Happy May Forbidden Planet Faithful! Hopefully you had a fine Free Comic Book Day, and found Avengers: Age of Ultron enjoyable as I did. I’m going to do something different this week, as 2 stories that I’ve dug wrapped up, and I’m dedicating an article each to them. First off, let’s take a look at arguably the biggest release of the week, DC Comics’ Batman #40!
Batman #40
Scott Snyder/Greg Capullo/Danny Miki/FCO Plascencia
DC, $4.99
Here we have me being made in to a liar. The type of liar who was willing to drop $5 on a comic, which I’m sure also makes me a double liar of sorts.
As stated here and here, I am not a dude who reads Batman monthly. I am a dude who trade waits it, because it’s very good and reads extremely well collected. HOWEVER, the hype for this issue was insane, the leaks/spoilers for the next arc are as equally crazy, and it was a slow release week. Also I’m bad with money, so I figured why not spend 5 bucks on a comic that is the ending to an arc I’ve only read 1 chapter and two tie in.
Even with putting myself at a disadvantage, I still found myself really loving Batman #40. Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo, Danny Miki and FCO Plascencia are in the middle of a legendary run, and this final issue is a brutal emotional experience that really rewards those who’ve been with the book for a while. The Endgame arc has been building up since issue one of the series, with the creative team revealing their hand , showing exactly what from what arcs lead to these events.
For those out of the loop, here’s the general premise of Endgame (also, here be spoilers): The Joker did not take the events of 2012’s Death of the Family too well and has decided to end his beef with Batman once and for all. What this means is turning his infamous laughing gas into a biological weapon, Jokerizing most of Gotham, and the Justice League. Batman managed to stop the JLA, taking them off the playing field for a week, but now has to face a city turned against him while looking into the revelation that the Joker may be some sort of immortal boogeyman. With the odds stacked against him, Batman #40 see the Dark Knight being forced to make several strange alliances while working with some of his more traditional allies, or risk losing everything.
Scott Snyder holds nothing back with this issue, dropping bombshell after bombshell without giving the reader a chance to recover from any of them. There’s several callbacks his own work on the characters, as those who became before him, including a delightful twist that had me quite pleased. It’s smart and engaging script, which is nothing new for Snyder, but is appreciated none the less, as he does “dark” comics right. They feel important with the stakes raised, but never soul crushing (at least without a good reason).
But ultimately, this comic is Greg Capullo, Danny Miki and FCO Plascenica’s finest hour, as their combined efforts make for an incredible visual experience. Capullo’s panels pack a real punch to them, as his brutal, chaotic and stylized pencils will make you cringe from the violence, yet respect the talent and skill involved. And the way he draws character’s body language and expression helps conveys the emotions so well, it’s like he reading Snyder’s script to you in person. Danny Miki‘s inks are equally impressive, with his use of heavy black ink giving this book a creepy, yet slick look. And Plascenica really brings everything together, with his palette giving this book an emotional weight it needs to convey the story it’s telling properly.
With 30 something issues under their belts (there’s been a few guests artists and writers), it’s impressive how good this creative team has been on this title. There’s a reason why Batman is the flagship DC book, and it’s nice to see this team tell the type of stories they want to tell with little to no editorial interference. Endgame is yet another triumph for Snyder, Capullo and friends, and it’s exciting to see what they’ll do next come June.
