I've always deeply loved and adored Gotham's finest crime fighting Bat team, whether they're gradually kicking butt across the beautifully drawn panels in a comic, animatedly doing so on my television, or being portrayed by actors on the big screen. I definitely own more Batman comics and trades than any other title in my personal library and I love each and every one with my whole heart. I've often spoken with people (more recently) that have enjoyed the Christopher Nolan films, but are intimidated by the comics because they're unsure where a good starting point would be amongst all of the Bat history. With DC's reboot of The New 52 last year, it made it easier for some folks to jump in on the story and gain some background knowledge before delving further and exploring the extensive Bat lore. Many longtime comics readers have been critical of DC's New 52, but I myself was thrilled to be given the opportunity to introduce my world to a bunch of newbies. Having already been very familiar with Batman, and with Scott Snyder's beautiful prose, I had very high hopes for the series and as anyone who has been reading will tell you, Snyder and Capullo's Batman is certainly a standout in the new wave. If you haven't already, you can pick up a copy of the first trade Batman Volume 1: Court of Owls on Amazon. And you can read my spoiler free review of the issue after the photo ^.^
After tearing through the first 12 issues of Batman, and waiting (not so) patiently after reading all of Scott Snyder's tweets, I was extremely anxious and excited to see one of my favorite villains return to wreak some havoc in Gotham city. After months and months of waiting, it finally happened. Today was the day that the new story arc began and The Joker himself resurfaced! I literally counted down the minutes until my lunch break so I could run to my comic book shop and hold in my hands the very issue I had been coveting all along. If anyone could write a Joker story, it would be Scott Snyder. Again, the high expectations were set, the pressure was on, and my heart began to race as the first speech bubble appeared at the top of the page. I read and read until finally, on page 8 his giant face graced Bruce's monitor. I don't want to spoil any of the issue for those who haven't had a chance to read it yet, but I will say that it was everything I wanted in a Joker-centric story arc and more. And it was only the first issue! Robin, Nightwing, and Batgirl all were already involved in the story, and The Joker made it clear to Gordon that he has is out for Barbara. There was even an appearance by my favorite female villain, The Joker's lovely counterpart, Harley Quinn. The final page of the issue was so shocking and terrifying, that I'm quite uncertain as to how I will be able to wait until next month to get another piece of the story. And as always, the artwork is absolutely breathtaking. Greg Capullo designed gorgeous die cut covers for each of the issue #13's of the titles involved in the "Death in the Family" story arc which I recently blogged about for On Wednesdays We Wear Pink. I was pleased to find that I was able to intimidate several of my instagram followers who all admitted that they would be having nightmares after viewing my 'mask.' On Sunday during NYCC, my number one priority is to attend DC's Bat panel, and if the audience dons Joker masks (at SDCC they were all Court-of-Owls-mask-clad) I will simply squee in delight! What have you all thought of the story so far?! Tell me in the comments, on twitter, or on tumblr!
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