By Chris Fenn
This is the penultimate issue of Zero Year, and I quite enjoyed this issue. There are some bits I thought were really good, some bits I wasn’t too keen on and some bits that I didn’t get at all.
One of the bits I just didn’t get was the opening page of the issue. I don’t know who the homeless person is, if he is supposed to be anybody, and it isn’t made clear what favour Batman requested of him. I don’t know if this is something that will be made clear in the final issue.
This could be something minor, or perhaps a lack of thinking on my behalf; I remember there being the ‘Tokyo Moon’ references in the build up to Dr. Death and they were sort of lost on me until pointed out. It could just be the case that I’ve only been reading these issues as they come and not in one big sitting so the plot isn’t as fresh in my mind as it could be.
One thing that I really liked was the colouring of the issue. It’s rare to see Batman out in the day, and it makes sense in this story, but seeing such vivid colours of the Savage City reminds me a lot of the original colouring of The Killing Joke. The psychedelic backgrounds and multi-coloured robots really contrast with the oppressive nature of the story and it’s really pleasing to look at.
Capullo’s pencils are at his usual high standard, and I love the sleeveless Batman look; granted out of this story it wouldn’t make much sense but I do like the ‘Cowled Commando’ costume.
Snyder seems to have nailed The Riddler’s voice in this story; he’s intelligent and smug to the point of outright arrogance. I love how he distributes little fun facts to his victims when he thinks he’s about to kill them. This is definitely a villain I want to see come back in future storylines, especially in the capable hands of Snyder.
I like how Batman is portrayed as fallible and doubtful; I like how when he and Lucius are talking where to strike Batman guesses, and acknowledges that it’s a guess and if he’s wrong then it’s all over. Remember this is Batman’s New 52 version of Year One, and he is supposed to be making mistakes and not omnipotent or omniscient.
There’s a brilliant heartfelt moment where Bruce sends a message to Alfred admitting that Alfred was right and acknowledging his own mistakes. It always warms my heart to see Bruce show his true emotions to Alfred, and seeing him say “I love you Alfred” almost brought a tear to my eye. I haven’t been the biggest fan of Snyder’s Batman; I’ve felt in the past he has been too consumed by rage and unwilling to seek help from his extended family, but this moment has really sold me on Snyder’s ability to write an emotionally balanced and fleshed out Batman and I hope we can see more emotional responses like this.
I also really liked the scene where Bruce tells Alfred he loves him for a more cinematic reason. Seeing the air force prepare their jets adds real immanency and urgency to the story and pushes the pace on a lot quicker; now Batman has to beat the Riddler and be quicker than Jim in order to save Gotham from destruction.
This has been a really good issue of Batman, but I will still be happy to see the back of Zero Year. One more issue to go before I can get truly excited about Snyder and the main Batman series again!
For more comic views and reviews follow Chris on Twitter at @fenneth1989
Posted on June 26th, 2014
Category: OUT OF THE LONG BOX, REVIEWS
Tags: Batman #32 Review, Bruce Wayne, Chris Fenn, DC Comics, Greg Capullo, Riddler, Scott Snyder, Zero Year