Batman Vol. 1: The Court of Owls (The New 52)

In every comic characters catalog, they have at least one event that either changes the characters image in a defining factor or is just so well done the whole world is taking notice of it while it's happening. For someone like Batman, he's had his share of both of those qualities numerous times in his lifetime. Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Batman: Year One, Batman: A Death in the Family, and Batman: The Long Halloween or Batman: Knightfall saga, are just a few examples of such stories that come to mind. We might be adding another story to that list in the future. Ever since writer Scott Snyder has come on into the comic scene as a relative little known until his run on The Black Mirror, the man has become synonymous with Batman. BUT...his run was with Dick Grayson as Batman. Not Bruce Wayne. With the DC New 52, Snyder has become a hot community now and has been given the chance to tackle Bruce Wayne as Batman for the first time ever. And let's just say, it's one hell of an introduction. I'll try to keep it spoiler free.BATMAN VOL.1: THE COURT OF OWLS collects issues #1-7 and finds Bruce Wayne back in Gotham, as well as returning to the title of Batman *(everything before the New 52 reboot carry over in Batman. But don't worry, you don't need to have read any of that to understand or enjoy it this book. So new readers should have no problem coming in to this story, even with this little plot detail.)* Batman and Bruce Wayne are on an all-time high: Batman is completely self assured of his position since returning (he just about effortlessly defeats most of his rouges gallery within a jailbreak at Arkham asylum) and Bruce Wayne is looking into the future. Gone is Wayne being haunted by the past and loneliness, now replaced with a positive attitude and outlook into rebuilding a bright shining future for Gotham. Added to his cause, a new candidate for mayor that believes in Bruce's cause as well. But things start happening weirdly in Gotham when the appearance of a deadly assassin by the name The Talon shows up and demonstrates incredible skills that almost rival Batman. The Talon also mentions the court of owls, an urban legend/bedtime story that starts creeping its head into the larger influence on Gotham that Batman ever though possible.The Court of Owls Vol.1 is something of a precursor to a summer blockbuster and the famous Knightfall saga. The main villain is new and shows it's every bit as up to the level of Batman himself, the side effects of working alone, and yes folks...Batman almost physically and mentally gets pushed to the limit (the sold-out issue #5 is something you will truly be stunned by in this regard). All the while bits and pieces Snyder has built up on since Gates of Gotham (and even The Black Mirror) about Gotham's legacy finally come to ahead with the threat of The Talon, combined with the Court of Owls themselves, is something of such dread and scope we haven't feel for since Knightfall and No Man's Land. This is truly epic in perception and depth in Batman that might find its place in the Bat mythos years to come (if Vol.2 ends up just as well as Vol.1, for example).If your one who's become a fan of Snyder's work in Batman, such as Scott Snyder's other Bat-book Pre-52 was the Black Mirror, which was a dark, horror-like take with Dick Grayson as Batman...Snyder's take on Bruce Wayne is more suspenseful, action-packed sort of history lesson on Gotham. This makes Court of Owls a very different beast then Black Mirror. So if your one who loved BM, you might quite not be into CoO's as much (though I doubt it. Snyder's work is still solid). And if you're a new reader, this will be a great jumping on point (the other Snyder Bat-book is Gates of Gotham which isn't necessary, but still an interesting read).Greg Cappullo's art work flourishes here that is a mix of sketchy and precision at the same time. I've seen his work from years of doing Spawn, but it never awed me in anyway. I like his art; I just never was blown away from him. His current work for Batman has changed my mind. His artistry holds up just fine without seeming scary or too simple. His highest compliment for his art narrative, combined with Snyder's script comes to ahead in issue #5 for example (again, issue #5 is an exceptional issue).If there's any faults I can think of, there minor and personal on my behalf. I feel Batman is a tinny-bit too arrogant then I think he would be or I can remember in most Batman books. Also his attitude toward much of the Bat-family feels disconnected for no reason at all, considering Batman's attitude toward his fellow Bat-crime fighters has been reasonably tight ever since Jason Todd's death (his rebirth doesn't change this notion). The other thing is Batman is considered the worlds greatest detective, yet --*SPOILER*-- He disregards the Court of Owls existence. Even worse, after being attacked by The Talon and finding evidence of The Court itself...he still denies them.--*SPOLIER END*--. It just doesn't sit right with me on that information, but Snyder backs up these problems I have as well. Batman's arrogance stems from single-handedly taking out his entire Rouges gallery, so this does seem possible.*SPOILER* And my qualms with Bat's denial of The Court are told by Snyder by through a flashback explaining his reasons for denying the Court*SPOILER END*. So my problems are counteracted by Snyder's explanations (and even furthered when Vol.2 comes out), added with so many of the positives that I still keep my score at a perfect 5.BATMAN VOL.1: THE COURT OF OWLS is an event that is fresh, exciting, epic, mysterious, and just plain fun. Heck, I bought the single issues upon release and bought this collected book because I enjoyed it so much. Old Batman readers will easily enjoy this (considering most fans accepted Snyder from his work on The Black Mirror) and new readers will have a blast coming into a new legacy of the Batman-lore. Hopefully, just hopefully the entire arc that finishes off in Vol.2 known as the "Night of the Owls" will be as powerful as Vol.1. Either way, this is a great book that I highly recommend.

i love batman book! i read batman court of owls good comic book!

In DC Comics, there are many alternate realities (together called the “multiverse), one of which has the heroes of the main DC universe as the villains, and the villains as the heroes. In this universe (Earth-2, I believe), the Batman type of villain is called “Owlman”, because he is Batman's polar opposite, and it's a fun play on the idea that in nature owls hunt bats.In the rebooted, before the latest "relaunch" called "Rebirth", DC Universe of the “new 52”, the writers of *Batman* took the central idea of the owls hunting bats concept to a whole new level. In *Batman, Vol. 1: The Court of Owls*, the Dark Knight finds himself the prey for a change. Both of his personas are being separately hunted by a group of men and women called “the court of owls”. The “court of owls” is the subject of an old children's' rhyme and scary story of some shadowy group that “controls” Gotham, and supposedly has since colonial days. Unfortunately for Batman, they are *quite* real, and after some years of ignoring him, now are turning their attention to the Dark Knight. Their assassin, the Talon, has been sent to do the dirty work of taking out the enemies of the court. The owls want to kill Bruce for funding urban renewal that may harm their plans and they want to kill Batman for interfering with their illegal activities throughout Gotham.What really made this story disturbing was that the comic book writer forced the audience to take a turn in Bruce's psyche when he is even more off-balance than ever before, and let me tell you, it isn't pretty. The moments when Batman seemed to be about to be killed off were unnerving, but the psychological aspects of seeing him hunted and relentlessly worn down were truly chilling.What's more, the way the panels were drawn in a spiraling format every other page for a section of the story accentuated just how bad our hero's mental situation was. Oh, did I forget to tell you that this section of “spiraling panels” occurred *during* Bruce's meltdown while he was being drugged and gaslighted? Brrr! I have to say that this was the really disturbing part, and yet was also what made this story arc worth reading. Yes, Bruce was in physical danger, but the psychological suspense of everything that happened to Bats (and I haven't even scratched the surface yet) was what made this tale so terrific. It was almost like Alfred Hitchcock meets comic books.The artwork wasn't exceptional, by any means, but it was good enough. The pacing of the mystery was exquisite. Each step really drew you in, and had you biting your nails. Even though I *knew* Batman would survive, I still worried. That is probably the best complement one could give to a writer of any comic featuring such an iconic (and therefore one the reader knows won't be truly killed off) character as Batman.Another facet of this story I really liked was how the writers again showed the closeness of the “Batman family” and how much Bruce needs his surrogate father and his children (real and surrogate). They are his anchors that keep the insanity and ruthlessness at bay, and that make this young man (about 28 in the story under the revamp) the hero that he is.I can't *wait* until the next volume comes out. This was a terrific Batman comic.Highly Recommended.

Very much enjoyed. Love seeing Nightwing make an appearance. This really sets the stage for the new 52 Batman. The art style is nice too.