There's a lot to like about the New 52 Batman 1 issue. Let's take them one by one :
- The Greg Capullo art is first on this list. The combination of delicate line art with a general watercolor effect is always attractive. It's normal for Batman artists to include lots of shadowplay in their work, but Capullo, with the help of colorist Fco Placencia, also does brilliant things with stark white light - the kind that usually comes off spotlights. A great sample panel is right in the first page - a shot of a Gotham tower from a distance. The black tower is in silhouette but the foreground is illuminated by a lighted fog effect with surrounding smaller structures shown in perspective. As the eye travels up the tower the silhouette effect weakens and we see a bit of the three dimensional lines of the tower giving it more substance. The lines are not so sharp since we have a repeat of the luminous mist effect done at the bottom of the tower. The light is definitely coming from the background, it is very soft and diffused but, off in the distance we have another tower lighted in the more traditional comics style. It's just a wonderful subtle effect, characteristic of the rest of Capullo's work.
- Very early on, we get a two-page spread , a pinup really, of some of the more famous denizens of Arkham. Given a competent artist, this never gets old. Snyder then takes us through an enjoyable battle with the Joker and Batman on the same side!
- There's a rooftop meeting between Batman and Commissioner Gordon. I love how Snyder is able to bring out Gordon's character in just a few panels.
- The widescreen shot of the Batcave has been done before, I remember seeing this before in the Batman and Son arc of the old Batman series, but I've never seen the Batcave with all or most of the different Batmobiles in display. Really nice.
- And here's something I've never seen before : All the Robins except Jason Todd with Bruce Wayne. I disagree with the visual showing Dick much shorter than Bruce. He's already worn the cowl, and he's not a short guy - they should be just the same height don't you think?
This is a good outing for the first issue of Batman in the new DC Universe.
Posted by Pete Albano - January 22, 2012
Did you like this post?
Amazon Prices
DC Comics: The New 52
My Comic Shop Prices
The New 52 trailer from DC :
HTML Comment Box is loading comments...