesy. The finale is one of my favorite villains of all time!! No Spoilers. I like the Cursed Wheel story arc with Duke it’s a nice origin for him and even though it says finale at the end it leaves in a cliffhanger, damms youse.  Overall, I like what Scott Snyder is doing and I look forward to more.

ARC REVIEW DC Universe Rebirth All Star Batman Vol 1 My Own Worst Emeny

All Star Batman

Vol 1 My Own Worst Enemy

Issues #1-5.

Written by: Scott Snyder

Art by: Danny Miki, John Romita, Jr., Declan Shalvey

Cover by: John Romita, Jr., Declan Shalvey, Danny Miki

Variant cover by: John Romita, Jr., Jock, Declan Shalvey, Danny Miki

Story:

Scott Snyder returns to write more awesome Batman. The whole journey is back and forth between the past friends that Harvey Dent and Bruce Wayne use to be and the now. Two –Face has put a hit on Batman as he tries to return his old friend to his old self again. Harvey sent Batman a message that he found a way to eliminate his split personality but he hid it in a place Two –Face will never know about. THe hit brings out all kinds from the woodwork. Penguin, Black Mask and Great White hire an Assassin to kill Batman and Two-Face. Along the way Batman is faced with a multitude of foes and civilians. 

Art:

The art was impressive, the details and the somewhat muted tones mixed with the bright primary colors. It kind of reminded me of an old style of story book illustrations. I really liked the way Two-Face was drawn.  

Characters:

Batman/ Bruce Wayne: of course, his usual brooding, loyal, overprotective self. Protecting his ward, loyal to an old friend and brooding over the past that he can't change. Determined to do the right thing to fix the unfixable no matter the obstacles. 

Duke: the new not Robin. As of now Duke may be in what looks like a Robin costume but Batman told Gordon they were trying something new. I like Duke so far. He differs from the majority of the rest of the sidekicks as his parents are still alive (like Tim Drake) but Duke has a vendetta against the Joker and he wants justice to always prevail, and not just like Batman but mostly because his mother.  

Two-Face/Harvey Dent: Two-Face knows the right way to manipulate Bruce Wayne.

Other cameos: Amygdala, Killer Croc, King Shark, Firefly, Killer Moth, Black Spider, Copperhead, Cheshire, The Royal Flush Gang, Gotham’s Lords of Organized Crime, Harold Allnut, The Court of Owls, The Beast.

Review:  I really liked this one. I've never been a big Two-Face fan but this one was pretty good. The manipulation level was really up there and bringing in all these other villains honestly I didn't even know two of them even existed. The story kept me hooked to the end all very exciting I couldn't put it down, and the last one with a bit of the back story with Duke was nice to have.