Death of the Family Event: Batman 13

Batman 13
Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo, James Tynion IV, Jock

Death of the Family Crossover

Spoiler alert!  You have been warned.

There are comics that come out that are good every month.  There are comics that come out that are decent, or even bad, but we still buy them out of hope.  Then there is Batman, the type of book that make reading comics in public cool.  But enough of my love letter to Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo, arguably the top of their individual talent pools.  In part one of the soon to be epic Death of the Family storyline, Snyder and Capullo are at their best.

I have to start out by saying that my favorite scene was near the beginning, with Gordon at GCPD.  It was actually scary when Joker took out the police force and put the fear of god into the good old commissioner, telling jokes the whole time.  Harley Quinn’s cameo as the reluctant new Red Hood was a nice touch, but that shock ending…  Wow.  What a doozy.  Alfred seems to be Scott Snyder’s new go-to damsel in distress as of late, but I’m wondering why?  Will he get a redeeming moment?  Or will they do the unthinkable and actually kill him this time?  Or both?  And is that okay?  Is it time?  Egad, what would we do with an even more damaged Bruce?  If not the faithful fatherly butler, who will die?  And more importantly, how will they die?

A quick note on the backup story:  The art is great, but more on that later.  Mark my words, James Tynion IV is a talent to watch.  He’s already nailing the backups in DC’s best book and not doing too shabby on Talon.  I love how his writing style is similar to Snyder’s, not interrupting the flow of the overall story, but different enough to warrant its own individual tale.  Joker is creepy, and I love that we get to see his new face in all of these upcoming books. But here, we get a first glimpse from two great Batman artists.  And as much as I love the reveal and the art in general in the main feature, I have to admit, the backup story’s art takes the cake.  Jock has done the unthinkable.  He actually made me make a little terrified girl scout noise.  I am ashamed.  But I am also in love.  More of Jock’s Joker is a must in my life.

So there you have it.  The bar has been set, very high to be precise.  And I am pumped to see how these guys (and the rest of the Bat family team) surprise me.  I thought Snyder and Capullo had reached their pinnacle with Court of Owls, but I was wrong.  This might just be their next masterpiece, and I’ll be here for the whole ride, telling you all my thoughts, hopes, and fears as the Joker laughs from the shadows.